Dots
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The Dots programming language is a language that only uses the characters ., :, and ;.
Syntax
A Dots program is mainly composed of dots, colons, and semicolons, imposing the structure within which the arguments are evaluated.
A series of dots (.) introduces and identifies the command, while the colon (:) serves to designate a following argument. Every instruction terminates in an imperative semicolon (;).
The following Extended Backus-Naur Form (EBNF) specification shall imbue the syntaxis' stipulations with enhanced stringency:
program := { command | padding } , halt , padding ;
command := halt | print | defineVariable ;
halt := ".;" ;
print := ".." , ( identifier | stringLiteral ) , ";" ;
defineVariable := "..." , ":" , identifier , ":" , stringLiteral , ";" ;
stringLiteral := { character - ";" } ;
identifier := identifierChar , { identifierChar } ;
identifierChar := character - ( whitespace | reservedSymbol ) ;
reservedSymbol := "." | ":" | ";" ;
padding := { whitespace } ;
whitespace := " " | "\t" | "\n" ;
Commands
All programs must be ended with the end program command and all commands must end with a semicolon.
| Command | Arguments | What it does | Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
.
|
0 | End a program. | .;
|
..
|
1 | Print to the screen. The argument must either be an already defined variable name, in which case its content is inserted, or an arbitrary character sequence, except for the semicolon (;), to be employed ipsissima verba.
|
..:variableOrText;
|
...
|
2 | Define a variable, the name of which derives from the first argument, and its value from the second. The name must be an identifier comprised of one or more graphical characters, except for ., :, ;, or whitespaces; the value may be any character sequence barring the semicolon (;).
|
...:variableName:content;
|
Examples
Hello World!
This is the hello world program in this language:
..:Hello World!; .;
Hello, World! Using Variables
This program employs a variable in order to print the message “Hello, World!”:
...:greeting:Hello, World!; ..:greeting; .;
Interpreter
- Common Lisp implementation of the Dots programming language.