Fantom (programming language)

Fantom

Paradigm| multi-paradigm
Developer| Brian Frank, Andy Frank
First appeared| 2005[1]
Stable release|

1.0.79 / July 17, 2023; 2 years ago (2023-07-17)[2]

Typing discipline| static, dynamic
License| Academic Free License version 3.0[3]
Filename extensions| .fan, .fwt, .pod
Website| www.fantom.org
Influenced by
C#, Java, Scala, Ruby, Erlang

Fantom is a general-purpose object-oriented programming language, created by Brian and Andy Frank[4] that runs on the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), JavaScript, and the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR) (.NET support is considered "prototype"[5] status). Its stated goal is to provide a standard library API.[6] Fantom uses a curly brace syntax. The language supports functional programming through closures and concurrency through the Actor model. Fantom blends aspects of both static and dynamic typing.

The original name of the Fantom programming language was Fan, named after the neighborhood where the creators live in Richmond, Virginia. In November 2009,[7] the name of the project was officially changed from Fan to Fantom due to searchability concern raised by its community.[8]

Fantom is open source under Academic Free License 3.0 and is available for Windows and Unix-like platforms (including Mac OS X).[9]

## Contents

* 1 Features and systems
* 2 Integrated development environment
* 3 Fantom Widget Toolkit
* 4 Usage
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 Further reading
* 8 External links

## Features and systems

All variables in Fantom are statically typed. Fantom does not have generic types, but it does have a set of built-in generic types: `List`, `Map`, and `Func`. Fantom also supports dynamic calls and automatic downcasting. Fantom has a reflection API and metaprogramming capabilities.

Fantom supports imports of Java Classes and modules with some limitations.[10] Its integer is 64-bit. Unlike Java and C#, Fantom does not have Long or Short integer types. Fantom also does not support tuples.[11]

In Fantom, the unit of deployment is called a pod. Pods take on the role of namespaces, packages, and modules. They are stored as .pod files, which are zip files containing the FCode (the Fantom bytecode), the documentation, and resource files necessary to run the pod. The Fantom build system can package a set of pods into a JAR archive through `build::JarDist`.

## Integrated development environment

F4 is the main publicly available IDE for the Fantom language, officially supported by one of the main open-source contributors to the language, Steve Eynon.[12] The F4 IDE is available on GitHub.

## Fantom Widget Toolkit

Fantom ships with a standard windowing toolkit called the Fantom Widget Toolkit, or FWT for short.[13] FWT was designed to be portable across several platforms. It is currently implemented on the JVM using the Standard Widget Toolkit as a backend. The JavaScript implementation is backed by the canvas element and JavaFX, allowing FWT applications to be run in a web browser. There are plans for a CLR implementation using Windows Forms.

## Usage

Escape the Mainframe is a browser game (just like the Google t-rex dinosaur) completely written in Fantom by Steve Eynon.[14]

## See also

* Boo
* Ceylon
* Gosu
* Apache Groovy
* Kotlin
* Ruby

## References

1. ↑ Blog post about history of Fantom
2. ↑ "Fantom". 17 July 2023. https://www.fantom.org/forum/topic/2892.
3. ↑ FAQ of Fandoc language website
4. ↑ Fantom FAQ: Contact Us
5. ↑ "Fantom FAQ: Roadmap". http://fantom.org/doc/docIntro/Roadmap.html.
6. ↑ Fantom FAQ: Why Fantom?
7. ↑ History of Fantom programming language
8. ↑ Fan is officially now Fantom
9. ↑ McAllister, Neil (2012-01-03). "10 programming languages that could shake up IT". InfoWorld. http://www.infoworld.com/d/application-development/10-programming-languages-could-shake-it-181548?page=0,2. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
10. ↑ Java FFI at Fantom home page
11. ↑ Tuples question at Fantom official page
12. ↑ "Steve Eynon (MEng MIET) - Fantom Factory | LinkedIn" (in en). https://uk.linkedin.com/in/steveneynon.
13. ↑ "fwt – Fantom". Fantom.org. 2015-01-08. http://fantom.org/doc/fwt/pod-doc.html. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
14. ↑ "Escape the Mainframe!" (in en). http://escape.fantomfactory.org/.

## Further reading

* Binstock, Andrew (2010-07-14). "Top five scripting languages on the JVM: Groovy and JRuby lead a strong field, with Scala, Fantom, and Jython following behind". Dr. Dobb's. http://www.infoworld.com/article/2627426/application-development/top-five-scripting-languages-on-the-jvm.html?page=4. Retrieved 2015-10-30.
* Frank, Brian (2011-02-18). "Fantom". Dr. Dobb's. http://www.drdobbs.com/tools/fantom/229218754?pgno=1. Retrieved 2015-10-30.

## External links

* Open source website: https://fantom-lang.org/download
* Open source repository for Fantom libraries https://eggbox.fantomfactory.org/
* Fantom portfolio https://fantom-lang.org/portfolio
* Not a Fan of Scala? An Evolutionary Approach | Ajaxonomy \- blog post discussing Fan
* Fan of a New Language | SD Times
* Re: Fan Programming Language (jvm-languages@googlegroups.com mailing list) a forum post by one of Fantom's authors.
* The Next Big JVM Language, a conversation with Stephen Colebourne by Bill Venners.
* Language reference page at LangRef.org

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