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Explore an innovative esoteric programming language that abandons traditional keywords in favor of calligraphic-inspired visual design in this 23-minute conference talk. Discover Rivulet, a programming language that draws from handwritten natural and constructed languages, creating code through flowing lines and tightly-packed tangles that resemble mazes and space-filling algorithms. Learn how this language's visual style takes inspiration from Anni Albers's Meanders series and functions through "strands" that form "glyphs," with each strand type having its own unique reading pattern. Examine seven different ways to write the number zero using Rivulet's distinctive flowing line syntax, and understand how the language's rules evolved organically like natural languages rather than prioritizing clarity above all else. Compare Rivulet with other experimental programming languages that embrace the ambiguity and expressiveness of natural language, including the polysemantic esolang Valence and an unnamed alphabet that functions simultaneously as both constructed language and esoteric programming language. Gain insights into how programming language design can move beyond conventional approaches by incorporating less-considered aspects of natural and constructed languages, creating systems that challenge traditional notions of code readability and structure.
