Article by Ayman Alheraki on January 11 2026 10:37 AM
In the rapidly evolving landscape of computing, development tools such as compilers, IDEs, and debuggers play a vital role in shaping how we build software. However, these tools are overwhelmingly designed with Western language assumptions—favoring English and left-to-right (LTR) scripts. As a result, Arabic-speaking developers often find themselves working around limitations rather than being empowered by the tools themselves.
The ForgeVM Project proposes a bold vision: to build globally-oriented programming tools with native Arabic support, treating Arabic not as an external or optional feature, but as a first-class citizen in the toolchain.
Instead of layering Arabic support on top of existing Western-oriented tools, ForgeVM emphasizes Arabic support from the core architecture upward.
Right-to-left (RTL) layout: Natively handled throughout the IDE, debugger, console, and output tools.
Ligature shaping and contextual rendering: Correctly connects Arabic letters in all interface elements and code comments.
True Unicode handling:
Support for Arabic diacritics
Mixed-language (bidirectional) content
Precise encoding and decoding during compilation, linking, and output generation
Developers can write Arabic code, comments, and outputs directly without using external libraries like HarfBuzz or Qt for shaping.
Enhances productivity by removing the need for RTL workarounds, encoding converters, and script-specific hacks.
Greatly benefits educational, governmental, and religious institutions seeking full Arabic computing environments.
With native support in ForgeVM tools, developers can:
Build world-class software with Arabic UIs and full Unicode documentation.
View Arabic output natively inside the compiler’s messages, debugger output, and IDE status windows.
Deliver codebases with in-line documentation and metadata in Arabic for schools, universities, and regional governments.
This eliminates dependency on external font-rendering systems or Arabic-capable frameworks and allows clean, standard development pipelines from source to deployment.
By integrating Arabic into the build tools, ForgeVM makes it possible to design entire operating systems with Arabic-native interfaces.
Arabic-native bootloaders and OS installers
File systems that support Arabic naming and metadata
System messages, kernel logs, and error handling in Arabic
Localization-ready development tools from day one
These features are essential for sovereign computing initiatives, digital education platforms, and government IT modernization in the Arab world.
Modern compilers like GCC and Clang were not built with Arabic in mind, forcing developers to rely on:
Encoding wrappers
Bidi hacks
Font substitutions
Third-party rendering engines
The ForgeVM Project flips this model. It offers tools that are:
International in architecture
Deeply aware of Arabic language structure
Ready for cross-market distribution, supporting RTL by design
This enables Arabic-speaking nations and companies to shift from technology consumers to technology producers.
Most global tools do not support RTL languages natively, particularly Arabic, Persian, and Hebrew.
A full Unicode/RTL-aware toolchain positions ForgeVM as a market leader for:
Academic institutions
Governments in MENA and Islamic countries
Developers in bilingual environments
These markets are underserved, yet growing rapidly, with a rising demand for localized digital tools and learning environments.
ForgeVM is not about isolating Arabic—it is about inclusive global development. The tools can be written and used in English, but:
Fully support Arabic in UI, data, logs, and output.
Offer bidirectional editing, script recognition, and visual coherence.
Pave the way for multi-language software in scientific, commercial, educational, and government sectors.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, and deep learning are advancing rapidly, but Arabic remains poorly supported in the ecosystem due to:
Weak NLP (natural language processing) integration
Lack of native Arabic corpora handling
No end-to-end toolchain supporting Arabic model building
ForgeVM can bridge this gap by:
Offering native preprocessing of Arabic data
Supporting annotation tools, code generators, and runtime environments in Arabic
Allowing faster prototyping and deployment of AI models using the Arabic language
Current database engines often:
Struggle with Arabic indexing and sorting
Perform sub-optimally on Arabic text searches
Do not handle diacritics or complex shaping well
By integrating Arabic support into the toolchain (compilers + database engines), ForgeVM paves the way for:
Native Arabic search engines
Fast Arabic-aware information retrieval systems
Fully indexed, correctly shaped, and semantically aware Arabic database applications
CPU design is advancing faster than software tools.
Features in processors (e.g., SIMD, advanced caching, neural engines) are underutilized due to rigid compiler design and legacy language structures.
Intel CPUs from 2005 have features that still lack broad compiler-level support today.
Apple had to build an emulator to bridge x86 to ARM (Rosetta), or macOS would have failed the transition.
Microsoft did the same for ARM in Windows 11.
Designed with simulator and VM support for cross-architecture development.
Enables legacy software to run smoothly on new processor types, whether x86, ARM, or RISC-V.
Makes RTL language support compatible with these new environments.
The world of computing is racing forward—but software tools remain bound by outdated assumptions. To keep pace:
We need compilers and IDEs that are flexible, inclusive, and multilingual.
We must design programming ecosystems where Arabic is not a barrier, but a core part of the experience.
We should empower a new generation of Arabic-speaking developers, educators, and entrepreneurs.
ForgeVM is not just a toolchain—it is a strategic enabler for digital independence, language equality, and technical excellence in the Arab world and beyond.