Vizzini

A programming language that looks like English.

> Say "Hello World!".
: Hello World!

This project was initially completed between Sep 2024 and May 2025 for my Honors Thesis. The pdf in the Manuscript folder is the paper associated with this work. I encourage any curious individuals to experiment with this project and take it in new directions.

Instructions

Download and unzip the repository. Then in the SayHelloWorld folder, run the following commands:

npm i
npm run dev

How to Add Your Own Words

First, define a word in shell_lexicon.ts. Basically it just involves making an XBar with the correct type and function definition. Then you can add any necessary frames to parser.ts to supply the necessary arguments to your word. Lastly, you can add tests to any of the test files to test that your changes work.

Organization

• react-root
  • Contains the basic framework for the interface.
• shell
  • Contains the actual components for managing the shell.
  • Also contains the lexicon used for the shell and some of the testing.
• structure
  • Contains the files defining the behavior of XBars, XBar types, and the Lexicon.
• tests
  • Contains all of the various tests used to track the functionality of the language.
• tools
  • Contains the Parser (most important piece), the definitions of my test functions, and a helper for printing out trees.

Known Issues

• The Show-Trees feature does not work well with block sentences, and can have confusing output.