Homwe Database Language

🌍 Overview

Homwe is a database query language that uses Shona language constructs. It provides an intuitive way to interact with databases using familiar Shona terms, making database operations more accessible to Shona speakers.

TRY IT HERE: https://homwe-db.pages.dev/

✨ Features

• 📝 Shona-based syntax - Use natural Shona language constructs for database operations
• 🎨 Web-based editor - Full-featured Monaco editor with syntax highlighting
• 🔍 Real-time execution - See query results instantly
• 📊 Table visualization - Clean, formatted output for query results
• 🛠️ CRUD operations - Complete Create, Read, Update, Delete functionality
• 🧪 Comprehensive testing - Full test suite using Vitest

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or higher)
• npm or yarn

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/panasheMuriro/HomweDatabase.git
cd homwe

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the grammar
npm run build

# Run tests
npm test

# Start the web editor
npm run dev

📖 Language Guide

Creating a Collection

mu homwe mune users

Defining Columns

// You can use any of these variants:
users vane name, age, email  
users dzine employeeId, department

Inserting Data

isa ("John", 25, "john@email.com") mu users
isa ("Jane", 30, "jane@email.com") mu users

Selecting Data

// Select all columns
zvese kubva mu users

// Select specific columns
(name, age) kubva mu users

// With WHERE clause
zvese kubva mu users ane age = 25
zvese kubva mu users vane name = "John"

// With LIMIT
zvese kubva mu users 5

Updating Data

chinja age kuita 26 ane name = "John"
chinja email kuita "newemail@test.com" vane age = 30

Deleting Data

bvisa users ane age = 25
bvisa users vane name = "John"

🔧 Development

Building the Grammar

After modifying Homwe.g4:

npm run build

This generates the lexer and parser files in the grammar/build/ directory.

Running Tests

# Run all tests
npm test

# Watch mode
npm run test:watch

Starting the Development Server

npm run dev

The editor will be available at http://localhost:5173

🧩 Grammar Reference

Keywords

Shona	English Equivalent	Usage
mu homwe mune	CREATE TABLE	Create a new collection
ine/vane/dzine...	HAS/HAVE	Define columns
isa	INSERT	Insert values
kubva mu	FROM	Select from collection
zvese	ALL/SELECT *	Select all columns
chinja...kuita	UPDATE...SET	Update values
bvisa	DELETE	Delete records

Operators

• = - Equality comparison
• , - List separator
• () - Grouping/value lists

Data Types

• Strings: "text" or 'text'
• Numbers: 123, 45.67
• Null: _
• Identifiers: columnName

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please follow these steps:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

• Write tests for new features
• Update documentation as needed
• Follow the existing code style
• Add Shona translations where appropriate

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built with ANTLR4 for parsing
• Uses Monaco Editor for the web interface
• Styled with Tailwind CSS
• Tested with Vitest

📞 Support

For questions, issues, or suggestions:

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Submit a pull request

---

Made with ❤️ for the Shona-speaking developer community.
© Shonascript