QUICKSTART-USER.adoc

KRL — Quick Start for Users

Table of Contents

• What is KRL?
• Prerequisites
• Install
  • Option 1: Standard Install (recommended)
  • Option 2: Container (via Stapeln)
  • Option 3: Portable (no system changes)
• First Run
• Self-Diagnostic
• Get Help
• Uninstall
• Next Steps

What is KRL?

KRL (Knot Resolution Language, pronounced "curl") is the resolution language for QuandleDB — a database whose stored objects are knots and tangles, and whose identity relation is equivalence under ambient isotopy.

KRL provides four operation families: construct, transform, resolve, retrieve. This repository holds its normative specification; the implementation lives in QuandleDB.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• just — task runner (install guide)

• Julia 1.12+ — for running conformance tests (optional, requires QuandleDB)

• Zig 0.16.0+ — for building FFI (optional)

Install

Option 1: Standard Install (recommended)

# Clone and set up
git clone https://github.com/hyperpolymath/krl.git
cd krl
just setup

Option 2: Container (via Stapeln)

just container-up

Option 3: Portable (no system changes)

just build

First Run

bash tests/smoke/grammar_smoke.sh

Expected output:

✓ Grammar smoke: 20 checks passed

Self-Diagnostic

If something isn’t working:

just doctor

This checks all dependencies, permissions, paths, and connectivity.

Get Help

• In-app: just help-me

• Guided tour: just tour

• Grammar: grammar.ebnf

• Surfaces: SURFACES.adoc

• Report a problem: https://github.com/hyperpolymath/krl/issues

Uninstall

just clean

Next Steps

• Read the README for full feature overview

• Read the EXPLAINME for architecture and design decisions

• Try just tour for a guided walkthrough

• See examples/*.krl for example programs