Kalai

What Kalai is

Kalai is an open-source source-to-source transpiler that converts Clojure code into other programming languages. Its aim is to let developers implement algorithms once and make them available natively in target languages. The README lists Rust and Java as targets and also refers to C++. Kalai handles a subset of Clojure without adding new syntax. Its mappings turn namespaces into classes, functions into static functions, defs and lets into variables, and atoms into mutable data structures. At the top level, it accepts defn and def forms, rejecting executable forms such as println. Running Kalai requires the Clojure command-line tool and source and output directories. Examples use Make, Gradle for Java output, and Rustup for Rust output. The project rationale describes compiling libraries such as SQL builders, internationalization algorithms, and data diffing tools for use across languages. The portability comes with a tradeoff: Kalai gives up the REPL and interactive development style. The code is offered under the Eclipse Public License 2.0, with a possible Unicode License secondary license under stated conditions. The project welcomes pull requests.