If you look into programming languages, you will find that there are mind-bogglingly many of them, with probably hundreds being created every year. For example, see just the list of languages that compile to JavaScript, a small subset of all languages: [link]
I have searched for a list of every programming language that has been created, or even just a count of how many there are. Such a thing does not exist. There are many lists, but all are incomplete (and none try to be complete as far as I can see).
I therefore propose the creation of a webpage or website for the purpose of listing every programming language that exists. It would obviously be best for it to be collaborative, such as some kind of wiki.
(This is not a call for a list. It's an idea to create a list.)-- notexactly, Feb 01 2016 List of languages that compile to JavaScript https://github.com/...-that-compile-to-JS~350 languages by a rough count of <li> tags [notexactly, Feb 01 2016] List _ of _ programming _ languages https://en.wikipedi...ogramming_languages [pashute, Feb 01 2016] List of esoteric programming languages https://esolangs.org/wiki/Language_listYet another very long list that is not intended to list anywhere near every programming language in existence [notexactly, Feb 02 2016] Wikipedia notability requirements https://en.wikipedi...ikipedia:Notability [notexactly, Feb 02 2016] Listicle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listicle21 Ubuntu Install Tips That Will Drive Him Crazy In Bed! [popbottle, Feb 02 2016] Even the names of most of these fly-by-night languages suggest that they were mostly created by idiots who:
(a) thought of the name first, then built a language to go with it.
(b) have failed to realize that by creating yet another language with a name based on the word "coffee", they are completely defeating the point of a language and instead asymptoting towards a future where there are as many languages as there are humans.
I presume that most of these languages are either trivial dialects of existing languages, or are created and used solely by the same person.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 01 2016 not exactly-- pashute, Feb 01 2016 C would be too low-level, and LispyScript has that one annoying syntax thing. This idea needs its own programming language to implement!-- the porpoise, Feb 01 2016 I thought about linking to Wikipedia's list, but didn't end up doing it for some reason, so thanks for catching that, [pashute]. Note that it specifically excludes non-notable languages, esoteric languages, and BASIC dialects.
// Even […] person. //
Interesting commentary, but not discouraging. I would like to study the proliferation of languages regardless of its goodness or badness.-- notexactly, Feb 01 2016 Oh I get it. Forth is programming language, so it is a punishment.
Pun should be a computer language... and so should Double Entendre so the French can claim to have invented it first.-- popbottle, Feb 01 2016 "She asked me for a double entendre, so I gave her one."-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 01 2016 but since there is already a web page, and it does link to other web pages with requested info, and those pages no doubt link to other pages...?-- theircompetitor, Feb 01 2016 Neither linked page either lists all programming languages or links to pages that do.-- notexactly, Feb 02 2016 Funny, I didn't see Brainfuck listed on the Wikipedia page.-- RayfordSteele, Feb 02 2016 That's on the esoteric programming languages page linked from the main page.-- scad mientist, Feb 02 2016 I repeat
// Note that it specifically excludes non-notable languages, *esoteric languages*, and BASIC dialects. //
Esoteric language list [link]ed.-- notexactly, Feb 02 2016 Suppose I just created a new language called Blowhole (is written in FORTRAN 77 and transcompiles to VisualBasic 5.2). How are you going to add it to your list unless I tell you?-- the porpoise, Feb 02 2016 Is there any reason why you couldn't create a comprehensive list on Wikipedia? I'm not familiar enough with the rules to know if that article might be disallowed since then everyone and their dog would add an entry for their pet language that is only half developed.-- scad mientist, Feb 02 2016 // Suppose I just created a new language called Blowhole (is written in FORTRAN 77 and transcompiles to VisualBasic 5.2). How are you going to add it to your list unless I tell you? //
I'm not. I intended it to be understood as all *publicly known* programming languages in existence.
// Is there any reason why you couldn't create a comprehensive list on Wikipedia? I'm not familiar enough with the rules to know if that article might be disallowed since then everyone and their dog would add an entry for their pet language that is only half developed. //
[link]-- notexactly, Feb 02 2016 (marked-for-tagline)
" This is not a call for a list. It's an idea to create a list. "-- normzone, Feb 02 2016 Now we need a programming language which is created from a list of programming language. Then we can include in that list a reference to itself, in some conceivable violation of classical set theory.-- RayfordSteele, Feb 03 2016 Yes, a sort of Cantor Diagonalanguage.-- pertinax, Feb 06 2016 My preferred programming language, at least for numerical applications, is Stoat. The syntax is similar to Breviary, but it borrows quite a few elements from Java and Flense.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 06 2016 You should Flense at least once a week.-- popbottle, Feb 08 2016 If you took a bunch of lists of programming languages, and stripped them down to some minimally defined text-standard (all lower-case, despite an anticipated attack from the combined COBOL/FORTRAN/BASIC police) you should quickly be able to compile a single, super-list, to which new and exciting languages could be added. Once you figure out this procedure (and it's not a tricky one) then you can, almost trivially send new candidates at the list, and each will stick, one by one. Behold, an ever growing list of half-puns, in-jokes, and backronymic tomfoolery, mysterious punctuation (Oooh, let's add a # to the end!) and other such toss.
Once you've got your list defined, you can start attaching links, information and meta data to each entry - or use it as the seed for some meta-programming wiki, and encourage people to fill in the gaps. I'd strongly suspect this is out there somewhere already.
But as others have already mentioned, there needs to be a strict definition - when there are 'languages' out there such as YACC, who's purpose is to generate new and trivial 'grammars' - do they count? Does regex count? Is a programming language anything that is Turing Complete?
One thing in this space I would like to see done would be some classification of languages so you'd be able to ask yourself "I personally enjoy the code indentation conventions of Sumatra, and the call-back implementation in H, but am working on a graph-centric problem the algorithms of which are well documented in Flumpyhoops - I wonder if there's some language that covers all bases."-- zen_tom, Feb 08 2016 I think we should go further and disqualify programming as a whole. Having to programme computers is an indication that they're not very good yet. I don't have to program my dog, yet it generally works well.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 08 2016 // I don't have to program my dog, yet it generally works well.
Oh yeah? What do you call it when you swat your dog for scarfing down your crumpets or wotsits or whatever you chomp with tea over there?
"Bad Dorgi! Bad Dorgi!" -is- dog programming, I dare say (and should be added to [notexactly]'s list).-- the porpoise, Feb 08 2016 I inagree.
When I want Word to format, I tell it to do so; if it does it wrong, I generally bash some keys to let it know. That is similar to how one makes a dog work properly, but it is not programming.
Programming is all the incredibly tedious stuff that people have to do, in order that Word can fuck up the formatting in the first place. And other people have to programme the operating system that will allow Word to operate in the first place. And yet other people have to write the lower-level stuff that lets the operating system do things I never asked it to do in the second place.
My dog has no operating system. Your dog has no operating system? How does it smell? Just fine.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Feb 08 2016 Recategorized and renamed to fit better in the category.-- notexactly, Mar 27 2016 random, halfbakery