Zuck#: A programming language for connecting the world. And harvesting it

(jayzalowitz.github.io)

59 points | by kf 3 hours ago ago

29 comments

  • chrisnight 8 minutes ago

    I’d be interested to see a satirical concept like this that goes more in depth by, say, having the operational semantics help fuel the satire. When I see things like this, I always feel underwhelmed when it’s just a keyword swap.

    For example, take the title. Imagine if the PL was a declarative way of describing a distributed system, with HTTP endpoints or web sockets connecting modules. Then, for harvesting, it gives unbounded ability for nodes to read and write to other nodes outside of the standard interface. You can just go in and read/write their data, without any public interface needed. Of course someone else can probably come up with something better, but I think it’d be cool to see something that more fully uses what a “programming language” means.

  • halperter 3 hours ago

    I don't think I've seen satire in the form of a programming language before :). Neat. Does anyone else have any other examples? All I can think of are languages like Velado (uses notes) and Piet.

    • forgotpwd16 2 hours ago

      Some well-known satire/parody languages are Omgrofl, Shakespeare, ArnoldC, but there're many more. Can check https://esolangs.org/wiki/Category:Thematic & https://esolangs.org/wiki/Category:Joke_languages. But although weird esolangs, don't see how Velda and Piet be considered satire.

      • sedatk 23 minutes ago

        INTERCAL was also a satire of the programming languages of its era, AFAIK.

      • zahlman 2 hours ago

        I would say these are just joke languages that aren't trying to parody anything or use satire.

        When I think of parody or satire in programming languages, the example that comes to mind is the "C plus equality" project used for rather trolling critique of contemporary "social justice" ideology.

    • pnut 2 hours ago

      Does Rockstar count? https://codewithrockstar.com/

    • aboveandbeyond 2 hours ago
    • everydayZombie 2 hours ago
    • tyre 3 hours ago

      These are the types of projects that are becoming viable with AI. Previously they were too expensive.

      I love this.

      • refulgentis an hour ago

        It isn't a programming language. It is a static site written by AI, with jokes written by AI. Tastes like microwaved steak & it definitely would not have been too expensive to do before AI.

      • mrisse 2 hours ago

        Many types of projects are now vibable.

    • Gabrys1 3 hours ago
    • dleslie 3 hours ago
      • ronsor 2 hours ago

        It's designed completely wrong.

        Trump programs would end with "Thank you for your attention to this matter."

        • zahlman 2 hours ago

          The project dates to the 2016 election campaign and was archived in 2020. I don't think Trump had that particular speech affect that time around, or at least I can't recall it being memed upon the way it is now.

    • bryanrasmussen 3 hours ago

      I mean theoretically brainf*ck is, but I'm pretty if you were to find satirical programming languages they would be satirizing development itself or a type of development (object-oriented, functional), and this is satirizing a purpose of development.

  • forgotpwd16 3 hours ago

    A rare example of language implemented atop PHP. Should've made with Llama for extra Meta points.

    • psnehanshu 3 hours ago

      Or atleast should have been Hack

  • alex1138 an hour ago

    Previously https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14135045

    (It's not enough to copy Snapchat - probably severely financially hurting them, by stealing their Prior Art - you have to do things like https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/09/snapchat-reporte... as well, and just remember: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1692122)

  • refulgentis an hour ago

    Flagged: code and prose written by an LLM, and uncanny-valley as a result - a few examples:

    - the programming language part is dropped almost immediately by the LLM.

    - The unrelated meat emojis to give it an animated background

    - Painfully generic / not attempting to make a joke: "This language finally lets me express my true feelings about variable assignment."

    - Every section has exactly the "right" length, ~3-5 items per list, ~2-3 paragraphs per section.

    Hate to eat downvotes for saying this, I hate what FB / Zuck too and understand the impulse to treat it as unneeded negativity.

    However, I've been on HN for 16 years, and can't remember a time I've seen a human-generated surface-level satire persist in the top posts. Seems to me the length and subject let the slop skate, at least so far.

    • StilesCrisis 7 minutes ago

      Smoked meat is not at all random here. Google "Zuckerberg sweet baby rays". This is the deep Facebook lore.

    • xerox13ster 4 minutes ago

      Have you never seen the Zuckerberg “in my backyard smoking meats with the boys” video? It’s so uncomfortable.

      The meat emojis are relevant

  • timeon 2 hours ago

    Probably not related but source of page is also funny: '<section class="section">'

    • refulgentis an hour ago

      It's written by AI, I strongly believe (ex. the random konami code)

    • IncreasePosts an hour ago

      should probably have id="section" too, then you don't need to do all that hard work remembering if you should write section, #section, or .section in your code

  • jkhall81 3 hours ago

    why?

    • TehCorwiz 3 hours ago

      Satire maybe.

    • footy 3 hours ago

      to move fast and break things, it's right there!

    • etchalon 3 hours ago

      cause.