Weird programming languages

Defining the “weirdest” programming languages can be subjective, as it depends on factors like complexity, unconventionality, or sheer creativity. However, several strange or unexpected languages have gained fame for pushing the boundaries of what programming can be.

Here are some examples of especially unusual programming languages:

Malbolge

Malbolge is a programming language specifically designed to be as difficult and unintuitive as possible. It was created by Ben Olmstead in 1998, and even the simplest programs in Malbolge are incomprehensible. Here’s an example of a “Hello, World!” program in Malbolge:

(=<`#9]~6ZY32Vxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcba`_^]\[ZYXWVUTSRQPONM<

Malbolge is so difficult that the first program ever written for it was generated by a computer, as no human could figure it out manually.

Whitespace

Whitespace is a programming language that only uses spaces, tabs, and newlines. Everything else (letters, numbers, symbols) is ignored. The concept behind it is weird because the code is essentially invisible! A simple program in Whitespace looks like this:

[space][tab][newline]
[tab][space][newline]
[space][space][tab][newline]

Unless you have a specialized editor to visualize these invisible characters, it’s just a bunch of empty lines.

Brainfk**

Brainfk is an esoteric language designed to have an extremely minimalistic syntax. It consists of only eight commands, making it extremely hard to write or debug code. Here’s a simple “Hello, World!” program in Brainfk:

++++++++[>++++[>++>+++>+++>+<<<<-]>+>+>->>+[<]<-]>>.>---.+++++++..+++.>>.<-.<.+++.------.--------.>>+.>++.

Though it seems like random punctuation, the program moves data around in memory and outputs characters via ASCII values. Writing code in Brainf**k can be maddening due to the simplicity and lack of readability.

INTERCAL

INTERCAL (short for “Compiler Language With No Pronounceable Acronym”) was designed in 1972 as a parody of programming languages. It’s deliberately designed to be as unhelpful as possible, with commands like PLEASE (because without it, the code would fail to compile for being “impolite”) and its bizarrely complex flow-control structures.

DO ,1 <- #13
PLEASE DO ,1 SUB #1 <- #234
DO ,1 SUB #2 <- #121
PLEASE READ OUT ,1

This language is extremely impractical but humorous for programmers interested in satirizing serious coding languages.

LOLCODE

LOLCODE is a programming language inspired by the internet meme “LOLCats.” It’s written to resemble the broken English and playful tone used in those memes. Here’s how you’d write “Hello, World!” in LOLCODE:

HAI 1.2
CAN HAS STDIO?
VISIBLE "HAI WORLD!"
KTHXBYE

The playful nature of the syntax makes it a fun, albeit impractical, language to work with.

Chef

Chef is a programming language where the code is written to look like recipes. The goal is to make programs that read like actual cooking instructions, with variables and data types disguised as ingredients and cooking processes. Here’s a small example:

Hello World Souffle.

Ingredients.
72 g haricot beans
101 eggs
108 g lard
111 cups oil
32 zucchinis
119 ml water
114 g red salmon
100 g dijon mustard
33 potatoes

Method.
Put potatoes into the mixing bowl.
Put dijon mustard into the mixing bowl.
Put lard into the mixing bowl.
Fold red salmon into the mixing bowl.
Put oil into the mixing bowl.
Put water into the mixing bowl.
Put zucchinis into the mixing bowl.
Put eggs into the mixing bowl.
Put haricot beans into the mixing bowl.
Liquefy the contents of the mixing bowl.
Pour contents of the mixing bowl into the baking dish.

The code above looks like a recipe, but it’s actually a functioning program.

Initez