Nim Programming Language Cheatsheet

Nim is a powerful and expressive programming language that combines efficiency with readability. Known for its performance, flexibility, and ease of use, Nim is gaining popularity among developers for a variety of applications. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced programmer, having a cheatsheet handy can be immensely helpful for quick reference and productivity. In this blog post, we’ll provide a Nim programming language cheatsheet to assist you in your coding endeavors.

1. Basic Syntax:

# Comments
# This is a single-line comment

# Variables
var
  myVar: int = 42
  myString: string = "Hello, Nim!"

# Constants
const
  PI = 3.14159
  MAX_VALUE = 100

# Data Types
int, float, char, string, bool

# Type Inference
var x = 42 # Nim infers x's type as int

2. Control Flow:

# If statement
if condition:
  echo "Condition is true"
else:
  echo "Condition is false"

# While loop
while condition:
  # Code block

# For loop
for i in 0..10:
  echo i

# Case statement
case variable:
  of value1:
    # Code block
  of value2:
    # Code block
  else:
    # Code block

3. Procedures and Functions:

# Procedure (no return value)
proc greet(name: string) =
  echo "Hello, ", name

# Function (with return value)
func add(x, y: int): int =
  result = x + y

# Calling a procedure/function
greet("John")
let sum = add(3, 5)

4. Data Structures:

# Arrays
var myArray: array[3, int] = [1, 2, 3]

# Sequences (dynamic arrays)
var mySeq: seq[int] = @[]

# Sets
var mySet: set[int]

# Tuples
var myTuple: tuple[int, string] = (42, "Nim")

# Dictionaries
var myDict: table[string, int]

5. Error Handling:

# Option type for handling errors
proc divide(x, y: int): Option[int] =
  if y == 0:
    result = none(int)
  else:
    result = some(x div y)

# Using the option type
let result = divide(10, 2)
match result:
  some(value):
    echo "Result:", value
  none:
    echo "Cannot divide by zero"

6. Memory Management:

# Manual memory allocation
var myPointer: pointer[int] = newSeq[int](10)

# Automatic memory management (garbage collection)
# Nim has a built-in garbage collector for automatic memory cleanup

7. Modules and Imports:

# Importing modules
import math

# Importing specific symbols
from math import sin, cos

# Creating your module
# Create a file named "mymodule.nim"
# Contents:
# module mymodule
# proc myFunction() =
#   echo "Hello from mymodule"

8. Advanced Features:

# Metaprogramming
# Nim has powerful metaprogramming capabilities using macros
# Example: A simple macro that prints a message at compile time
macro myMacro() =
  echo "Hello from myMacro"

# Using the macro
myMacro()

This cheatsheet covers the basics of Nim programming, from syntax to advanced features. Keep in mind that Nim’s official documentation is an excellent resource for more in-depth information and examples.

FAQ