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FYI, on the front page, https://nim-lang.org, in large type you have this:
> Nim is a statically typed compiled systems programming language. It combines successful concepts from mature languages like Python, Ada and Modula.
I think Nim is great for small CLIs. Some examples are over at: https://github.com/c-blake/bu . To quantify "small", using tools themselves in bu/ (and Zsh *):
wc -l --total=never **.nim|cols 1|cstats ms q.05 q.95
It's the same reason everything digital and downloadable isn't free: there's a cost to create it and there's a value to it.
For a language developer to charge for a book about that language, I think that's a completely valid way to make some money off of their work.
Even the Rust book, "The Rust Programming Language" is available freely online [0], but also as a print and ebook for sale via NoStarchPress [1].
[0] https://doc.rust-lang.org/book/
[1] https://nostarch.com/rust-programming-language-2nd-edition
- `nim secret`[0]: code is interpreted with Nim's vm, it is limited to compile-time (e.g. no C/C++).
- `nlvm r`[1]: nlvm backend supports JIT compilation and repl-like interface was added in latest release.
- `inim`[2]: supports all nim code, but it's not really a true repl. It adds code to a file and recompiles it (you can see the source file with `ctrl+x`). I'd recommend to use it with clang compiler, because it's a bit faster than gcc in my experience. It's the best option right now. And I use it almost daily.
First two options have rudimentary input system. But you can get command history and left-right navigation by wrapping them with rlwrap (should be preinstalled on most *nixes): `rlwrap nim secret`, `rlwrap nlvm r`.
There are plans to support incremental compilation for the next Nim release (it is currently broken). That would improve inim and other repls experience significantly.
[0]: https://nim-lang.org/docs/manual.html#restrictions-on-compil...
[1]: https://forum.nim-lang.org/t/10697
[2]: https://github.com/inim-repl/INim