ball_encoder

Dart -> Ball encoder for the Ball programming language.

ball_encoder translates any valid Dart source file -- or an entire Dart package with all of its transitive pub dependencies -- into a Ball Program message. It uses the official package:analyzer parser, so every Dart construct (classes, mixins, records, patterns, extensions, null-aware operators, cascades) is preserved.

Install

dart pub add ball_encoder

Quick start

import 'package:ball_encoder/encoder.dart';

void main() {
  final dart = '''
    int add(int a, int b) => a + b;
    void main() => print(add(2, 3));
  ''';

  final program = DartEncoder().encode(dart, name: 'my_app');
  print('Encoded ${program.modules.length} module(s)');
}

Encoding a whole package

import 'dart:io';
import 'package:ball_encoder/package_encoder.dart';

Future<void> main() async {
  final encoder = PackageEncoder(
    Directory('/path/to/my_package'),
    resolveExternalDeps: true, // download transitive deps from pub
  );
  final program = await encoder.encodeAsync();
  print('Encoded package with ${program.modules.length} modules');
}

Mapping summary

Dart construct	Ball target
Operators (`+`, `&`, `??`, ...)	`std.add`, `std.bitwise_and`, `std.null_coalesce`, ...
Control flow (`if`, `for`, `while`, `try`, `switch`)	`std.if`, `std.for`, ... (lazy base functions)
Type ops (`is`, `as`, `!`)	`std.is`, `std.as`, `std.null_check`
Cascade, spread, null-aware, invoke, record	`std.*`
Classes	`DescriptorProto` + method `FunctionDefinition`s
Lambdas / closures	Anonymous `FunctionDefinition`

Modes

Permissive (default): malformed metadata is collected in encoder.warnings.
Strict: DartEncoder(strict: true) throws EncoderError on any encoding problem.

Language-specific metadata (import URIs, class modifiers, import show/hide lists) is preserved inside google.protobuf.Struct metadata fields so that encode -> compile round-trips produce byte-identical Dart output where possible.

License

MIT