From the REPL

As previously demonstrated, it is possible to start up the LFE 'read-eval-print loop' (REPL) using rebar3:

$ rebar3 lfe repl

Once you are at the LFE prompt, you may write a simple LFE "program" like the following:

lfe> (io:format "~p~n" (list "Hello, World!"))

Or, for the terminally lazy:

lfe> (io:format "~p~n" '("Hello, World!"))

While technically a program, it is not a very interesting one: we didn't create a function of our own, nor did we run it from outside the LFE interactive programming environment.

Let's address one of those points right now. Try this:

lfe> (defun hello-world ()
lfe>   (io:format "~p~n" '("Hello, World!")))

This is a simple function definition in LFE.

We can run it by calling it:

lfe> (hello-world)
;; "Hello, World!"
;; ok

When we execute our hello-world function, it prints our message to standard-output and then lets us know everything really quite fine with a friendly ok.

Now let's address the other point: running a Hello-World programming from outside LFE.

Hit <CTRL-G><Q> to exit the REPL and get back to your terminal.