Creating a new PL is so different from changing an existing one.
You need to worry about syntax, locals, scope, error checking, conditionals, interpreter loop, stdlib etc. You can work on these in isolation once you have a working implementation.
(My toy PL now does fizzbuzz!)
miniblog.
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I'm delighted that so many people are getting value in difftastic, but there has been a significant increase in new issues recently! Hopefully this is a temporary bump from HN.
It's a genuine risk from creating a generic tool: if 1% of devs use it, that's a huge userbase.
> If you work on PLs long enough, you will develop a finely honed skill at creating bizarre programs like this that are technically valid but likely to trip up an implementation written by someone with a less perverse imagination than you.
RISC-V seems like a great example of "commoditise your complements". If you're getting value higher in the hardware or software stack, a royalty-free ISA is valuable.
Creating an ISA is a ton of work. Once it's basically viable, it creates interesting opportunities.