Building a Cursed Programming Language with AI: A Deep Dive into Tool Calling and Generative Models

In the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, it's becoming increasingly clear that developers are not just users but creators. This shift is vividly illustrated by the creation of "Cursed," a programming language that blends Gen Z slang with the structure of Golang. The project, spearheaded by Greg Huntley, showcases how AI tools like Anthropic’s Claude can be leveraged to build complex systems in ways that were once unimaginable.

What Changed Technically?

The core innovation here is the use of a generative model (Claude) in a continuous loop to develop a compiler. This approach, often referred to as "tool calling," involves using AI to execute tasks and generate code iteratively until the desired outcome is achieved. Here’s a breakdown of the key technical details:

• Tool Calling with Claude: Huntley used Claude in a while true loop, feeding it prompts and allowing it to implement features and fix issues autonomously.
• Lexical Structure: The language "Cursed" swaps traditional lexical keywords with Gen Z slang. For example, instead of using func, you might use lit.
• Compiler Implementation: Claude was tasked with producing a working compiler for the new language, which it did over a period of three months.

Why It Matters to Practitioners

This project is significant for several reasons:

• AI as a Development Partner: It demonstrates that AI can be an active participant in the development process, not just a tool for code generation.
• Learning by Doing: As David Fowler noted, "If you’re using AI only to 'do' and not 'learn', you are missing out." This project underscores the importance of hands-on learning and experimentation with AI tools.
• Creative Freedom: The ability to create a programming language from scratch, even one as unconventional as Cursed, showcases the creative potential of AI in software development.

Implementation Details

Here’s a more detailed look at how the project was executed:

• Initial Prompt:
  • Huntley started with a simple prompt: "Hey, can you make me a programming language like Golang but all the lexical keywords are swapped so they're Gen Z slang?"
• Iterative Development:
  • Claude ran in a while true loop, continuously refining the language and its compiler.
  • Each iteration involved generating new code, testing it, and making adjustments based on feedback.
• Challenges:
  • The project was not without its hurdles. Huntley mentioned swearing at Claude multiple times due to unexpected behaviors and bugs.
  • Despite these challenges, the final product is a fully functional compiler that can produce compiled programs.

Benchmarks and Outcomes

While specific benchmarks are not provided in the source content, the success of the project can be gauged by its functional completeness:

• Language Features: Cursed supports all the essential features of Golang, with the unique twist of Gen Z slang keywords.
• Compiler Performance: The compiler is capable of producing executable programs, demonstrating that the language is not just a novelty but a viable tool.

Conclusion

The creation of "Cursed" is more than just a fun experiment; it’s a testament to the evolving role of AI in software development. By using Claude as a development partner, Huntley has shown that AI can be a powerful ally in creating complex systems. As we move forward, it’s clear that the future of programming will be shaped by the creative and innovative use of AI tools.

If you’re interested in diving deeper into the technical aspects of transformers, RAG, agents, and tool calling, consider checking out Huntley’s deep technical course, Latent Patterns, which covers these topics in detail.