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Source Code

Encoding​

Cortex's JavaScript API accepts a string. A host reading a Cortex source file should decode it as UTF-8 and should write identifiers in Unicode NFC form, as required by the MathJSON symbol contract.

The Cortex parser does not decode files or strip a byte-order mark. File I/O and decoding are the responsibility of the host. Inside a string literal, Unicode code points can also be written with escape sequences.

File Extension​

The conventional file extensions are .cortex and .cx.

MIME-type​

The project uses text/cortex as its media-type convention. It is not a registered IANA media type.

Command line​

Installing @cortex-js/compute-engine provides the cortex command:

cortex --eval "1 + 2"
cortex program.cx
cortex --json program.cortex

With no file or --eval, cortex starts an interactive REPL when standard input is a terminal; otherwise it reads a program from standard input. The command applies a 10-second evaluation limit by default. Use --time-limit <milliseconds> to change it or --time-limit 0 to disable it. Run cortex --help for the complete option list.

See Cortex CLI for installation, output modes, REPL commands, diagnostics, and exit-status behavior.

Hashbang Comment​

A hashbang comment can appear at the absolute start of the source and is ignored by the Cortex parser. It can be used to run an executable source file through the installed command:

#!/usr/bin/env cortex