Notes for a Liberated Computer Language (Version 2)

Notes for a Liberated Computer Language
Version 2, July 2006
HTTP://R-S-G.ORG/LCL/


Data Types

Empty. A null entity lacking any and all material or immaterial
distinction. The empty type allows for dynamic creation of new,
unimagined types at runtime.

Flip. An entity that oscillates between two other data types.

Flaw. A fault or imperfection associated with another entity.

Full. Contains the complete universe of all information and matter.

Gateway. A link entity connecting two or more other entities.

Incontinent. An entity that involuntary expresses itself as any other
data type.

Palimpsest. An entity that contains the traces of a previous entity.

Poltergeist. An entity whose sole function is to invoke another entity.

Qualitative. An entity the contents of which are not numerical in value.

Random. Expresses a random entity from a random type.

Topology. An arrangement of interrelated, constituent parts.

Unknown. An entity that can not be specified, identified, or evaluated
in any intelligible way.

Vector. A complex type representing intensity and direction, consisting
of an origin type and a destination type.

Whatever. An entity that always matters. It is not defined as being part
of any set (including the set of "whatevers"), and cannot be identified
through reference to either the particular or the general.

Zombie. A process that is inactive, but cannot be killed.



Operators

– Debase. Decreases the political or social standing of the predicate.

!= Disassignment. Assigns any other entity except for the one specified
in the predicate.

:: Figuration. Establishes a figurative relationship between two or more
entities.

- Hybrid. Combines two or more entities into a new hybrid entity cast
from the "empty" type.

<> Negotiate. Reassigns the predicate entity based on a negotiation
between it and the subject entity.

"" Normative. Attaches a political evaluation to a type or code block.

^ Parasite. Establishes a parasitical relationship between two or more
entities.

++ Privilege. Increases the political or social standing of the
predicate.



Control Structures

Historic. Executes a code block by evaluating an entity according to its
current value as well as all previous values.

Exceptional. Designates an abnormal flow of program execution and
guarantees that it will never be handled as an error.

Flee. A branching construct that moves flow control from the current
instruction to a stray position in the program.

Maybe. Allows for possible, but not guaranteed, execution of code
blocks.

Never. Guarantees that a block of code will never be executed. This is
similar to block quotes in other languages, except that "never" blocks
are not removed during compilation.

Potential. Evaluates an entity only according to as yet unrealized
possibility.

Singular. Evaluates an entity in a manner than does not consider the
entity's membership in any set or as a representative of any universal
quality.

Unordered. Executes a set of statements out of sequence.



Functions

backdoor ENTITY. Installs a backdoor in the specified entity. If no
target is provided, the backdoor is installed in the local entity.

bandwidth AMOUNT. Enlarges or reduces communication bandwidth by AMOUNT.

bitflip DATA, NUMBER. Randomly flips a specified number of bits in a
digital source specified by DATA.

bug PROGRAM, NUMBER. Introduce specified NUMBER of bugs into the code of
the specified program.

crash TIME. Crashes the machine after the number of seconds provided by
TIME. If TIME is not provided, the crash will occur immediately.

degrade HARDWARE, TIME. Introduces wear and tear, specified by number of
months given in TIME, into specified HARDWARE.

destroy ENTITY. Eliminates the specified entity.

disidentify ENTITY. Removes all unique IDs, profile data, and other
quantitative identifiers for the specified entity.

emp TIME. After the number of seconds provided by TIME, this function
sends an electromagnetic pulse, neutralizing self and all machines
within range.

envision. An inductive function for articulation of unknown future
realities. Often used in conjunction with rebuild.

fail FUNCTION. Introduces logical fallacies into any other language
method specified by FUNCTION.

frees TIME. Frees the machine from operating by freezing it for the
number of seconds specified in TIME.

jam NETWORK. Sends jamming signal to the specified NETWORK.

lose DEVICE. Unlink a random file on the storage medium specified by
DEVICE.

mutate SEQUENCE. Introduces a mutation into the given informatic
SEQUENCE.

netbust TARGET. Exposes a network specified in TARGET to extremely high
voltages, thereby fatally damaging any network hardware attached to the
network. TARGET can also be "self" to affect only the local interface.

noise PROTOCOL, AMOUNT. Scatters a specific AMOUNT of random noise
packets into the default network interface using the specified PROTOCOL.

obfuscate SEQUENCE. Render any given SEQUENCE (gene, character string,
etc.) illegible to any known parsing technologies.

obsolesce HARDWARE. Renders any given piece of HARDWARE obsolete.
Opposite of reclaim.

overclock MULTIPLIER. Increase the clock frequency of the central
processing unit according to the value of MULTIPLIER. A negative value
will decrease the clock frequency.

processKill. Selects a process at random and kills it.

processScramble. Randomly renumbers all currently running process IDs.

rebuild ENTITY. Begins the process of rebuilding the specified entity.
Often used to remedy the effects of destroy.

reclaim HARDWARE. Rescues any given piece of HARDWARE from obsolescence.
Opposite of obsolesce.

reject. Rebuffs the current state of affairs. Often used as a precursor
to destroy.

reverseEngineer TARGET. If object specified in TARGET is an application,
this function decompiles the application and returns commented source
code. If the object specified in TARGET is a protocol, this function
returns a formal description of the protocol.

scramble DEVICE. Randomly shuffle all filenames on the storage medium
specified by DEVICE.

selfDestruct. Imposes fatal physical damage on self. Equivalent to
`destroy SELF`.

struggle. Assists agitation and opposition to existing exploitation and
control.

zapMemory. Clears all RAM on local machine.

Comments

, Rob Myers

On 16 Jul 2006, at 19:48, Alexander Galloway wrote:

> Notes for a Liberated Computer Language
> Version 2, July 2006
> HTTP://R-S-G.ORG/LCL/

Cool. The ideology and social history of computer languages is an
under-explored area.

You could implement this in a lisp dialect.

I wrote the opposite language, "Surgical Strike", as a C++ bytecode
compiler inspired by Display Postscript some years ago. :-)

Every Artist-Hacker should write their own language at some point…

- Rob.

, James

Alexander Galloway wrote:
> Notes for a Liberated Computer Language
> Version 2, July 2006
> HTTP://R-S-G.ORG/LCL/
>
>
> Data Types

Never. Guarantees that a block of code will never be executed. This is
similar to block quotes in other languages, except that "never" blocks
are not removed during compilation.

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//
// I like this one best
//
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