Fantom (programming language)

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title: "Fantom (programming language)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["object-oriented-programming-languages", "statically-typed-programming-languages", "jvm-programming-languages", ".net-programming-languages", "programming-languages-created-in-2005", "software-using-the-academic-free-license"] topic_path: "technology/programming-languages" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantom_(programming_language)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox programming language"]

FieldValue
nameFantom
logo[[File:Fantom-logo.png]]
paradigmmulti-paradigm
year2005
developerBrian Frank, Andy Frank
latest_release_version1.0.81
latest_release_date
typingstatic, dynamic
influenced_byC#, Java, Scala, Ruby, Erlang
licenseAcademic Free License version 3.0
file ext.fan, .fwt, .pod
website
::

::callout[type=note] a programming language ::

| name = Fantom | logo = [[File:Fantom-logo.png]] | paradigm = multi-paradigm | year = 2005 | designer = | developer = Brian Frank, Andy Frank | latest_release_version = 1.0.81 | latest_release_date = | typing = static, dynamic | implementations = | dialects = | influenced_by = C#, Java, Scala, Ruby, Erlang | influenced = | license = Academic Free License version 3.0 | file ext = .fan, .fwt, .pod | website =

Fantom is a general-purpose object-oriented programming language, created by Brian Frank and Andy Frank. It runs on the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), JavaScript, and the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR) (.NET support is considered "prototype" status). Its stated goal is to provide a standard library API. Fantom uses a curly brace syntax, supports functional programming through closures and concurrency through the Actor model, and blends aspects of both static and dynamic typing.

The original name of the Fantom programming language was Fan, named after the neighborhood in which the creators live in Richmond, Virginia. In November 2009, the name of the project was officially changed from Fan to Fantom due to searchability concerns raised by its community.

Fantom is open source under Academic Free License 3.0 and is available for Windows and Unix-like platforms (including Mac OS X).

Features and systems

All variables in Fantom are statically typed, as it does not have generic types, but it does have a set of built-in generic types: List, Map, and Func. Fantom also supports dynamic calls and automatic downcasting. Fantom has a reflection API and metaprogramming capabilities.

Fantom supports imports of Java Classes and modules with some limitations. Its integer is 64-bit. Unlike Java and C#, Fantom does not have Long or Short integer types. Fantom also does not support tuples.

In Fantom, the unit of deployment is called a pod. Pods take on the role of namespaces, packages, and modules. They are stored as .pod files, which are zip files containing the FCode (the Fantom bytecode), the documentation, and resource files necessary to run the pod. The Fantom build system can package a set of pods into a JAR archive through build::JarDist.

Integrated development environment

F4 is the main publicly available IDE for the Fantom language, officially supported by one of the main open-source contributors to the language, Steve Eynon. The F4 IDE is available on GitHub.

Fantom Widget Toolkit

Fantom ships with a standard windowing toolkit called the Fantom Widget Toolkit, or FWT for short. FWT was designed to be portable across several platforms. It is currently implemented on the JVM using the Standard Widget Toolkit as a backend. The JavaScript implementation is backed by the canvas element and JavaFX, allowing FWT applications to be run in a web browser. There are plans for a CLR implementation using Windows Forms.

Usage

Escape the Mainframe is a browser game (just like the Google t-rex dinosaur) completely written in Fantom by Steve Eynon.

References

References

  1. [http://fantom.org/sidewalk/topic/355 Blog post about history of Fantom]
  2. (6 December 2024). "Build 1.0.81 - Fantom".
  3. [http://fantom.org/doc/docIntro/Faq.html FAQ of Fandoc language website]
  4. [http://fantom.org/doc/docIntro/Faq.html#contact Fantom FAQ: Contact Us]
  5. "Fantom FAQ: Roadmap".
  6. [http://fantom.org/doc/docIntro/WhyFantom.html Fantom FAQ: Why Fantom?]
  7. [http://es.scribd.com/doc/47962182/scala-haskell-and-fantom-programming-language History of Fantom programming language]
  8. [http://fantom.org/sidewalk/topic/821 Fan is officially now Fantom]
  9. McAllister, Neil. (2012-01-03). "10 programming languages that could shake up IT". InfoWorld.
  10. [http://fantom.org/doc/docLang/JavaFFI.html Java FFI at Fantom home page]
  11. [http://fantom.org/sidewalk/topic/1815 Tuples question at Fantom official page]
  12. "Steve Eynon (MEng MIET) - Fantom Factory {{!}} LinkedIn".
  13. (2015-01-08). "fwt – Fantom". Fantom.org.
  14. "Escape the Mainframe!".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

object-oriented-programming-languagesstatically-typed-programming-languagesjvm-programming-languages.net-programming-languagesprogramming-languages-created-in-2005software-using-the-academic-free-license