AHHH

AHHH (a programming language for the dreadful) is a Turing-complete, cell-based esoteric programming language inspired by the all-consuming dread induced by programming. It was written by Kyle Morgenstein in 2021 to allow for single "screams" ("AHHH" followed by sequences of uppercase and lowercase h's) to be interpreted as runnable code. The language is fairly simple and is based on COW and brainfuck, but with a few additional commands to make computation easier. AHHH has 16 (+2) commands, which are all the capitalization permutations of hhhh to HHHH. The start key is the sequence AHHH. The AHHH language has a memory head (pointer) which can be moved along a tape of memory. There are also two registers that values can be read/written from. Memory cells can be printed to the console. Anything that isn't a command is a comment. Loops can be formed with the HHHH and hhhh commands.

Language Mechanics

Code	Command	Function
0	hhhh	Searching in reverse, skip the first preceding command, and then jump back to matching HHHH command and begin execution from that HHHH command (end loop).
1	hhhH	Move the pointer right one cell.
2	hhHh	Move the pointer left one cell.
3	hhHH	Print the current memory cell as an integer.
4	hHhh	If Register 1 is empty, copy the current memory cell to the register. Otherwise, write the Register 1 value to the current memory cell.
5	hHhH	If Register 2 is empty, copy the current memory cell to the register. Otherwise, write the Register 2 value to the current memory cell.
6	hHHh	Add the current memory cell to the value of Register 1 and store it in Register 1. The memory cell is unchanged.
7	hHHH	Add the current memory cell to the value of Register 2 and store it in Register 2. The memory cell is unchanged.
8	Hhhh	If the current memory cell is nonzero, print the cell as an ASCII character. Otherwise, read in an ASCII character from the console.
9	HhhH	Increment the current memory cell by one.
10	HhHh	Decrement the current memory cell by one.
11	HhHH	Read in an integer from the console and store it in the current memory cell (overwrites current cell).
12	HHhh	Set the current memory cell to zero.
13	HHhH	Double the value of the current memory cell and store it in the current memory cell.
14	HHHh	Square the value of the current memory cell and store it in the current memory cell.
15	HHHH	If the current memory cell is nonzero, continue to the next command. Otherwise, skip one command, and then skip ahead to the next matching hhhh command (begin loop).
16	AHHH	Start program.
17	hhh!	Print new line (useful after printing ASCII characters, which otherwise don't print a new line).

Sample Code

An interpreter written in c++ as well as some demo files can be found here.

Because comments can be inserted directly, it is easy to write fairly well documented programs. For example, this program generates Fibonacci numbers:

AHHH start program
HhhH increment cell 0
hhhH move to cell 1
HhhH increment cell 1
hhHh move to cell 0
HHHH start loop
hhHH print cell
hHhh copy cell to register 1
hhhH move to next cell
hHHh add cell to register 1
hHhH copy cell to register 2
hHhh paste value from register 1 to cell
hhHh move to previous cell
hHhH paste value from register 2 to cell
hhhh end loop

Alternatively, the language can be condensed and programs given as a single uninterrupted scream, as in this program that prints "Hello, World!" to the console:

AHHHHhhHHHhHHHHhHHHhHHhHHHhHHhhHHhhHHhhHHhhHHhhHHhhHHhhHHhhHhHhhHhhhhhhHHhhHHHhHHHHhHHHhHHhHhHHhhHhhhHhhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhhhhhhHhHhhHhhHH
hhHHhhHHhhHhHhhHhhhhhhHhHhhhHhhHhhhhhhHhHhhhHhhHhhHHhhHHhhHHhhhhhhHHhhHHHhHHHHhHHHhHHhHhHhHHHhhHhhHHHhHHHHhHHHhhHHHhHhHHhHhHhHhHhHhHh
HhHhhhhhhHHhhHHHhHHHHhHHHhHHhHHhhhhhhHHhhHHHhHHHHhHHHhHHhHHHhHhHhHHHhhHhhHHHhHHHHhHHHhhHHHHHhhHhhHHHhHHHhHHHhHhHHHhHhHHhHhHhhhhhhHhHh
hHhhHHhhHHhhHhHhhHhhhhhhHhHhhhHhhHhhHHhhHHhhHHhhhhhhHhHhhHhHhHhHhHhHhhHhhHhhhhhhHhHhhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhHhhhhhhHHhhHHHhH
HHHhHHHhHHhHHhhHHhhhhhh!