Small Programs and Languages
The author explores the appeal of minimalist programming, citing examples like tiny Forth implementations and compact JavaScript libraries. The piece argues that small, readable codebases are more approachable and often more innovative than bloated alternatives.
Why it matters
It advocates for code maintainability and simplicity in an era of increasingly complex and heavy software stacks.
My Implementing a Forth article got some great feedback, particularly around the subject of tiny Forth implementations. (And it was an excuse to list some of the tiniest Forths I’ve seen.)
I know I’m not alone in seeing the appeal of tiny Forths, tiny languages, tiny programs, and just small stuff in general. What’s up with that, anyway?
If I see that something is 200 lines of code, I’m much more likely to read it than if it’s 2,000 or 20,000 lines.
What’s more, if it’s a program that does something interesting in 20 lines when I was expecting 2,000, then I’m going to be very, very interested to read those 20 lines!
When I was researching DOM diffing libraries prior to creating RetroV , one of the repos I looked at was ijk by Luke Jackson.
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