Die Shakespeare Programming Language (SPL) ist eine esoterische Programmiersprache, deren Programme wie Theaterstücke von William Shakespeare aussehen. Finden Sie mehr rund ums Programmieren auf unserer Schwerpunktseite Programmiersprachen.
Geschichte
Karl Hasselström und Jon Åslund schufen Shakespeare im Jahr 2001. Ihr Ziel war laut Handbuch eine Sprache mit schönem Quelltext, der Shakespeare-Stücken ähnelt.
Funktionsweise
Ein Programm beginnt mit einem Titel. Danach werden die Figuren vorgestellt, die nur aus Shakespeare-Stücken stammen dürfen und als Variablen dienen. Es folgen Akte und Szenen; die Szenen dienen als Sprungmarken. Figuren betreten mit „[Enter …]“ die Bühne und verlassen sie mit „[Exit …]“ oder „[Exeunt]“, höchstens zwei stehen gleichzeitig dort. Werte ändern die Figuren im Dialog: Sätze wie „You are as stupid as …“ weisen der angesprochenen Figur einen Wert zu, „Speak your mind!“ gibt ihren Wert als Zeichen aus, „Open your heart“ als Zahl.
Hello World
Das Hello-World-Programm aus dem Esolang-Wiki ist ein ganzes Stück in zwei Akten:
The Infamous Hello World Program.
Romeo, a young man with a remarkable patience.
Juliet, a likewise young woman of remarkable grace.
Ophelia, a remarkable woman much in dispute with Hamlet.
Hamlet, the flatterer of Andersen Insulting A/S.
Act I: Hamlet's insults and flattery.
Scene I: The insulting of Romeo.
[Enter Hamlet and Romeo]
Hamlet:
You lying stupid fatherless big smelly half-witted coward!
You are as stupid as the difference between a handsome rich brave
hero and thyself! Speak your mind!
You are as brave as the sum of your fat little stuffed misused dusty
old rotten codpiece and a beautiful fair warm peaceful sunny summer's
day. You are as healthy as the difference between the sum of the
sweetest reddest rose and my father and yourself! Speak your mind!
You are as cowardly as the sum of yourself and the difference
between a big mighty proud kingdom and a horse. Speak your mind.
Speak your mind!
[Exit Romeo]
Scene II: The praising of Juliet.
[Enter Juliet]
Hamlet:
Thou art as sweet as the sum of the sum of Romeo and his horse and his
black cat! Speak thy mind!
[Exit Juliet]
Scene III: The praising of Ophelia.
[Enter Ophelia]
Hamlet:
Thou art as beautiful as the difference between Romeo and the square
of a huge green peaceful tree. Speak thy mind!
Thou art as lovely as the product of a large rural town and my amazing
bottomless embroidered purse. Speak thy mind!
Thou art as loving as the product of the bluest clearest sweetest sky
and the sum of a squirrel and a white horse. Thou art as beautiful as
the difference between Juliet and thyself. Speak thy mind!
[Exeunt Ophelia and Hamlet]
Act II: Behind Hamlet's back.
Scene I: Romeo and Juliet's conversation.
[Enter Romeo and Juliet]
Romeo:
Speak your mind. You are as worried as the sum of yourself and the
difference between my small smooth hamster and my nose. Speak your
mind!
Juliet:
Speak YOUR mind! You are as bad as Hamlet! You are as small as the
difference between the square of the difference between my little pony
and your big hairy hound and the cube of your sorry little
codpiece. Speak your mind!
[Exit Romeo]
Scene II: Juliet and Ophelia's conversation.
[Enter Ophelia]
Juliet:
Thou art as good as the quotient between Romeo and the sum of a small
furry animal and a leech. Speak your mind!
Ophelia:
Thou art as disgusting as the quotient between Romeo and twice the
difference between a mistletoe and an oozing infected blister! Speak
your mind!
[Exeunt]Einordnung
Weil sich jedes Brainfuck-Programm in Shakespeare übertragen lässt, ist die Sprache turingvollständig. Das Esolang-Wiki nennt sie zusammen mit Chef als Beispiel für Sprachen mit einem Thema außerhalb der Informatik; ähnlich ist Rockstar. Weitere Sprachen finden Sie in unserer Liste: Esoterische Programmiersprachen.
Quellen
Stand: 15.10.2026