kawa ☆

« Back to VersTracker

Description:
Programming language for Java (implementation of Scheme)

Type: Formula | Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Developer tools

Tags: scheme lisp jvm programming-language compiler development

Install: brew install kawa

About:
Kawa is a general-purpose programming language that implements the Scheme dialect of Lisp and runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It compiles Scheme code into Java bytecode, enabling seamless interoperability with existing Java libraries and frameworks. This allows developers to leverage the simplicity of functional programming while accessing the robust Java ecosystem.

Key Features:

Full implementation of the Scheme language standard
Compiles to native Java bytecode for high performance
Seamless interoperability with Java classes and libraries
Supports scripting and interactive REPL development
Can be embedded in Java applications as a scripting engine

Use Cases:

Scripting and extending Java applications
Functional programming within the JVM ecosystem
Rapid prototyping of algorithms using Scheme syntax
Teaching programming language concepts and Lisp dialects

Alternatives:

Clojure – Clojure is a more modern Lisp dialect for the JVM with a focus on immutability and concurrency, whereas Kawa provides a more traditional Scheme implementation.
Scala – Scala is a statically-typed language that blends OOP and FP; Kawa offers dynamic typing and the minimalist syntax of Scheme.
JSR-223 – JSR-223 is a standard scripting API; Kawa can be used as a JSR-223 engine, but it is a specific language implementation rather than a generic framework.

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit