Posts tagged "Esoteric Programming"

5 Esoteric Programming Languages

What is the most unusual programming language in the world? Some people would claim that JavaScript is the correct name for it. I’m not shocked by what I’ve read on the internet about some strange things in that language.

Some of these languages are meant to be humorous, while others offer a mentally stimulating experience. Here are four esolang examples that I adore!

  • CLWNPA

It’s the first esolang (it was invented in 1972), so it has to be #1 on my list. The most amusing aspect is that this language is most known as INTERCAL, not CLWNPA. I have no idea why it’s necessary. What does the standard “Hello world” program in this language look like?

Do you find modern programming languages to be tedious? Do you believe that their code is extremely unkind and discourteous? If that’s the case, INTERCAL is the language for you. You must include the unusual command PLEASE from time to time when writing code with it. When you try to compile your code without using these instructions, the compiler will be insulted. However, be careful! INTERCAL does not tolerate cheating programmers! The compiler will reject your code if you overuse the PLEASE command.

  • Whitespace

Whitespaces are disregarded in most programming languages. Tabulators and spaces, of course, are discriminating. But, of course, when you pick Python or YAML, you have to pay greater attention to whitespace because you were previously neglected in C++, PHP, JS, and other languages.

Stack and heap manipulation in Whitespace is made possible by a combination of tabs and spaces. For example, subtraction of the top two elements from the stack can be done using tab-space-space-tab. You may definitely have a lot of keys on your keyboard. However, you don’t have to use them all at once. There will be no more typos because of the lack of a semicolon. Furthermore, you won’t have to install an IDE since there are several online editors and compilers!

  • Ook!

Do you know Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels? If that’s the case, you already understand what Ook! is all about. If you’re unfamiliar with Discworld, it’s a fantasy series with a lot of absurd humor. In these novels, the world is a disk on the back of four elephants who ride a huge cosmic turtle named A’Tuin. A magical university where an orangutan is a librarian is one of the locations mentioned. He only communicates via “Ook” with various inflections.

It’s not difficult to find a reason why you should start learning it. You might feel like this language isn’t useful, but keep in mind that Ook! is Turing-complete. How is it possible to produce anything useful with just three keywords? The instructions are interpreted in pairs, so you have a total of eight distinct ones. Ook! uses an array of memory cells to store data. You can use the instructions below to move the pointer around and change values within the array.

  • Chef

Do you enjoy cooking but chose to program as a profession because it is more lucrative? Then, this language was designed with you in mind!

The cooking metaphor is a popular way for non-technical audiences to grasp what algorithms are. Now you may learn how to code using recipes even more. For example, you can make a Hello World Souffle or Fibonacci Numbers with Caramel Sauce with the Chef language!

Unlike the previous E-LANGs, this one has many parallels to more established programming languages. The first step is to create a list of ingredients necessary to execute your program. In my code above, I have a potato variable with a value of 117, a milk variable with a value of 109, and so on. Take ingredients from the refrigerator to read the value from STDIN is another way to get around hardcoding values in your variables.

Conclusion

There are many more fascinating and amusing programming languages to learn about. These four esolangs only represent a tiny part of the picture, demonstrating how inventive their creators are.