POSTED AT 10:28 PM October 25, 2007

LOLCat programming language: LOLCode

Programmers have created a functional programming language based on the peculiar speech of LOLCats. Linguists may analyze the grammar of LOLCats, but hackers make it DO STUFF. From Nick's Blog: "LOLCode is an emerging esoteric (and hilarious) language based on the dialect used in LOLCats images. It's been siezed upon by a group of people (myself included, now), and is being expanded into a real, workable, turing complete esoteric language (though nobody has proven its turing completeness yet!). The LOLCode.NET compiler is now working, and as a nearly-free bonus for using the .NET platform, you can even debug it in Visual Studio." Link (Thanks, Adam!)

18 Comments

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R. Stevens | October 25, 2007 10:53 PM | Reply

The LOLBOTS are crying cold, robotic tears of loneliness right now!

Hamish Kuzminski | October 26, 2007 1:33 AM | Reply

>>(though nobody has proven its turing completeness yet!)

I beg to differ. Proof follows:

IZ LOLCode TURING COMPLETE? YES IZ COS WE SAYS IT SO!

Phelyan | October 26, 2007 3:28 AM | Reply

And here was me, cynical old bar steward, hoping the whole LOL* would die sooner rather than later...

Crankfetter | October 26, 2007 4:12 AM | Reply

The command VISIBLE is not very LOLCAT. It isn't even misspelled. How about:

SAYZ "HELO WRLD!!!!"

or SEZ or YELZ ...

Phelyan | October 26, 2007 4:51 AM | Reply

#4: You're not very familiar with the old cat macros, are you?

http://macrochan.org/search.py?tag=Neutral%3AInvisible%20X

Crankfetter | October 26, 2007 5:07 AM | Reply

I should have known there was a reason ...

kingkool68 | October 26, 2007 5:14 AM | Reply

When will there be a translator/converter like txt2lol.com out?

Jerril | October 26, 2007 7:27 AM | Reply

Visible is not a "print" equivelent, it's a variable declaration :D

Eduardo Padoan | October 26, 2007 7:45 AM | Reply

This is not the first time LOLCat inpired PL to feature at BoingBoing:
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/05/29/lolcode-lolcats-meet.html
http://lolcode.com/

I prefer the Python implementation:
http://www.dalkescientific.com/writings/diary/archive/2007/06/01/lolpython.html

FredM | October 26, 2007 8:58 AM | Reply

Isn't it an imperative programing language, not a functional programing language?

Eduardo Padoan | October 26, 2007 9:08 AM | Reply

Isn't it an imperative programing language, not a functional programing language?
I think Cory was talking about the usefullness of the language, not about the Functional Paradigm :)

Dylan | October 26, 2007 10:07 AM | Reply

@Jerril: Actually, visible is a print style statement: http://lolcode.com/keywords/visible.

Joe | October 26, 2007 11:11 AM | Reply

Yes, my guess is that Eduardo is correct, and Cory didn't realize that "functional programming language" has a specific meaning other than "it works".

tehmoth | October 26, 2007 11:14 AM | Reply

there is nothing *cat about this, there are no images after all. its not even 'lol'.

Teresa Nielsen Hayden | October 26, 2007 1:04 PM | Reply

Iz no angles in English, Tehmoth.

deusdiabolus | October 26, 2007 2:18 PM | Reply

It was inevitable.

http://www.loldjs.com/

wotthe7734 | October 27, 2007 12:00 PM | Reply

angles. we has dem. dey iz in ur lolcat bibul bein all holies & stufz. dey can has teh wings & dey is in ur skyz hangin out wif Ceiling Cat & singin teh songs & stuffz. & sum tiemz dey flyz down 2 teh urths & scarez teh hel outta teh peepz so teh peeps can has believ in Ceiling Cat. & Ceiling Cat sez u is good peepz & u can has cheezburgrz & stuf.

tehmoth | October 31, 2007 4:01 AM | Reply

interesting reading of the origins of 'English' there Teresa, lots of Angles and Anglo-Saxons.

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