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+---
+name: Red
+category: language
+language: Red
+filename: learnred.red
+contributors:
+    - ["Arnold van Hofwegen", "https://github.com/iArnold"]
+---
+
+
+Red was created out of the need to get work done, and the tool the author wanted to use, the language of REBOL, had a couple of drawbacks. 
+It was not Open Sourced at that time and it is an interpreted language, what means that it is on average slow compared to a compiled language.
+
+Red, together with its C-level dialect Red/System, provides a language that covers the entire programming space you ever need to program something in.
+Red is a language heavily based on the language of REBOL. Where Red itself reproduces the flexibility of the REBOL language, the underlying language Red will be built upon, 
+Red/System, covers the more basic needs of programming like C can, being closer to the metal. 
+
+Red will be the worlds first Full Stack Programming Language. This means that it will be an effective tool to do (almost) any programming task on every level 
+from the metal to the meta without the aid of other stack tools. 
+Furthermore Red will be able to cross-compile Red source code without using any GCC like toolchain 
+from any platform to any other platform. And it will do this all from a binary executable that is supposed to stay under 1 MB.
+
+Ready to learn your first Red?
+
+```
+Red
+
+; Single-line comments start with a semicolon ';'
+
+comment {
+  Multi-line comments 
+  look like this.
+}
+
+; Import files with #include and filenames start with a % sign
+#include %includefile.red
+
+; Your program's entry point is the first executable code that is found
+; no need to restrict this to a 'main' function.
+
+; Valid variable names start with a letter and can contain numbers, 
+; variables containing only capital A thru F and numbers and ending with 'h' are 
+; forbidden, because that is how hexadecimal numbers are expressed in Red and 
+; Red/System.
+
+; assign a value to a variable using a colon ':'
+my-name: "Red"
+reason-for-using-the-colon: {This makes the equality sign '=' exclusively usable for comparisons purposes, thus speeding up the original Rebol interpreter.}
+is-this-name-valid?: true
+
+; print output using print, or prin for printing without a newline or linefeed at the ; end of the printed text.
+
+prin " My name is " print my-name
+My name is Red
+
+print ["My name is " my-name lf]
+My name is Red
+
+; In case you haven't already noticed: statements do NOT end with a semicolon ;-)
+
+;
+; Datatypes
+;
+; If you know Rebol, you probably have noticed it has lots of datatypes. Red 
+; does not have yet all those types, but as Red want to be close to Rebol it 
+; will have a lot of datatypes.
+; You can recognize types by the exclamation sign at the end. But beware 
+; names ending with an exclamation sign are allowed. 
+; Some of the available types are integer! string! block! 
+
+; Declaring variables before using them? 
+; Red knows by itself what variable is best to use for the data you want to use it 
+; for. 
+; A variable declaration is not always necessary. 
+; It is considered good coding practise to declare your variables,
+; but it is not forced upon you by Red.
+; You can declare a variable and specify its type. a variable's type determines its 
+; size in bytes.
+
+; Variables of integer! type are usually 4 bytes or 32 bits
+my-integer: 0
+; Red's integers are signed. No support for unsigned atm but that will come.
+
+; To find out the type of variable use type?
+type? my-integer
+integer!
+
+; chars are guaranteed to be 1 byte
+; A string can be cast to a character 
+empty-string: ""
+a-string: to-string #"a"
+
+i2: 1 + i1: 1
+
+; Arithmetic is straightforward
+i1 + i2 ; result 3
+i2 - i1 ; result 1
+i2 * i1 ; result 2
+i1 / i2 ; result 0 (0.5, but truncated towards 0)
+
+; Comparison operators are probably familiar, and unlike in other languages you 
+; only need a single '=' sign for comparison.
+; There is a boolean like type in Red. It has values true and false, but also the 
+; values on/off or yes/no can be used
+
+3 = 2 ; => false
+3 != 2 ; => true
+3 > 2 ; => true
+3 < 2 ; => false
+2 <= 2 ; => true
+2 >= 2 ; => true
+
+;
+; Control Structures
+; @TBD
+
+;
+; Functions
+;
+; In Red almost everything can be seen as a function. Even the IF returns a value.
+
+; Function declaration syntax:
+; function-name: function [][]
+twice: function [a [integer!] /one return: [integer!]][
+        c: 2
+        a: a * c
+        either one [a + 1][a]
+]
+
+
+
+```
+
+## Further Reading
+
+The main source for information about Red is [the Red language homepage](http://www.red-lang.org).  
+
+To learn more about Rebol and Red join the [chat on StackOverflow](http://chat.stackoverflow.com/rooms/291/rebol-and-red). 
+(You will need 20 points to chat but if you ask questions about Red or Rebol we will help you get those points).
+
+Maybe you want to try Red right away? That is possible on the [try Rebol and Red site](http://tryrebol.esperconsultancy.nl).
+
+You can also learn Red by learning [Rebol](http://www.rebol.com/docs.html).