x

X: A programming language that only accepts identifiers that look like the letter 'x'.

Based on the idea from xkcd 2309.

About

In the X language, only characters that closely resemble the letter 'x' can be used to define variables or functions. Any attempt to use a character that does not closely enough resemble an 'x' will result in a syntax error.

X currently provides the following 40 possible identifiers which may be used to define variables or functions:

Χ, χ, ҳ, 𝔵, 𝖝, 𝔁, 𝕩, 𝚡, 乂, ﾒ, ✕, ✖, ✗, ✘, 🗙, 🗴, ᚷ, 🅇, 𝗑, 𝖷, 𝐱, 𝐗, 𝕏, 𝘅, 𝗫, 𝑥, 𝑋, 𝚇, 𝒙, 𝑿, 🆇, 𝔛, 𝘹, 𝘟, 𝓍, 𝒳, 𝖃, 𝙭, 𝙓, 𝓧

Additionally, X has four further identifiers which have a reserved or built-in use:

• x, which is the entry point of the program. All X programs should have at least one func x(){}.
• X, which is used to print to stdout.
• х, which takes integer inputs from stdin.
• ӽ, which takes string inputs from stdin.

The X compiler only supports ASCII characters in the source code, with the only exception being that identifiers may be a Unicode character, as long as it closely resembles the appearance of the letter 'x'. Any attempts to use a non-ASCII character that does not resemble an 'x' will result in a compilation error.

Usage

X programs can be compiled with the following command:

./x file.x [-h] [-s] [-o outfile=x.out] [-c compiler=clang]

X source code is first transcompiled into C, before being compiled to an executable.

• -h displays these options and exits.
• -o specifies the output file, which is x.out by default.
• -s outputs the file as C source code and does not compile to an executable.
• -c specifies the compiler which is used to compile the C source code into an executable. The compiler is clang by default, but this can be changed to another compiler such as gcc.

Installing

The X compiler can be downloaded and built into a standalone binary using Pyinstaller as follows:

$ git clone https://github.com/lduck11007/x.git
$ cd x/src
$ pyinstaller --onefile main.py -n x
$ cd dist
$ mv x ../..
$ cd ..
$ rm -rf dist build x.spec __pycache__ 

Examples

helloworld.x

func x(){
    X("hello world!\n",);
}

greet.x

func x(){
    let Χ = "Hello, " + ӽ("What is your name? ",);
    X(Χ,);
    X("\n",);
}

randomNumber.x

func ᚷ(){
    return 4;   /* chosen by fair dice roll. */
}               /* guaranteed to be random */

func x(){
    X(ᚷ(),);
    X("\n",);
}

fibonacci.x

func 𝕩(✗){
    if(✗<=1)
        return ✗;
    return 𝕩(✗-1,)+𝕩(✗-2,);
}
func x(){
    let 🗙 = х("Enter a number: ",);
    X(𝕩(🗙,),);
    X("\n",);
}

fizzbuzz.x

func x(){
    let Χ = 1;
    while(Χ<101){
        if(Χ%15==0)
            X("FizzBuzz",);
        if((Χ%3==0)&&(Χ%5!=0))
            X("Fizz",);
        if((Χ%3!=0)&&(Χ%5==0))
            X("Buzz",);
        if((Χ%3!=0)&&(Χ%5!=0))
            X(Χ,);
        X("\n",);
        Χ = Χ+1;
    }
}

FAQ

Why?

Good question.