I built a programming language at 15 — and it’s already fully usable (Check my pinned post)

entrenchedosx — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:54:07 +0000

I built my own programming language from scratch called Kern.

It has:

a custom compiler + VM
standard libraries
optional graphics support
and a built-in IDE

It’s still evolving, but already usable.

👉 I break it down in my pinned post.

I built a programming language at 15 — and it’s already fully usable.

entrenchedosx — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:05:42 +0000

I'm a 15 year old developer and I’ve been working on a programming language called Kern.

The goal wasn’t to create something “revolutionary” or overly complex. Instead, I wanted to build something that focuses on:

Simplicity
Readability
Control
Learning how programming languages work

Kern is still evolving, but it’s already functional and usable.

What is Kern?

Kern is a lightweight, experimental programming language designed to keep things minimal and clear.

It aims to:

Reduce unnecessary complexity
Make behavior predictable
Provide a clean foundation for experimentation

It’s especially useful for:

Learning language design
Building small tools
Understanding how interpreters/compilers work

Example

Here’s a simple example of Kern in action:

// import the datatools module
datatools = import("datatools")

// parse JSON into a usable object
j = datatools.json_parse("{\"x\": 1, \"y\": 2}")

// convert a table/object into a TOML string
t = datatools.toml_stringify({a: 1})

// parse CSV into rows
rows = datatools.csv_parse("a,b\n1,2\n")

// basic checks and outputs
print("json has x:", has(j, "x"))
print("toml len > 0:", len(t) > 0)
print("csv rows:", len(rows))

Why I Built It

I built Kern because I wanted:

More control over how a language behaves
A better understanding of compilers and runtimes
A language that doesn’t hide too much behind abstractions

Most modern languages are powerful—but also complex. Kern tries to take a different approach by focusing on clarity first.

Current State

Kern is still:

under development
experimental in some areas
evolving over time

There may be:

bugs
missing features
things that change

But that’s part of the process.

This is just the beginning of Kern.

I’m continuing to improve it, fix issues, and expand what it can do. If you’re interested in programming languages, compilers, or experimental projects, I’d love for you to take a look.

I’d really appreciate feedback on:

design choices
syntax
overall concept
anything that could be improved

If you’re interested, you can check it out here: https://github.com/entrenchedosx/kern.git

Want to get in touch? Email me here: phuntacc@gmail.com

DEV Community: entrenchedosx

I built a programming language at 15 — and it’s already fully usable (Check my pinned post)

I built a programming language at 15 — and it’s already fully usable.