README.md

The standard library for Beamtalk, where everything is a message send.

See each class page for full API documentation and usage examples.

Choosing a Base Class

When defining a new class, pick one of these three base classes:

Base class	When to use
Object	General-purpose reference types — containers, handles, exceptions, and anything with mutable or I/O-bearing state.
Value	Immutable scalar value types — Boolean, Number, DateTime, Regex, CompiledMethod, StackFrame. Equality is structural; instances are interchangeable.
Actor	Stateful concurrent objects backed by a gen_server process. Use when an object must own private state and handle concurrent messages safely.

Choosing a Sequence

Three core sequence types, each tuned for a different access pattern:

Type	Use for	indexed at:	grows?
List	sequential / streaming / stack-like — the default	O(n)	yes (O(1) prepend)
Array	random access by position; size known up front	O(log n), persistent at:put:	no (fixed size)
Tuple	Erlang/OTP FFI interop only — not a general-purpose collection	—	—

Reach for List by default; switch to Array when you index or update by position (build one from a list with aList asArray). Array is canonical (content-based =:=/hash), so it works as a Dictionary/Set key.