book

Strange Code

by Ronald T. Kneusel

September 2022

Intermediate to advanced

496 pages

12h 32m

English

No Starch Press

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Programming Language PaleontologyThe First Programming LanguagesALGOLAPLBASICPL/ILogoSimulaPascalPrologSmalltalkStandard MLSummary
Defining Programming LanguageSyntax and SemanticsImplementing Programming LanguagesData TypesData StructuresVariables and ScopeControlling Program FlowProgramming ParadigmsSummary
The Halting ProblemTuring MachinesUniversal Turing MachineTuring CompletenessLet’s Build a Turing MachineSummary
InstallationOrigins and PhilosophyThe LanguageSquare Root ReduxDiscussionSummary
InstallationOrigins and PhilosophyThe LanguageMachine Learning with SNOBOLDiscussionSummary
InstallationOrigins and PhilosophyThe LanguageCLIPS in ActionDiscussionSummary
ABCABC2ABC2 in ActionDiscussionSummary
The FRACTRAN SpecificationA Tale of Two ImplementationsUsing FRACTRANUnderstanding FRACTRANMore FRACTRAN ExamplesDiscussionSummary
InstallationUnderstanding PietPiet in ActionA Tribute to Piet MondrianThe Piet UniverseDiscussionSummary
WTF Is BF?The Two ImplementationsBF in ActionThe BF MultiverseDiscussionSummary
Befunge-93 World TourBefunge in ActionDiscussionSummary
Philosophy and DesignImplementating FilskaSummary
Hello, World!Fibonacci, Anyone?Random NumbersA Simple FractalGetting to the Roots of the ProblemLinear Least-Squares Fit to a LineDiscussionSummary
Philosophy and DesignImplementationConfiguring the Micro:bitSummary
The ProcessFly TimeSpace TrekBeethoven in LightsDance DanceTea TimeDiscussionSummary
The Runners-UpProgramming Language ResourcesPostlude
Introduction to Genetic ProgrammingHow Genetic Programming WorksDefining DisplaysA Tiny Firefly InterpreterThe Genetic AlgorithmPutting It All TogetherEvolving Firefly ProgramsDiscussionFinal Thoughts

Content preview from Strange Code

16GOING FURTHER

We’ve reached the end, so let’s make it a good one. I sincerely hope your adventure with programming languages continues. To aid you on your quest, I offer micro-vignettes of additional esolangs you may wish to investigate, a collection of links to increase your programming language prowess, and a brief postlude.

The Runners-Up

There are too many excellent esolangs out there to include all of them in a single book; choices had to be made. This section presents micro-vignettes of the esolangs that didn’t make the cut. Let them inspire you to explore, wonder, design, and code.