Standard Library¶

The Prove standard library is a set of 24 modules (plus aliases) that ship with the compiler. Each module is a .prv file declaring types and function signatures, backed by a C implementation that the compiler links into the final binary.

Core Concepts¶

Verb Families¶

Verbs define what a function does. The compiler enforces their guarantees:

See Functions & Verbs for the full reference.

Channel Dispatch¶

Many modules organize functions by channel — the same name with different verbs:

// Three operations on "file", resolved by verb at call site
inputs file(path String) String!      // read file
outputs file(path String, content String)!  // write file
validates file(path String)           // check if exists

The caller's context determines which function is invoked. This is verb-dispatched identity — see Functions & Verbs.

Always-Available Types¶

These types need no import:

• Primitives: Integer, Decimal, Float, Boolean, String, Character, Byte, Unit
• Containers: List<Value>, Option<Value>, Result<Value, Error>, Table<Value>
• Special: Value, Error, Source

Builtin Functions¶

These functions are always available without import — they are compiler builtins, not part of any stdlib module:

• Iteration: map, filter, reduce, each, all, any — work on any iterable (List, Array)
• Parallel: par_map, par_filter, par_reduce, par_each — parallel variants (pure functions only)
• Utility: len

See Lambdas & Iteration for the full reference.

Module Summary¶