esolangs

Esoteric programming languages, or esolangs, are programming languages created primarily to explore ideas about computation, test the boundaries of language design, or serve as art or humor rather than to support practical software development. They are typically designed to be unusual, challenging to use, or to demonstrate unconventional computational models. The field is largely hobbyist and theoretical, with a community that shares programs, interpreters, and language ideas.

Characteristics commonly include unusual or minimal instruction sets, unconventional syntax, self-modifying code, or representations of data that appear opaque. Many esolangs emphasize interpretive or experimental semantics over efficiency, and some aim to be as difficult as possible to program in. Despite their sometimes opaque nature, a subset of esolangs achieves Turing completeness and can perform general computation, often as a proof of concept or for intellectual challenge.

Notable examples include Brainfuck, a minimal Turing-complete language with eight commands; Befunge, a two-dimensional language where the instruction pointer can move in multiple directions; Piet, where programs are executed as images with color transitions; INTERCAL, a parody language with deliberately obtuse syntax; Malbolge, designed to be extremely hard to program in; HQ9+, which includes a few simple commands; Shakespeare, which uses a playwright-inspired syntax; and GolfScript, a compact language used for code golf. The ecosystem also includes many other designs and interpreters, often crafted as demonstrations of concept or as artistic experiments.

The esolang community maintains dedicated resources and forums, such as esolangs.org, where designers publish specifications, code samples, and tooling. The field is distinct from practical software development, focusing instead on exploration, creativity, and discussions of computability and language aesthetics.