Strange Code

12FILSKA

It’s time to design our first esolang, Filska. Filska, pronounced “full-ska,” is a word in the dialect of the Shetland Islands. It means “high-spirited fun.” Whether a programming language can embody such a thing is up for reasonable debate, but, as with most esolangs, fun is an ingredient, so the name seems appropriate. (As an aside, if you happen to enjoy Scottish fiddle music, as I do, you might look for music by a band from Shetland with the same name. The convergence of names is pure chance, I assure you.)

In this chapter, we’ll outline Filska’s philosophy and design. Then, we’ll create an interpreter for it in Python. We’ll experiment ...