This page defines a standardized structure for creating concise programming language cheatsheets.

Language Overview

High-level overview with no code.

  • title as <language name> Cheatsheet
  • initial paragraph as a short introduction
    • main characteristics of the language
    • typical use cases
    • primary goals (performance, safety, simplicity, etc.)
    • trade‑offs of the language
  • high-level list of characteristics
    • category (imperative, functional, etc.)
    • memory model
    • type system – explicit / dynamic typing, type inference
    • concurrency
    • execution (compiled or interpreted)
    • ecosystem tools

Project setup

  • list how to create a simple project in the language
  • file layout – as printed from the tree command
  • minimal code example that prints Hello World!
  • show how to compile and run

Language Basics

  • include all comment types – single line, multiline, documentation (module, function, etc.)
  • memory model – stack or heap variables, are variables values or references, note mutability, ownership, lifetime, garbage collection
  • primitive types – numbers, booleans, strings, null / undefined
  • variables – declaration, basic operations +, -, *, /, %, &&, ||, &, |, ^, ~
  • flow control – if, else, switch, match
  • loops – for, while, iterators
  • error handling – exceptions, result / option types, error propagation syntax
  • functions, lambdas, closures
  • class, enum, union, tuple, interfaces, traits – constructor, destructor, method override, overloading, inheritance
  • iterators, map, filter, reduce
  • generics

Expanding the project

  • list and explain pitfalls for the library data structures – vector (array), set, multiset, map, multimap, stack, queue, deque, priority queue
  • string – formatting, printing structures, pattern matching, regex
  • how to split the project into multiple files or modules, consider visibility, importing external dependencies
  • show tools for the language – compiler, interpreter, linter, formatter, repl,

Language Advanced (optional)

  • standard concurrency structures
  • interfacing with code base in another language

Other Resources

  • official documentation
  • community resources
  • recommended books or tutorials