Colon period period colon
- The title of this article is not correct because of technical limitations. The correct title is actually :..:.
 |
|
| Paradigm(s) | imperative |
|---|---|
| Designed by | User:Ttulka |
| Appeared in | 2024 |
| Dimensions | one-dimensional |
| Computational class | Turing complete |
| Major implementations | Interpreter in JavaScript |
| File extension(s) | .cppc |
:..: is an esoteric programming language based on the manipulation of four unbounded integer registers.
How it works
A program in :..:
- Consists only of the symbols : (colon) and . (period); all other symbols are ignored.
- Is a sequence of 4-tuples that form program instructions (the program length % 4 == 0).
- Has a length greater than zero (at least one 4-tuple).
Each 4-tuple reads or manipulates one of the four registers A, B, C, D.
The current register is determined by the index of the instruction in the program code. For instance, the first instruction works with A, fourth with D, fifth with A, and so on.
Four possible instructions can be formed based on the position of the colon in a 4-tuple:
| Instruction | Name | Meaning | Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noop | Does nothing | ....
| |
| + | Increment | Increments the current register value | .:..
|
| - | Decrement | Decrements the current register value | ..:.
|
| [ | Loop begin | Jumps to the loop end if the current register value is not zero | :...
|
| ] | Loop end | Jumps to the paring [ | ...:
|
Instructions [ and ] are paired, meaning each [ must have a following ] and vice versa.
Instructions can be combined into compact ones. For instance, the 4-tuple ::.. contains both instructions [ (loop begin) and + (increment). Compact instructions are executed in the order they appear in the 4-tuple.
Examples
(Code is arbitrarily wrapped at a maximum of one hundred characters per line.)
No-op program
Does nothing:
....
Infinite loop
Loops forever:
:..:
Clear
Sets register A to zero:
........:.......:........:.......:.:..............::......:.....
Move
Moves register B to register A:
........:...........:....:...........:.:.........:....:....:......:...:...:.....
Copy
Copies register A to register B:
........:.......:........:.......:.:..............:..:.......:.:......:...:...:.........:...:....... .....:...:.:..............:..:.:..............:.......:.....
Switch
Switches register A with register B:
........:.......::.......:.:.:....::......:...:.........:...........::...:.:.....:....::..:.......:. ....:...::...........:.:..:......:.:..:...........:.........
Fibonacci sequence
Computes the sequence in register A:
.....:..:...............:.......::.......:.:.:....::......:...:.........:...........::...:.:.....:.. ..::..:.......:.....:...::...........:.:..:......:.:..:...........:.:.......::.......:.:.:....:..:.: ..:...:.......:.:...::...........:.:..:..:.:......:.......::............
Hello World
For computing "Hello World" the numbers in the registers must be interpreted as letters. It can achieved by defining a simple alphabet:
| Letter | Value |
|---|---|
⎵ |
1 |
d |
2 |
e |
3 |
H |
4 |
l |
5 |
o |
6 |
r |
7 |
W |
8 |
The following program sets A progressively to 4, 3, 5, 5, 6, 1, 8, 6, 7, 5, 2 which corresponds to "Hello World":
.:...............:...............:...............:......................:.......:........:.......:.: ..............::......:......:...............:...............:......................:.......:....... .:.......:.:..............::......:......:...............:...............:...............:.......... .....:......................:.......:........:.......:.:..............::......:......:.............. .:...............:...............:...............:......................:.......:........:.......:.: ..............::......:......:...............:...............:...............:...............:...... .........:......................:.......:........:.......:.:..............::......:......:.......... ............:.......:........:.......:.:..............::......:......:...............:.............. .:...............:...............:...............:...............:...............:.................. ....:.......:........:.......:.:..............::......:......:...............:...............:...... .........:...............:...............:......................:.......:........:.......:.:........ ......::......:......:...............:...............:...............:...............:.............. .:...............:......................:.......:........:.......:.:..............::......:......:.. .............:...............:...............:...............:......................:.......:....... .:.......:.:..............::......:......:...............:......................:.......:........:.. .....:.:..............::......:.....
Turing completeness
To demonstrate that :..: is Turing-complete, we can utilize the structured program theorem, which asserts that sequence, selection, and repetition are adequate constructs to construct any computer program.
We can translate any register machine with two registers (simulated by A and B), as register machines with just two registers were proven to be Turing equivalent.
Full proof can be found in the external resources.