Category talk:Zero-dimensional

this doesnt seem well defined, can somebody explain? --Yayimhere2(school) (talk) 16:11, 26 January 2026 (UTC)

I feel like it's well defined

User:Gaham (Discord:glebovsky_)

it isn't defined at all? what does it mean for a language to be in "zero dimensions"? —aadenboy (talk|contribs) 22:13, 26 January 2026 (UTC)

a single register is zero dimensional, a memory tape is one dimensional, a 2d array is two dimensional, etc. dragon eater SIX SEVEN 03:24, 27 January 2026 (UTC)

That's what I would expect, but then I don't understand what makes these languages zero-dimensional. For example, wouldn't Unary be one-dimensional, not zero? –PkmnQ (talk) 03:35, 27 January 2026 (UTC)

Worse, it makes it unclear whether brainfuck is 1D or 2D, for brainfuck can emulate any 2D language. This means that dimensionality is a matter of how we choose to present the semantics rather than something structural, which would be an unacceptable conclusion. Corbin (talk) 03:45, 27 January 2026 (UTC)

I interpret this as a condition on how the language's source code is interpreted. brainfuck's source code is interpreted as a string (a one-dimensional structure), so it's one-dimensional. Befunge's is interpreted as an array of characters (a two-dimensional structure), so it's two-dimensional. Unary's is interpreted as a number, and it's not really defined whether those are one- or zero-dimensional but traditionally we've considered them to be zero-dimensional. (If you consider Unary to be one-dimensional, then The Waterfall Model would be three-dimensional as the zeroing trigger is an array of unbounded numbers. If you consider the value of a number to not count as a dimension, then Unary doesn't have any as its program is a single point). This isn't a property of the language semantics at all, but a property of the source code, which is why it isn't necessarily preserved in equivalents and derivatives. --ais523 11:11, 27 January 2026 (UTC)

This should be added to the page's info, because right now it doesnt. really have a definition. Also, for some language, its debatable wether their godel encoding into a number really is 0 dimensional(Godelfish just uses a sequence of numbers, which and language could, but that wouldnt be 0 dimensional?) --Yayimhere2(school) (talk) 13:23, 27 January 2026 (UTC)

So, numerous brainfuck extensions with ^ v commands (2D data) should still be considered 1D? IMHO, it should be stated explicitly. --Blashyrkh (talk) 13:35, 27 January 2026 (UTC)

These categories were created before the "no new categories without discussion" rule was added, and it shows – they could definitely do with better / more clearly stated descriptions and a more consistent naming scheme (and are probably good evidence for why the rule is a good idea). --ais523 13:38, 27 January 2026 (UTC)