XXIIVV

Thue is a string-rewriting system.

A Thue program consists of two parts: a list of substitution rules, made of left and right sides separated by the spider operator(::=), terminated by an empty rule with both sides empty, followed by a string representing the initial program state:

left::=right   a rule
::=            an empty rule
[left]         the initial state

[right]        the result

The documentation below will not display the empty rule, and split the evalation steps from the program.

Execution consists of picking, from the list of rules, an arbitrary rule whose original string exists as a substring somewhere in the program state, and replacing that substring by the rule's replacement string. This process repeats until there are no rules that can be applied, at which point, the program ends.

Logic

Logic in Thue is defined by creating rules for the different states of the permutation of cases.

(or T T)::=T
(or T F)::=T
(or F T)::=T
(or F F)::=F

(or (or T T) F)
(or T F)
T

Numbers

There are no number systems built into Thue, but we can represent numbers as tally marks. For example, to get the sum of two numbers using tally marks, we can remove the operator to concatenate the two numbers(3 + 5):

 + ::=

||| + |||||
||||||||

To get the difference of two numbers using tally marks, removing a mark from each side of the operator gives the result(5 - 3):

| - |::= - 

||||| - |||
|||| - ||
||| - |
|| -

Iterators

Iterators are not too different from tally marks, they can be cyclical(0, becoming 1, becoming 2, etc) or generalized and growing in size, to make a counter that waits for 8 ticks and expand over a length of memory:

.::=*
*wait::=*done

.....wait
*....wait
**...wait
***..wait
****.wait
*****wait
*****done

Loops

Nested loops can be done in the style of Fractran, but since rules are evaluated in a non-deterministic fashion, boundaries cannot be generalized(year year year..), instead use specific tokens:

spring::=summer
summer::=autumn
autumn::=winter
winter year1::=spring year2
winter year2::=reached

spring year1
summer year1
autumn year1
winter year1
spring year2
summer year2
autumn year2
winter year2
reached

Physics

Operating a rewriting system such as this one is sometimes akin to creating a physics engine where you move a cursor across the world, colliding along the way with places in memory to operate on.

>.::=.>
>|::=*|
*|::=.|

>....|
.>...|
..>..|
...>.|
....>|
....*|
.....|

Printing

Whenever the RHS of a rule begins with a tilde(~), the text to its right is sent to the output stream.

print::=~Hello World!\n
::=
[print]
[print]
[]

Hello World!

Random

Rules are chosen randomly, making it possible, for example, to make a dice rolling program that might result in any of the possible values of a 6 sided die:

%text,::=~You rolled: 
%dice::=~1.
%dice::=~2.
%dice::=~3.
%dice::=~4.
%dice::=~5.
%dice::=~6.
::=
%%text,dice

%%text,dice
%dice

You rolled: 3.

To finish off, Sierpinski's triangle in Thue.

#::=
X::=~_
Y::=~*
Z::=~\n
_.::=._X
_*::=*_Y
._|::=.Z-|
*_|::=Z
..-::=.-.
**-::=*-.
*.-::=*-*
.*-::=.-*
@.-::=@_.
@*-::=@_*
::=
@_*...............................|

Enjoy playing with Thue, and be careful.

It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a Thue.

incoming proquints 2025 2022