What is OneLang?
OneLang is an extreme minimalist esolang where the entire language is written using just one single repeated symbol — usually 1, but sometimes •, _, or any identical character depending on the interpreter.
There are no keywords, no numbers, no operators, no letters. Meaning in OneLang comes purely from the count of repeated symbols, not the symbols themselves.
It’s a direct successor to the esoteric lineage of Unary, BinaryFuck, and minimalist coding experiments — but pushes the concept to the absolute edge.
Specs
Language Type: Unary/minimalist esolang
Instruction Count: Depends on interpreter (typically 4–12)
Execution Model: Token length encoding
Typing: None — raw counts represent operations
Paradigm: Extremely minimal, pointer-based execution
Origin: Modern code-golf / esolang culture (~2020 era)
How It Works
A OneLang program is divided into tokens. Each token is a group of identical characters. The number of characters in the group determines the instruction.
Example command mapping (common implementation):
| Token Length | Meaning |
|---|---|
1 → Increment cell |
|
2 → Decrement cell |
|
3 → Move pointer right |
|
4 → Move pointer left |
|
5 → Output |
|
6 → Input |
|
7 → Loop start |
|
8 → Loop end |
|
9 → Halt |
Because of this, a program isn’t read by text — it’s read by counting each cluster.
Example Code (Hello World*)
A minimal (not practical) representation:
11111 333 11111 333 111111 555
But real programs are often massive walls of identical characters, for example:
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
Tools exist to generate these automatically because handwritten OneLang code is nearly impossible to maintain.
Example Code (Increment Cell and Print)
1 1 1 1 1 5
Breakdown:
-
1repeated 5 times → increase cell 5 times -
5→ print cell
Output might be ASCII 5 depending on interpreter rules.
Strengths
- Elegant in its minimalism
- Forces thinking about encoding and computational foundations
- Great conversation piece for esolang fans
- Can compress ideas about instruction mapping and unary computation
Weaknesses
- Almost impossible to read or debug
- Programs quickly grow enormous
- No standard specification (interpreters vary wildly)
- Completely impractical for general programming
Where to Run
OneLang programs can run in:
- Online OneLang interpreters
- TIO.run unary/minimal language sandbox
- Custom Python-based interpreters
- Handmade decoders written by enthusiasts
Some compilers convert Brainfuck → OneLang automatically.
Should You Learn It?
- For real programming: Absolutely not
- For esolang mastery and minimalism exploration: Yes
- For showing how far programming abstraction can collapse: Perfect
- For writing maintainable code: Literal nightmare
Summary
OneLang embodies the extreme edge of minimalism — proving that even a programming language made from a single repeated symbol can still express computation. It's a bizarre, fascinating experiment in how much meaning can be encoded using almost nothing at all.
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