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A Brief Introduction

Welcome to Sheerpower Programming

This tutorial introduces key features of Sheerpower, such as high-precision math, fast compiling, dynamic data clustering, and a built-in web server.

Sheerpower is designed primarily for business and data-intensive applications that value correctness, throughput, and long-term maintainability.

Developer note:

Sheerpower lets you write straightforward code with a simple, consistent syntax. There is no manual memory management, no deep type system to navigate, and no low-level housekeeping to worry about. The language surface is deliberately small and uniform—you can hold the entire feature set in your head while coding.

This design philosophy serves two audiences equally well: humans in flow state can write fast without breaking concentration, and AI assistants can generate correct code without hallucinating edge cases. Named parameters, explicit scoping, and built-in guards mean both you and your AI pair programmer produce maintainable code by default—often with far less cognitive load than systems languages or mainstream dynamic languages with sprawling ecosystems.

Optimized Decimal-Precise Arithmetic

Performance: Internal benchmarks show Sheerpower's REAL data type is 50—100× faster than Python decimal/Java BigDecimal (even faster when the fraction is zero). Actual results depend on CPU, operation mix, and data.

  • Sheerpower's REAL type is a fixed-precision decimal number composed of two integer components.
  • IP — The integer portion of the value (digits to the left of the decimal point), with a maximum magnitude of over a quintillion.
  • FP — The fractional portion of the value (digits to the right of the decimal point), stored as an integer scaled by 1016, preserving up to 16 decimal digits of precision.

This representation is ideal for business and financial math where pennies matter. All arithmetic is performed using integer math (including fast multiply-and-shift for division), ensuring that addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are exact for values that fit within the combined 18+16 digit precision budget.

Example: 0.1 + 0.2 in Sheerpower is exactly 0.3. No tolerance checks or "epsilon" comparisons are needed for equality tests in business logic.

This ensures reliable calculations for applications like financial software.

High-Speed, Uninterrupted Text Processing

Memory reuse in Sheerpower happens continuously as part of normal string operations. String buffers are retained and reused whenever possible, rather than being constantly allocated and discarded. Because unused memory is reclaimed incrementally through reuse instead of periodic cleanup passes, the runtime never needs to stop execution to recover memory.

This results in smooth, predictable performance with no garbage collection pauses even under sustained text-heavy workloads. For instance, on a modern PC, parsing a 10-million-row CSV file in under two seconds.


Sub-Second Compilations Are Typical

Sheerpower compiles at over 500,000 source lines per second on a modern PC — meaning even large business applications compile within a second or two. For example, a build of 872,133 lines (with 419 include files) compiled in under 2 seconds on a $1200 mini-server. This speed virtually eliminates the compile—wait—test cycle that slows development in other languages.


High-Performance Data Clusters

Sheerpower's cluster feature works like an in-memory spreadsheet, processing hundreds of thousands to millions of rows per second on a modern PC depending on data complexity and available system resources.

Note: Cluster arrays can handle extremely large datasets (tested with hundreds of millions of rows) with fast key lookups, limited primarily by available RAM.

Built-in Statistics Package

Sheerpower includes over 30 statistical functions that operate directly on cluster data—no export or import steps required. Calculate means, standard deviations, correlations, and regression analysis across millions of rows instantly. Ideal for financial analysis, quality control, trend detection, and data-driven decision making. For details, see Sheerpower Statistics .

Web Server Integration

Sheerpower includes a built-in web server optimized for memory-to-memory data transfers. This enables thousands of requests per second for web-based transactions with minimal resource usage on a modern PC. For more details, see the tutorials on Sheerpower Internet Services (SPINS) , Browser Scripting , and Fast-CGI for RESTful Endpoints .


Simplified Code Structure & Syntax

print "Hello, World" print (0.1+0.2) - 0.3

Program Declaration

A source file may begin with an optional PROGRAM statement. This sets the program name used in crash reports, profiling output, and other system-generated files. The file may end with an optional END statement, which marks the logical end of the program.

Stopping the Program

Use STOP or END to terminate a program. Both perform a normal shutdown: open files are closed, buffers flushed, and resources released.

  • STOP — may appear anywhere; execution halts at that line.
  • END — typically appears once at the bottom to mark the program's end. If omitted, the physical end of the file is treated as the logical end.

Secure Deployment of Applications

Building a Sheerpower program is like compiling and linking in traditional languages. Deployment is optional and does not change runtime behavior. It packages your app for delivery, protects your source, enables secure distribution, and reduces startup times.

  • No behavior change: Deployed apps run identically to source-based runs.
  • Single-file delivery: Creates a unity image that bundles your program and all include files.
  • Source protection: Compaction and encryption virtually eliminate inspection and tampering.
  • Secure distribution: Supports integrity checks and controlled updates.
  • Faster startups: Pre-merged include files shorten cold-start time.

Terminology: A "unity image" is a single packaged artifact containing the program plus its required include files.


Summary

Sheerpower is designed for business applications, with a focus on speed, precision, and long-term reliability. It is not intended for system-level programming or memory-limited environments. Key features include:

  1. High-Precision Math: Ensures accuracy for financial and data-focused applications.
  2. High-Speed Compilation: Enables fast development and quick testing cycles.
  3. Clusters for Data Processing: Handles large datasets efficiently.
  4. Integrated Web Server: Supports many transactions per second with low resource use.
  5. Backward Compatibility: Ensures continuity and reduces maintenance costs.
  6. Secure Deployment: Protects source code from unauthorized inspection and enables secure, fast, portable distribution — ideal for commercial software.
  7. Reliability: Eliminates common failure modes like stack overflows and unpredictable performance pauses, ensuring stable operation under load.

In Conclusion:

Sheerpower empowers developers to build fast, accurate, and scalable business software. It excels at applications that process large data volumes and demand reliable performance.

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