UNEL Docs — Language Reference

Overview

UNEL is a programming language where syntax is English grammar. Programs are written as natural English sentences. There are no semicolons, no curly braces, and no cryptic operator symbols — only readable, grammatically correct English.

Core principle: If you can say it in English, you can code it in UNEL.

UNEL vs Traditional Code

UNEL replaces cryptic symbols with plain English. Here's the same logic in three languages:

Variables & Output

UNEL	Python	JavaScript
Set name to "Alice".	name = "Alice"	let name = "Alice";
Display "Hello " plus name.	print("Hello " + name)	console.log("Hello " + name);

Math & Logic

UNEL	Python	JavaScript
Set total to price plus tax.	total = price + tax	let total = price + tax;
Set area to length multiplied by width.	area = length * width	let area = length * width;
If age is greater than 18:	if age > 18:	if (age > 18) {

Loops & Functions

UNEL	Python	JavaScript
Repeat from 1 to 10 as i:	for i in range(1, 11):	for (let i = 1; i <= 10; i++) {
For each item in list:	for item in list:	for (let item of list) {
Define function greet that takes name:	def greet(name):	function greet(name) {

The difference: UNEL code reads like instructions you'd give a person. No brackets, no semicolons, no symbols — just English sentences that happen to run as code.

Your First Program

Note: My first UNEL program.

Set name to "World".
Display "Hello, " plus name plus "!".

Every statement ends with a period. Comments start with Note:. Run with: python3 -m unel hello.unel

Variables

Declare variables with Set ... to ... — like writing a sentence.

Set name to "Alice".
Set age to 25.
Set score to 98.5.
Set active to true.

Note: Constants cannot be changed.
Constant PI is 3.14159.

Data Types

Type	Example	Description
Integer	42	Whole numbers
Decimal	3.14	Floating-point numbers
Text	"Hello"	Strings (double quotes)
Boolean	true / false	Logical values
List	[1, 2, 3]	Ordered collection
Dictionary	{"key": "value"}	Key-value pairs
Nothing	nothing	Null / empty value

Operators

All operators are written in natural English — no symbols needed.

Arithmetic

UNEL Syntax	Meaning	Example
a plus b	Addition	Set total to price plus tax.
a minus b	Subtraction	Set change to paid minus cost.
a multiplied by b	Multiplication	Set area to length multiplied by width.
a divided by b	Division	Set avg to total divided by count.
a modulo b	Remainder	Set rem to n modulo 2.

Comparison

UNEL Syntax	Meaning
a is equal to b	Equality check
a is not equal to b	Inequality check
a is greater than b	Greater than
a is less than b	Less than
a is greater than or equal to b	Greater or equal
a is less than or equal to b	Less or equal

Logical

UNEL Syntax	Meaning
a and b	Both must be true
a or b	At least one must be true
not a	Negation

Input / Output

Note: Display output to the user.
Display "Hello, World!".
Display "Score: " plus score.

Note: Ask for input from the user.
Ask "Enter your name: " and store in name.
Ask "Enter your age: " and store in age.

Note: Convert text input to a number.
Convert age to a number.
Convert weight to a decimal.

Remember: Ask always stores text. Use Convert to change it to a number or decimal.

If / Else

If age is greater than or equal to 18:
    Display "You are an adult.".
Else if age is greater than or equal to 13:
    Display "You are a teenager.".
Else:
    Display "You are a child.".
End if.

Loops

Repeat N Times

Repeat 5 times:
    Display "Hello!".
End repeat.

Repeat From / To (Range)

Repeat from 1 to 10 as i:
    Display i.
End repeat.

For Each (Iterate)

For each fruit in fruits:
    Display "I like " plus fruit.
End for.

While

While count is less than 10:
    Set count to count plus 1.
End while.

Check / When (Switch)

Check day:
    When "Monday":
        Display "Start of the week.".
    When "Friday":
        Display "Almost weekend!".
    Default:
        Display "Regular day.".
End check.

Functions

Define function greet that takes name:
    Display "Hello, " plus name plus "!".
    Return "greeted".
End function.

Note: Call the function.
Set result to greet("Alice").

Lambdas

Short, inline functions for use with map, filter, and reduce.

Set double to lambda x: x multiplied by 2.
Set doubled to map(numbers, double).

Note: Inline lambda with filter.
Set evens to filter(numbers, lambda x: mod(x, 2) is equal to 0).

Built-in Functions (77)

Math

abs round floor ceil sqrt power mod min max sin cos tan random random_int

String

upper lower trim split join replace substring starts_with ends_with pad_left pad_right

List

length append remove sort reverse contains index_of slice map filter reduce

Type

type_of to_integer to_decimal to_text is_number is_text is_list is_empty

Lists

Create list fruits containing "apple", "banana", "cherry".
Set numbers to [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

Note: Access by index (1-based).
Display fruits[1].    Note: "apple"

Note: Length.
Display length(fruits).

Note: Add an item.
Set fruits to append(fruits, "date").

Dictionaries

Create dictionary user with "name" as "Alice", "age" as 30.

Display user["name"].
Display keys of user.
Display has_key(user, "email").

Structs

Define shape Person with fields:
    name as Text default "".
    age as Integer default 0.
End shape.

Define method greet on Person:
    Display "Hi, I'm " plus self's name.
End method.

Set p to new Person with name "Alice", age 30.

Modules & Imports

Import Math.
Display Math.sqrt(144).

Import Convert.
Display Convert.to_hex(255).

Import DateTime.
Display DateTime.now().

16 standard library modules: Math, String, Convert, DateTime, IO, JSON, HTTP, Regex, Log, Testing, Validate, Functional, Collections, Crypto, Env, System.

Error Handling

Try:
    Set result to 10 divided by 0.
Catch error:
    Display "Error: " plus error.
End try.

Concurrency

Note: Start async tasks.
Start task download with url "https://api.example.com".
Wait for download to finish.

Note: Channel communication.
Create channel results.
Send 42 to results.
Receive from results.

UNEL Language Reference

Overview

UNEL vs Traditional Code

Variables & Output

Math & Logic

Loops & Functions

Your First Program

Variables

Data Types

Operators

Arithmetic

Comparison

Logical

Input / Output

If / Else

Loops

Repeat N Times

Repeat From / To (Range)

For Each (Iterate)

While

Check / When (Switch)

Functions

Lambdas

Built-in Functions (77)

Math

String

List

Type

Lists

Dictionaries

Structs

Modules & Imports

Error Handling

Concurrency