DotCode

DotCode is a family of dot-based esoteric programming languages with reversible, Python-interoperable tooling.

This project provides two languages:

• Dot — unary dot-length encoding
  (each character → . repeated ASCII times; groups separated by spaces)
  File extension: *.dcode

• NumDot — numeric dot-terminated encoding
  (each character → <ASCII>.)
  File extension: *.nd

DotCode includes:

• A clean compiler (Python → Dot / NumDot)
• A runtime and decoder (Dot / NumDot → Python + execution)
• Two command-line tools: dot and numdot
• Fully reversible, lossless translation

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Installation

For users (recommended)

Install directly from PyPI:

pip install dotcode

This installs the dot and numdot commands system-wide.

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For development / contributors

If you want to modify DotCode or run it from source:

git clone https://github.com/CarbonIt-Labs/dotcode.git
cd dotcode
pip install -e .

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Quick start

Dot language

dot compile hello.py -o hello.dcode
dot run hello.dcode

NumDot language

numdot compile hello.py -o hello.nd
numdot run hello.nd
numdot decode hello.nd -o hello.py

Example hello.py:

print("Hello from DotCode")

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File extensions & conventions

• Dot language files: *.dcode
  (chosen to avoid collision with Microsoft Word .dot files)
• NumDot language files: *.nd
• Python source input: *.py (recommended)

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Language summaries

Dot (DotCode)

• Encoding: each character encoded as . repeated ord(character) times
• Character groups separated by a single space

NumDot

• Encoding: each character encoded as <decimal ASCII value>.

Both languages are fully reversible. The runtime decodes the source back to Python and executes it.

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CLI reference

dot

dot compile <input.py> [-o output.dcode]
dot run <input.dcode>

numdot

numdot compile <input.py> [-o output.nd]
numdot run <input.nd>
numdot decode <input.nd> [-o output.py]

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Security notice

DotCode executes decoded Python source using exec.

Do NOT run untrusted .dcode or .nd files.

Running encoded programs can execute arbitrary Python code. Always inspect source or use a sandboxed environment when handling third-party files.

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Project structure

dotcode/
├─ pyproject.toml
├─ README.md
├─ CHANGELOG.md
├─ LICENSE
├─ dotcode/
│  ├─ dot/
│  ├─ numdot/
│  └─ common/
└─ tests/

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License

MIT License.

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Author

Edwin Sam K Reju