Brainfuck Interpreter

A complete Brainfuck programming language interpreter implemented in C.

Quick Start

Compilation

clang -g brainfuck.c -o brainfuck
# or
gcc -g brainfuck.c -o brainfuck

Execution

Method 1: Execute code directly

./brainfuck '++++++++[>++++[>++>+++>+++>+<<<<-]>+>+>->>+[<]<-]>>.>---.+++++++..+++.>>.<-.<.+++.------.--------.>>+.>++.'

Method 2: Execute from file

./brainfuck bf_tests/test.bf

Brainfuck Language Guide

Brainfuck has 8 basic commands that operate on a memory array and a pointer:

Command	Operation	Description
>	Pointer++	Move data pointer one position to the right
<	Pointer--	Move data pointer one position to the left
+	Value++	Increment current cell value by 1 (wraps 0-255)
-	Value--	Decrement current cell value by 1 (wraps 0-255)
.	Output	Output ASCII character of current cell value
,	Input	Read one character into current cell
[	Loop Start	Jump to matching ] if current value is 0
]	Loop End	Jump to matching [ if current value is non-zero

All other characters are ignored, allowing for comments in the code.

Memory Model

• Memory Size: 30,000 bytes (cells)
• Initial Value: All cells initialized to 0
• Data Type: Unsigned byte (0-255, wrapping)
• Pointer Range: 0-29,999 (out of bounds causes error)

Features

• ✅ Complete Command Support - All 8 standard Brainfuck commands
• ✅ Bracket Matching Check - Automatically detects mismatched [ and ]
• ✅ Error Handling - Detects pointer out-of-bounds and bracket errors
• ✅ File and CLI Support - Supports reading from files or passing code directly
• ✅ Standard I/O - Full support for input (,) and output (.)
• ✅ 30KB Memory - Sufficient for running most Brainfuck programs

Compilation Options

Debug Mode

clang -g -O0 brainfuck.c -o brainfuck

Optimized Version

clang -O2 brainfuck.c -o brainfuck

Testing

The project includes a test script run_tests.sh to verify all functionality:

./run_tests.sh

Test Coverage:

• ✅ Hello World program
• ✅ Single character output
• ✅ Multiple character output
• ✅ File execution
• ✅ Loops and calculations

Project Structure

.
├── brainfuck.c          # Interpreter source code
├── brainfuck            # Compiled executable
├── bf_tests/            # Stored Brainfuck test files
│   ├── test.bf
│   ├── test2.bf
│   ├── test5.bf
│   └── test8.bf
├── run_tests.sh         # Automated test script
└── README.md            # This file

References

• Brainfuck Wikipedia
• Esolang Brainfuck
• Try It Online - Online Brainfuck editor

License

MIT

Author

r1file

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Note: Brainfuck is a minimalist, Turing-complete programming language designed to demonstrate the possibility of an extremely minimal programming language. While rarely used in practice, it's valuable for learning compiler and interpreter design principles.