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Oblivion

Website

The language of art and graphics!

Oblivion is a programming language that produces SVG files. It's a domain specific language dedicated to producing graphics and giving programmers as well as artists the tools to create art with code.

It's a language designed to visualize code and create incredible illustrations!

Features:

  • SVG-specific data structures and operators
  • Simple, Ruby/Python like syntax
  • Runs in the browser, or in NodeJS
  • Recursion and functional programming support
  • Immutable Python-style lists

Oblivion is the perfect programming language for artists, researchers, programmers, and anyone who wants to use a functional approach to visualize their code.

Try out Oblivion on the playground, or read the guide to see how it all works!

Contents

Installation

To Install Oblivion, use the following shell command

$ npm install -g oblivion-js

To compile an .obl file, use the following oblivion command

$ oblivion yourfilename.obl

The stdout will be logged to your console and the svg output will be written to a file.

Language Guide:

Output

Oblivion is a programming language that outputs a string representing an svg format graphic. This is called the SVGOut. We can think of this output as a buffer. Similarly, the language can also "print" statements to another output called StdOut. Both of these are accessed with the draw keyword and print() function respectively.

WhiteSpace

In Oblivion, newlines, spaces, tabs and commas are treated as whitespace. This means you can put as many commas, spaces or newlines as you like, to allow for a customized spacing of code.


print(3, 4)
print(3,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,4)

3
4
3

Runtime

Oblivion's compiler is implemented in TypeScript, with its parser generated from JavaScript. Unlike most web-based languages, Oblivion does not transcompile to JavaScript. It also does not run on a virtual machine.

Oblivion uses a self-evaluating abstract syntax tree with a pre-defined set of rules. A program is compiled by traversing the abstract syntax tree in a depth-first fashion, and using a node's rule to evaluate its child arguments. The state of evaluation never changes as rules are the same.

Types

Oblivion has a relatively small number of types, allowing for a small variety of data to yield many combinations of uses and functionality.

Numbers

Numbers in Oblivion represent both Integers and Floats. They are very similar to JavaScript numbers.

print(7 /6)
print(4 + 6)

1.1666666666666667
10

Bools

Bools or booleans represent true and false in Oblivion. They are the results of using logical operators. true and false can also be used in lists or returned from functions

d = true || false
print(d)
print(d && false)

true
false

Lists

Lists are a special type in Oblivion and are denoted with square brackets []. They can contain any value, and are not statically typed. They are also immutable, you can only use operators to create new lists, you can never edit a list once it's created.

print([1,2,3])
print([1 2 3])
g = [1] & [2, 3]
print(g)
print(g & [2, 3 + 3])

[1,2,3]
[1,2,3]
[1,2,3]
[1,2,3,2,6]

Points

Points are two member structs that contain two numbers, one that applies to the x and y coordinate of a point on a grid. SVG graphics are always arranged on a x-y grid system, thus points are an easy way to manage places on a grid.

You can access the x and y properties of a point, but points are always immutable

f = (3, 2)
print(f.x)

3

Lines

In Oblivion, a line is a data structure that represent a series of points connected by a line. It is immutable, like the rest of Oblivion's types. A line has both a printable form and a drawable form. They are connected via the -> operator.

g = (1,8) -> (44, 9) -> (44,44)
 print(g)
g = #red |= g
draw g

1,8 -> 44,9 -> 44,44

This gives the SVG

<svg width="100%" height="100%" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
<style></style>
<polyline points="1,8 44,9 44,44" fill="transparent" stroke="red" stroke-width="1"></polyline>
</svg>

Shapes

Shapes, also called polygons, are very similar to lines, but they are always filled. This means that the shape is always colored. Shapes are connected via the *> operator.

g = (1,8) *> (44, 9) *> (44,44) *> (0, 90)
 print(g)
g = #tan |= g
draw g

1,8 *> 44,9 *> 44,44 *> 0,90

<svg width="100%" height="100%" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
<style></style>
<polygon points="1,8 44,9 44,44 0,90" fill="tan" stroke="transparent" stroke-width="1"></polygon>
</svg>

Colors

Colors are special types in Oblivion that allow you to color your lines and shapes. For now, you can use a small range of named colors, like red or orange, or a hex color, such as #fff.

Operators

Unlike most functional languages, Oblivion uses a wide array of operators (and a minimal amount of parenthesis).

Left Associativity

It is important to note all operators in Oblivion associate toward the left. There is no other operator precedence.

Arithmetic Operators

Oblivion has five arithmetic operators, +, -, *, /, %. They are used like so:

print(3 + 3)
print(44 / 5 - 4)
print(6 % 2)

6
44
0

Random Number Operator

The !! operator returns a random number between the left and right numbers argued with it respectively. Such as 3 !! 10.

Logical Operators

Oblivion makes use of several different logical operators. These can be used to compare values, and check if values are the same.

print(3 == 4)
print([4] ~= [4])
print(true == 3 == 3)
print(3 != 4)
print(5 <= 5 + 7 - 3 * 4)

false
true
true
true

The ~= checks for absolute equality, and can compare lists against each other. The == operator will not work properly for lists.

List Operators

Oblivion has two operators specifically for lists! The first is the extension operator, &. It returns a new list that is extended by the right hand list or other element. If the right side is not a list, it acts as an appending operator.

Second is the set, => operator. It allows you to reference an index of a list and returns a new copy of the list that gets reassigned.

a = [1, 2, 3]
print(a & [4])
print(a.1 => [3])

[1,2,3,4]
[1,[3],3,4]

Color Operator

The |= operator takes one color and a line shape or combo and colors it.

If-Else Statements

Oblivion's only conditional element is the if statement. It's constructed similarly to Ruby's if..else syntax. Like with all body statements, if statements end with a _, and can be nested.

d = (3,4) -> (5,6)
e = (3,4) -> (5,6)
if d ~= e
    print(true)
else
   print(false)
_

true

They can also be used with the draw keyword

g = (88, 1) *> (5, 5)

if 3 == 3
   draw (30, 30) *> g
_

if 3 == 4
   draw (30, 30) *> g
else
    draw #green |= (60, 30) *> g
_

<svg width="100%" height="100%" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
<style></style>
<polygon points="30,30 88,1 5,5" fill="black" stroke="transparent" stroke-width="1"></polygon>
<polygon points="60,30 88,1 5,5" fill="green" stroke="transparent" stroke-width="1"></polygon>
</svg>

Functions

Functions are the central feature in Oblivion used for computation. They work much like functions in languages like Ruby and Python. They even use the all so familiar def keyword!

def fact(i)
   if i == 0
      return i
   else
      return i + fact(i - 1)
   _
_

print(fact(8))

36

Functions can also be used with drawing!

def diagonal(n)
     if n == 0
         return (0, 0)
     else
        return (n, n) -> diagonal(n - 1)
    _
_

draw diagonal(99)

<svg width="100%" height="100%" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
<style></style>
<polyline points="99,99 98,98 97,97 96,96 95,95 94,94 93,93 92,92 91,91 90,90 89,89 88,88 87,87 86,86 85,85 84,84 83,83 82,82 81,81 80,80 79,79 78,78 77,77 76,76 75,75 74,74 73,73 72,72 71,71 70,70 69,69 68,68 67,67 66,66 65,65 64,64 63,63 62,62 61,61 60,60 59,59 58,58 57,57 56,56 55,55 54,54 53,53 52,52 51,51 50,50 49,49 48,48 47,47 46,46 45,45 44,44 43,43 42,42 41,41 40,40 39,39 38,38 37,37 36,36 35,35 34,34 33,33 32,32 31,31 30,30 29,29 28,28 27,27 26,26 25,25 24,24 23,23 22,22 21,21 20,20 19,19 18,18 17,17 16,16 15,15 14,14 13,13 12,12 11,11 10,10 9,9 8,8 7,7 6,6 5,5 4,4 3,3 2,2 1,1 0,0" fill="transparent" stroke="black" stroke-width="1"></polyline>
</svg>

Because Oblivion uses trampoline recursion, the limit for a recursive call is much deeper than with most other languages.

Processes

A Process in oblivion is a no parameter function denoted by {}. It's meant to serve as a currying tool to aid in functional programming. It's also very useful for drawing.

f = [1]
f = f.0 => {return [2]}
print(f.0())

[2]

You can also use processes with the repeat built-in function

f = [1]
f = f.0 => {print(3)}
repeat(4, f.0)

3
3
3
3

Here's an example that uses two processes together to draw with random numbers!

getnum = {return 1 !! 70}

randline = {
    draw #cyan |= (getnum(), getnum()) -> (getnum(), getnum())
}

repeat(10, randline)

<svg width="100%" height="100%" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
<style></style>
<polyline points="54,15 37,49" fill="transparent" stroke="cyan" stroke-width="1"></polyline>
<polyline points="17,14 59,48" fill="transparent" stroke="cyan" stroke-width="1"></polyline>
<polyline points="51,32 35,9" fill="transparent" stroke="cyan" stroke-width="1"></polyline>
<polyline points="39,21 16,14" fill="transparent" stroke="cyan" stroke-width="1"></polyline>
<polyline points="43,59 19,55" fill="transparent" stroke="cyan" stroke-width="1"></polyline>
<polyline points="25,68 23,19" fill="transparent" stroke="cyan" stroke-width="1"></polyline>
<polyline points="38,12 43,9" fill="transparent" stroke="cyan" stroke-width="1"></polyline>
<polyline points="58,35 38,50" fill="transparent" stroke="cyan" stroke-width="1"></polyline>
<polyline points="48,23 34,66" fill="transparent" stroke="cyan" stroke-width="1"></polyline>
<polyline points="56,47 56,29" fill="transparent" stroke="cyan" stroke-width="1"></polyline>
</svg>

List Functions

Oblivion also has a variety of built in List functions that can slice, search, and insert items into a newly returned list.

print(range(8))
print(insert(range(7), 3, 88))
print(find(range(5), 77))
print(len(range(8)))

print(slice([1, 2, 3, 4], 2))
print(in([1, 2], 3))

[0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
[0,1,2,88,3,4,5,6]
false
[3,4]
8
false
  • in() Checks if a list contains a value
  • range() Creates a list from 0 to some integer, or from some start integer to some end integer
  • len() Takes the length of a list
  • insert() Return a new list with some item inserted at an index in the list.
  • slice() Return a new list between, or starting at the index in the arguments.

License

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2017 Josh Weinstein

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.