I don’t understand sign language, but in recent years I’ve become a fan of sign language poetry. Some of my acquaintances seem surprised that poetry is possible in sign language, but I think everything that can communicate can be used beautifully. Then today an idea struck me: can you make poetry in a programming language? I’m sure there is some sense in which an algorithm may feel “beautiful,” but is that poetry? And if that isn’t, what would be?
Poetry is not only about rhymes. See (any) Obfuscated contest winners for programs that are beautiful, in both form and content, but unlike “classical” poetry, require some programming knowledge to appreciate.
There are also whole programming languages designed to be an artistic work, not to be used In Real Life—e.g. Perligata.
I don’t understand sign language, but in recent years I’ve become a fan of sign language poetry. Some of my acquaintances seem surprised that poetry is possible in sign language, but I think everything that can communicate can be used beautifully. Then today an idea struck me: can you make poetry in a programming language? I’m sure there is some sense in which an algorithm may feel “beautiful,” but is that poetry? And if that isn’t, what would be?
Poetry is not only about rhymes. See (any) Obfuscated contest winners for programs that are beautiful, in both form and content, but unlike “classical” poetry, require some programming knowledge to appreciate.
There are also whole programming languages designed to be an artistic work, not to be used In Real Life—e.g. Perligata.
People write poetry in Perl. Notably, here is a well-known piece by Larry Wall.