Learn CRYSTAL with Real Code Examples

Install Crystal compiler via package manager or from source

Verify installation with `crystal --version`

Install Shards (dependency manager)

Create project with `crystal init app project_name`

Build and run sample project

Install Crystal compiler

Install Shards

Set PATH for Crystal binaries

Verify with `crystal --version`

Run sample application

shard.yml for dependencies

.cr files for source code

config/ for environment settings

spec/ for tests

bin/ for compiled binaries

crystal build file.cr

crystal run file.cr

crystal spec

shards install

crystal tool format

UTF-8 strings supported

Locale-specific formatting via libraries

Web frameworks support i18n

No built-in multi-language runtime

Strings and symbols fully Unicode-compatible

Crystal compiler with clear error messages

REPL via `crystal play`

Rich documentation and tutorials

Active GitHub community

Language server for IDEs

Primarily CLI or web backend

Web rendering via Kemal/Amber

No native GUI focus

Integration with frontend via JSON/HTTP

Console output formatting supported

Variables and constants in scope

Fiber-local state for concurrency

Immutable types for safety

Shared memory via channels

Global state discouraged

Arrays, hashes, tuples

Structs and classes

IO streams and JSON handling

Database queries via ORM

Shards for external libraries