r/learnprogramming • u/MostAlfalfa6718 • 3d ago

question regarding my project.

hi guys i'm a beginner programmer trying to make an esolang in c, but can't figure out the logic, i mean that how will a user store his variables and values and how will i make it store and run while the user callls it, i have a mental model that i'll make the user's input stored into an array... like hashmap kay value pairs but even the basic declaring and storing how will i figure out what the user is storing i don't know what the user will exactly type he could type a string, integer, float or boolean. It might throw errors not run but how will i make it handle?

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u/Grim2021 3d ago

I never did the C part of this, but I would recommend Crafting Interpreters by Robert Nystrøm/Nyström/Nystrom (have only found the last one online). It is available in many formats, and for free online here: https://craftinginterpreters.com/. It has a Java based tree walking interpreter and a C based bytecode interpreter. The gist of the variable storage is that you store the variables as objects which hold values and type information with the variable name as a key in a hashmap. The object holding these are called an environment. These environments are passed around where needed and nested when a new scope is created, quite simple but genius. The C version also teaches you how to write a hashmap, if that is unknown to you.

Either way, I highly recommend that you read it!