## title: Esoteric programming languages
       ## date: "2026-04-28"
       
       ## Introduction
       
       A while back, I became interested in esoteric programming
       languages. More specifically, I became interested in the
       mechanisms involved in interpreting and compiling their
       code. It’s a little-known field in the world of computer
       science, yet I find this culture to be very rich and
       challenging. That’s why I wanted to talk about it here, in
       the form of a blog post. This is mainly my personal
       perspective and feedback; the views expressed are my own.
       
       ## Definition
       
       An esoteric programming language is a programming language
       designed around one or more strange or unusual ideas.
       Generally, these languages are created as a joke or to meet
       a challenge, and are not intended to solve any specific
       problem.
       
       ### Example
       
       One of the best-known languages is Brainfuck.
 (HTM) Brainfuck
       
       [xmastree.b -- print Christmas tree
       (c) 2016 Daniel B. Cristofani
       http://brainfuck.org/]
       
       >>>--------<,[<[>++++++++++<-]>>[<------>>-<+],]++>>++<--[<++[+>]>+<<+++<]<
       <[>>+[[>>+<<-]<<]>>>>[[<<+>.>-]>>]<.<<<+<<-]>>[<.>--]>.>>.
       
       Below is a code example from one of my favorite programming
       languages, Befunge.
 (HTM) Befunge
       
       vv  <      <
           2
           ^  v<
        v1<?>3v4
           ^   ^
       >  >?>  ?>5^
           v   v
        v9<?>7v6
           v  v<
           8
           >  >   ^
        vv  <      <
            2
            ^  v<
         v1<?>3v4
            ^   ^
        >  >?>  ?>5^
            v   v      v          ,*25         <<
         v9<?>7v6                              ,,
            v  v<                              ""
            8                                  ><
            >  >   ^                           ""v
         >*: >0"!rebmun tupnI">:#,_$25*,:&:99p`|^<       _0"!niw
       uoY">:#,_$25*,@
             ^         <                       >:99g01-*+^
       
       I invite you to run the code examples below if you'd like.
       
       ## Culture and Community
       
       There are a vast number of esoteric programming languages,
       and new ones are created every day, often accompanied by an
       interpreter written by the language’s creator.
       
       ### Esolang
       
       We are fortunate to have the Esolang website. It is a wiki
       dedicated to esoteric programming languages, an excellent
       resource for their documentation, and one of the main hubs
       of this active community. The website allows authors to add
       wiki pages to document their languages. These pages are then
       indexed on other pages dedicated to listing languages by
       category, paradigm, year, etc.
 (HTM) Esolang
       
       I have used this website extensively as my primary reference
       for esoteric language specifications. The website is
       comprehensive and updated daily.
       
       ### Challenge
       
       Since most of these languages started out as jokes, they are
       actually used to create more unusual challenges. As shown in
       this code golf where you have to create a Brainfuck
       interpreter, this YouTube video, or the game Brainfuck
       Challenge. This inspired me to create this project, which
       brings together my implementations of interpreters and
       compilers for esoteric programming languages.
 (HTM) code golf
 (HTM) YouTube video
 (HTM) Brainfuck Challenge
 (HTM) this project
       
       ### Passion and Curiosity
       
       One might wonder why people continue to invent new esoteric
       languages, since there is no financial gain to be had. I
       think the main reasons are passion and curiosity. A passion
       for computer science and programming, and the curiosity to
       seek out alternative things on the Internet.
       
       ## Humans Only
       
       Despite all the hype surrounding generative AI, I get the
       impression that esoteric languages remain a field studied
       largely by human minds alone. This can be explained by the
       lack of commercial objectives; after all, the authors and
       developers of these languages aren’t getting paid.
       Furthermore, it’s a subject that doesn’t interest companies
       because they can’t make a profit from it, and it’s not a
       topic that comes up in business settings either. It’s not a
       mainstream computer science subject, and demand is very low.
       In the end, only enthusiasts and the curious remain—those
       who simply want to have fun.
       
       An esoteric programming language that isn’t a product of the
       human mind loses all its charm and appeal. These languages
       are complex for the human brain, but much less so for an
       artificial brain, such as an LLM.
       
       ## Conclusion
       
       It was an interesting experience to explore the world of
       esoteric programming languages. I realized there is an
       active community and a large number of software projects. I
       didn’t delve any deeper—some languages are very complex—but
       if you’re curious, I invite you to check out the Esolang
       wiki.
 (HTM) Esolang
       
       I plan to continue implementing interpreters and compilers
       for esoteric languages in the future!