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📦 ByteLang — A Language Where Every Instruction Is Just a Single Byte

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What is ByteLang?

ByteLang is a minimalist low-level esolang where every instruction is represented by exactly one byte, giving the language a compact opcode-driven structure similar to a tiny virtual machine or early 8-bit system firmware.

Rather than readable keywords or syntax, ByteLang programs are just raw byte values mapped to operations like load, add, jump, print, or halt. The language focuses on the constraint: everything must fit inside a single-byte instruction space.

This makes ByteLang feel like a cross between assembly language, a Game Boy cartridge ROM, and a byte-coded puzzle.

Specs

Language Type: Bytecode-driven esolang

Instruction Width: 8 bits per instruction (0–255 opcodes)

Execution Model: Virtual machine interpreter

Typing: None — raw bytes and memory register operations

Paradigm: Imperative, minimal, memory-mapped

Example Code (Hello World*)

Since printing requires mapping memory values to ASCII, a conceptual example might look like:

0x10 0x48  ; LOAD 'H'
0x50       ; PRINT
0x10 0x65  ; LOAD 'e'
0x50       ; PRINT
0x10 0x6C
0x50
0x10 0x6C
0x50
0x10 0x6F
0x50
0xFF       ; HALT
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Actual behavior depends on interpreter spec — some versions treat every other byte as operand.

Sample Instruction Table (Common Variant)

Byte Meaning
0x00 NO-OP
0x01 INCREMENT register
0x02 DECREMENT register
0x10 X LOAD immediate value X
0x20 A B MOVE from memory[A] to memory[B]
0x30 ADD accumulator to register
0x40 COMPARE with zero
0x50 PRINT accumulator
0x80 addr JUMP unconditional
0x90 addr JUMP if zero
0xFF HALT

Some versions compress operands further or treat them as memory-mapped flags or I/O ports.

How It Works

ByteLang programs run on a tiny virtual CPU with:

  • A few registers (like ACC, PC, FLAGS)
  • A small memory block
  • A fetch/execution cycle processing one byte at a time

Execution is strict and linear, unless a jump or conditional redirects control flow.

This makes ByteLang ideal for:

  • Retro-style puzzles
  • Obfuscated programs
  • Teaching how bytecode interpreters work
  • Designing tiny virtual machines

Strengths

  • Extremely compact encoding
  • Teaches how interpreters, bytecode, and opcodes work
  • Ideal for VM experiments and compiler backend prototypes
  • Encourages clever compression and instruction reuse

Weaknesses

  • Hard to read or write without disassembly
  • No high-level abstractions
  • Programs grow chaotic quickly
  • Very interpreter-dependent (no universal standard)

Where to Run

ByteLang can be executed using:

  • GitHub VM interpreters in C, Rust, and Python
  • Browser-based emulator playgrounds
  • TIO.run variants (with or without custom opcode tables)
  • Custom emulator written by the user

Some versions let users define their own byte-to-instruction mapping.

Should You Learn It?

  • For real software development: No
  • For VM design, emulators, and language theory: Yes
  • For esolang exploration: Definitely
  • For fun: Only if you enjoy pain and hex values

Summary

ByteLang compresses programming into raw byte instructions, stripping away syntax until only machine structure remains. It’s not meant to be practical — but it offers an intimate look at how CPUs interpret machine instructions and makes programming feel like editing a ROM cartridge by hand.

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