5 ms·

Tabloid – The Clickbait Headline Programming Language

270 points by luuuzeta 3y ago

luuuzeta 3y ago
The author has one of the most interesting projects list I've seen: https://thesephist.com/projects/ https://thesephist.com/projects/
- api 3y ago
  The author is, if this is all real, one of the most prolific programmers I’ve seen. Wow! Can I have some of what he’s on?
  - nomel 3y ago
    I ask this honestly, possibly because I'm of an inferior build, but do these types of people have jobs?
    - LorenDB 3y ago
      SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT "Nobody knows"
    - Arch485 3y ago
      It sounds like OP is in university, so they could have anywhere from no free time to mostly free time.
      - sassifrass 3y ago
        What made you think that? Based on the author’s Twitter feed [1] and own website [2] they currently work at Notion [1] https://twitter.com/thesephist https://twitter.com/thesephist [2] https://thesephist.com/ https://thesephist.com/
        joebob42 3y ago
        They say in the OP that they did this as opposed to database homework.
        deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
      - thesephist 3y ago
        This project is from a couple of years ago. Sibling comment is correct that I'm working now.
  - rvense 3y ago
    The secret is that they always write "you" as "u" and then spend all the time saved on programming.
    - TeMPOraL 3y ago
      Correct. This is also, incidentally, why startups innovate faster than established companies - people in the corporate world waste so much time on typing things like "To whom it may concern", or "Looking forward to hearing from you", or, you know, on written communication in general.
  - cxie 3y ago
    It's clear that the "author" is a +10x engineer. It's rare to come across someone with such a broad range of interests and abilities, and their contributions to open-source software are truly remarkable.
  - xtreme 3y ago
    It seems to me that people name Linus are destined for greatness. * Linus Torvalds (The OG) * Linus Sebastian (Linus Tech Tips) * Linus Lee (Author)
- ukuina 3y ago
  This guy ships!
  - nine_k 3y ago
    Look how rolling his own basically everything, except an OS, seems to work pretty well. Given time and ability, making what you need almost from scratch may be not just viable, but productive.
    - janekm 3y ago
      Yes, as a lone developer. If you're working in a team it's less likely to work out well as you will have a much more significant training period for anyone to join one of your projects (in a team environment it's wise to go with "boring").
velcrovan 3y ago
I did an implementation of this in Racket: https://github.com/otherjoel/tabloid https://github.com/otherjoel/tabloid
hryx 3y ago
Gotta love goofy stunts that take effort to make! A spiritually similar programming language that also screams a lot is ArnoldC: https://lhartikk.github.io/ArnoldC/ https://lhartikk.github.io/ArnoldC/
awb 3y ago
On a related note: I Just a new app called Boring Report on r/SideProject that strips clickbait content from articles so you can read the info without the sensationalism https://www.boringreport.org/ https://www.boringreport.org/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SideProject/comments/12bgn7p/weve_created_boring_report_an_ios_app_that_uses/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SideProject/comments/12bgn7p/weve_c...
- augment001 3y ago
  Awesome idea!
sam0x17 3y ago
For some reason I lost it at the "PLEASE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE"
thesephist 3y ago
Hey HN! Fun to see this project from my college years on HN again. To clear my name, I have actually written other languages that are arguably more useful, like Oak [0] which I used to build a bunch of personal software infrastructure [1] including my current daily-driver apps for notes, longform writing, a Twitter client, a personal search engine, and a few other knickknacks. I find building little toy interpreters and programming languages fantastically fulfilling, creatively energizing, and a really fun way to learn how such a common element of our work that's often a black box functions inside. I've written before about how to get started [2] with these kinds of little toy programming language projects if you're curious to dive in. [0] https://oaklang.org/ https://oaklang.org/ [1] https://github.com/topics/oaklang https://github.com/topics/oaklang [2] https://thesephist.com/posts/pl/ https://thesephist.com/posts/pl/
- epaga 3y ago
  You know the documentation is good when I can hand it to ChatGPT and it spits out a fully functional program for me after two small tweaks (I had to tell it to add RUMOR HAS IT and to not chain operations). Write a program in Tabloid that takes 5 numbers and returns the product of the first three numbers plus the product of the last two. Run it with the numbers 4,5,7,8,9. ----> ChatGPT response: DISCOVER HOW TO product_with_five_numbers WITH a, b, c, d, e RUMOR HAS IT EXPERTS CLAIM ab_product TO BE a TIMES b EXPERTS CLAIM first_product TO BE ab_product TIMES c EXPERTS CLAIM de_product TO BE d TIMES e EXPERTS CLAIM result TO BE first_product PLUS de_product SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT result END OF STORY EXPERTS CLAIM input_a TO BE 4 EXPERTS CLAIM input_b TO BE 5 EXPERTS CLAIM input_c TO BE 7 EXPERTS CLAIM input_d TO BE 8 EXPERTS CLAIM input_e TO BE 9 EXPERTS CLAIM final_result TO BE product_with_five_numbers OF input_a, input_b, input_c, input_d, input_e YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS 'The result is' YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS final_result PLEASE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE
deleted 3y ago
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deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
ciwolsey 3y ago
Some people just have way too much free time.
- curious_9 3y ago
  Maybe they're just really good at optimizing their time management. Or maybe they're secretly superheroes with the power of super-productivity. You never know
- the_common_man 3y ago
  And the world is a better place for it
- cfuendev 3y ago
  Or simply they spend their free time doing what they enjoy
the_common_man 3y ago
Brilliant, made my day
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
vrglvrglvrgl 3y ago
[dead]
fjfaase 3y ago
Funny little language. I used it in an exercise for the a workshop I gave at MCH2022 called 'Workshop: A practical approach to parsing' [1]. My solution can be found at GitHub [2] and can be used with IParseStudio [3] to execute programs written in Tabloid using the build-in interpreter. [1]: https://fransfaase.github.io/MCH2022ParserWorkshop/ https://fransfaase.github.io/MCH2022ParserWorkshop/ [2]: https://github.com/FransFaase/MCH2022ParserWorkshop/blob/main/docs/Tabloit_grammar.txt https://github.com/FransFaase/MCH2022ParserWorkshop/blob/mai... [3]: https://fransfaase.github.io/MCH2022ParserWorkshop/IParseStudio.html https://fransfaase.github.io/MCH2022ParserWorkshop/IParseStu...
davidkunz 3y ago
Looks like I'll be doomscrolling through massive code bases.
- moffkalast 3y ago
  Well you gotta make your development a bit more shocking.
rwoerz 3y ago
Made my day! What about import statements like "CELEBRETIES LOVE X" or an "unsafe" keyword like "SECURITY EXPERTS HATE THIS TRICK"?
leokennis 3y ago
The "EXPERTS CLAIM limit TO BE 10" is the epitome of our times. People who agree can hide behind authority and people who disagree don't need any knowledge to do so, the fact that something was claimed by an expert is reason enough.
- Alifatisk 3y ago
  Well said sir
Tade0 3y ago
> PLEASE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE Perfection. I had a similar, never realized concept of a language named "Spouse"(no gender implied), with keywords such as "You promised we would ... on ..."(declarations), "you always ..."(loops) and "Fine."(marking the end of the program). I couldn't get the grammar to be both consistent and sound like the real deal though.
varjag 3y ago
Perhaps SMALLER THAN should of been NOT ANYWHERE NEAR OF
miniBill 3y ago
I see your tabloid and I raise you a https://github.com/esseks/monicelli https://github.com/esseks/monicelli
Joker_vD 3y ago
But does it support fake news? WHAT IF TOTALLY RIGHT IS ACTUALLY COMPLETELY WRONG YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS 'Alt-facts in logic are here' LIES! YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS 'Fake news are not discovered yet' PLEASE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE It prints that "FAKE NEWS ARE NOT DISCOVERED YET!", disappointingly enough.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

270 points by luuuzeta 3y ago

The author has one of the most interesting projects list I've seen: https://thesephist.com/projects/ https://thesephist.com/projects/

api 3y ago
The author is, if this is all real, one of the most prolific programmers I’ve seen. Wow! Can I have some of what he’s on?
- nomel 3y ago
  I ask this honestly, possibly because I'm of an inferior build, but do these types of people have jobs?
  - LorenDB 3y ago
    SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT "Nobody knows"
  - Arch485 3y ago
    It sounds like OP is in university, so they could have anywhere from no free time to mostly free time.
    - sassifrass 3y ago
      What made you think that? Based on the author’s Twitter feed [1] and own website [2] they currently work at Notion [1] https://twitter.com/thesephist https://twitter.com/thesephist [2] https://thesephist.com/ https://thesephist.com/
      - joebob42 3y ago
        They say in the OP that they did this as opposed to database homework.
        deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
    - thesephist 3y ago
      This project is from a couple of years ago. Sibling comment is correct that I'm working now.
- rvense 3y ago
  The secret is that they always write "you" as "u" and then spend all the time saved on programming.
  - TeMPOraL 3y ago
    Correct. This is also, incidentally, why startups innovate faster than established companies - people in the corporate world waste so much time on typing things like "To whom it may concern", or "Looking forward to hearing from you", or, you know, on written communication in general.
- cxie 3y ago
  It's clear that the "author" is a +10x engineer. It's rare to come across someone with such a broad range of interests and abilities, and their contributions to open-source software are truly remarkable.
- xtreme 3y ago
  It seems to me that people name Linus are destined for greatness. * Linus Torvalds (The OG) * Linus Sebastian (Linus Tech Tips) * Linus Lee (Author)
ukuina 3y ago
This guy ships!
- nine_k 3y ago
  Look how rolling his own basically everything, except an OS, seems to work pretty well. Given time and ability, making what you need almost from scratch may be not just viable, but productive.
  - janekm 3y ago
    Yes, as a lone developer. If you're working in a team it's less likely to work out well as you will have a much more significant training period for anyone to join one of your projects (in a team environment it's wise to go with "boring").

velcrovan 3y ago

I did an implementation of this in Racket: https://github.com/otherjoel/tabloid https://github.com/otherjoel/tabloid

hryx 3y ago

Gotta love goofy stunts that take effort to make! A spiritually similar programming language that also screams a lot is ArnoldC: https://lhartikk.github.io/ArnoldC/ https://lhartikk.github.io/ArnoldC/

awb 3y ago

On a related note: I Just a new app called Boring Report on r/SideProject that strips clickbait content from articles so you can read the info without the sensationalism https://www.boringreport.org/ https://www.boringreport.org/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SideProject/comments/12bgn7p/weve_created_boring_report_an_ios_app_that_uses/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SideProject/comments/12bgn7p/weve_c...

augment001 3y ago
Awesome idea!

sam0x17 3y ago

For some reason I lost it at the "PLEASE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE"

thesephist 3y ago

Hey HN! Fun to see this project from my college years on HN again. To clear my name, I have actually written other languages that are arguably more useful, like Oak [0] which I used to build a bunch of personal software infrastructure [1] including my current daily-driver apps for notes, longform writing, a Twitter client, a personal search engine, and a few other knickknacks. I find building little toy interpreters and programming languages fantastically fulfilling, creatively energizing, and a really fun way to learn how such a common element of our work that's often a black box functions inside. I've written before about how to get started [2] with these kinds of little toy programming language projects if you're curious to dive in. [0] https://oaklang.org/ https://oaklang.org/ [1] https://github.com/topics/oaklang https://github.com/topics/oaklang [2] https://thesephist.com/posts/pl/ https://thesephist.com/posts/pl/

epaga 3y ago
You know the documentation is good when I can hand it to ChatGPT and it spits out a fully functional program for me after two small tweaks (I had to tell it to add RUMOR HAS IT and to not chain operations). Write a program in Tabloid that takes 5 numbers and returns the product of the first three numbers plus the product of the last two. Run it with the numbers 4,5,7,8,9. ----> ChatGPT response: DISCOVER HOW TO product_with_five_numbers WITH a, b, c, d, e RUMOR HAS IT EXPERTS CLAIM ab_product TO BE a TIMES b EXPERTS CLAIM first_product TO BE ab_product TIMES c EXPERTS CLAIM de_product TO BE d TIMES e EXPERTS CLAIM result TO BE first_product PLUS de_product SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT result END OF STORY EXPERTS CLAIM input_a TO BE 4 EXPERTS CLAIM input_b TO BE 5 EXPERTS CLAIM input_c TO BE 7 EXPERTS CLAIM input_d TO BE 8 EXPERTS CLAIM input_e TO BE 9 EXPERTS CLAIM final_result TO BE product_with_five_numbers OF input_a, input_b, input_c, input_d, input_e YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS 'The result is' YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS final_result PLEASE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

ciwolsey 3y ago

Some people just have way too much free time.

curious_9 3y ago
Maybe they're just really good at optimizing their time management. Or maybe they're secretly superheroes with the power of super-productivity. You never know
the_common_man 3y ago
And the world is a better place for it
cfuendev 3y ago
Or simply they spend their free time doing what they enjoy

the_common_man 3y ago

Brilliant, made my day

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

vrglvrglvrgl 3y ago

[dead]

fjfaase 3y ago

Funny little language. I used it in an exercise for the a workshop I gave at MCH2022 called 'Workshop: A practical approach to parsing' [1]. My solution can be found at GitHub [2] and can be used with IParseStudio [3] to execute programs written in Tabloid using the build-in interpreter. [1]: https://fransfaase.github.io/MCH2022ParserWorkshop/ https://fransfaase.github.io/MCH2022ParserWorkshop/ [2]: https://github.com/FransFaase/MCH2022ParserWorkshop/blob/main/docs/Tabloit_grammar.txt https://github.com/FransFaase/MCH2022ParserWorkshop/blob/mai... [3]: https://fransfaase.github.io/MCH2022ParserWorkshop/IParseStudio.html https://fransfaase.github.io/MCH2022ParserWorkshop/IParseStu...

davidkunz 3y ago

Looks like I'll be doomscrolling through massive code bases.

moffkalast 3y ago
Well you gotta make your development a bit more shocking.

rwoerz 3y ago

Made my day! What about import statements like "CELEBRETIES LOVE X" or an "unsafe" keyword like "SECURITY EXPERTS HATE THIS TRICK"?

leokennis 3y ago

The "EXPERTS CLAIM limit TO BE 10" is the epitome of our times. People who agree can hide behind authority and people who disagree don't need any knowledge to do so, the fact that something was claimed by an expert is reason enough.

Alifatisk 3y ago
Well said sir

Tade0 3y ago

> PLEASE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE Perfection. I had a similar, never realized concept of a language named "Spouse"(no gender implied), with keywords such as "You promised we would ... on ..."(declarations), "you always ..."(loops) and "Fine."(marking the end of the program). I couldn't get the grammar to be both consistent and sound like the real deal though.

varjag 3y ago

Perhaps SMALLER THAN should of been NOT ANYWHERE NEAR OF

miniBill 3y ago

I see your tabloid and I raise you a https://github.com/esseks/monicelli https://github.com/esseks/monicelli

Joker_vD 3y ago

But does it support fake news? WHAT IF TOTALLY RIGHT IS ACTUALLY COMPLETELY WRONG YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS 'Alt-facts in logic are here' LIES! YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS 'Fake news are not discovered yet' PLEASE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE It prints that "FAKE NEWS ARE NOT DISCOVERED YET!", disappointingly enough.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]