Primitive Values

Vela is dynamically typed, but primitive values use explicit concrete runtime tags. This keeps host conversion, reflection, bytecode guards, and future optimization precise without introducing script-language generics.

Primitive Set

The primitive value categories are (), bool, char, signed integers i8 through i64, unsigned integers u8 through u64, floats f32 and f64, String, and Bytes.

let enabled = true
let letter = 'A'
let count = 12i64
let ratio = 0.25f64
let label = "ready"
let packet = b"\x01\x02"

Numeric Literals

Unsuffixed integer literals default to i64 when no more specific context exists. Unsuffixed float literals default to f64. A hinted parameter, field, or local can context-type a literal, but operators do not perform implicit widening or integer-to-float conversion.

fn add_i32(lhs: i32, rhs: i32) -> i32 {
    return lhs + rhs
}

fn main() -> i32 {
    return add_i32(1, 2) // literals are checked as i32 here
}

Unit

() is the unit value. It means there is no meaningful result, such as an empty block, a statement-only block, or an effect-only mutation helper. Use Option for expected absence and Result for recoverable failure.

fn mark_checked(enabled: bool) -> () {
    if enabled {
        ()
    }
    return
}

Boundary Rules

Primitive hints are contracts, not conversions. 1i32 + 2i64 is an error when statically known, and the same mismatch is a runtime error when values are dynamic. Checked integer overflow is also an error; explicit wrapping and conversion helpers belong to the standard library.