Description #
Whitespace is an esoteric programming language where only spaces, tabs, and linefeeds are considered meaningful. All other characters (like letters or numbers) are ignored—literally whitespace is code. It’s a playful take on how programming languages usually treat whitespace as irrelevant.
History #
Whitespace was created in 2003 by Edwin Brady and Chris Morris as an April Fools’ joke. Despite its absurdity, it is fully Turing complete and can run real programs—if you can decipher them. It was a humorous critique of how programming languages typically ignore whitespace, turning that behavior on its head.
Hello World Code #
Since Whitespace only uses invisible characters, it’s unreadable in most text editors. Here’s what a typical Hello World might look like visually:
[S][S][S][T][L]
[S][T][S][T][L]
...How to Run #
- Use an online interpreter:
- Or install a local interpreter:
Key Concepts #
- Uses only:
[Space]for Stack operations[Tab]for Arithmetic, Heap access, I/O[Linefeed]for flow control
- Turing complete
- Ignores all visible characters
- Programs are nearly invisible
- Stack-based architecture
- Memory can be accessed using heap commands
- I/O uses space-tab combinations for input/output
- Branching done through labeled jumps
- Instructions built by binary combinations of whitespace
- Impossible to debug without special tools
Try It Online #
🔗 Whitespace Playground (vii5ard)
🔗 TIO.run Whitespace
🔗 Whitespacers (CLI)
Fun Facts #
- Whitespace programs look empty to the naked eye.
- It was literally announced on April Fools’ Day.
- Developers often hide Whitespace code inside other code as pranks.
- It’s impossible to read or write without a special editor.
- Popular among fans of invisible code art.
