What is Vala written in?

Programming language.

Programming language Year 2006 Paradigm object-oriented, imperative Typing static Self-hosting yes
The Language Lineage dataset does not currently include compiler or runtime implementation relationships for Vala. It may appear in influence relationships with other languages.

Quick Facts

Developer
Jürg Billeter
First released
2006
Typing
static
License
GNU Lesser General Public License and GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2.1 or later
Filename extension
.vala, .vapi
Website
vala.dev

About Vala

Vala is a programming language. It is a statically typed and garbage-collected language that compiles ahead of time to native machine code. It supports object-oriented and imperative programming.

Vala first appeared in 2006. Development is led by Jürg Billeter. Vala is now used mainly in specialized niches and by dedicated communities.

How Vala is implemented

In the Language Lineage dataset, Vala is self-hosting, so its own compiler is written in Vala itself. Reaching self-hosting — where a language is mature enough to compile itself — is a milestone that proves the language can handle a large, real-world program.

Vala in the language family tree

Vala drew on ideas from C# and Java.

Sources: Wikipedia · Wikidata · Official site

Relationship Graph

All directly connected languages. Click any node to navigate to its page.

Transpilation

LanguageConfidenceNotesSource
C 95% Vala compiles to C using GObject. Source

Influenced By

Frequently Asked Questions

What languages influenced Vala?
Vala was influenced by C#, Java among others. See the influence section above for the full list.
Is Vala self-hosting?
Yes, Vala is self-hosting — its compiler can compile itself.
When was Vala first released?
Vala was first released in 2006.

Evidence Sources

Discover More

What are programming languages written in? Vala in the language family tree Interactive programming language graph Is Vala self-hosting? Compiler bootstrapping explained Languages that influenced Vala: C# Languages that influenced Vala: Java
Explore Vala in Graph →