View source for Artspeak

{{Short description|Computer language}}
[[Image:Artspeak sample.png|thumb|Output from a simple Artspeak program]]
'''Artspeak''' is a computer language conceived by [[Jacob T. Schwartz]] at [[New York University]]'s [[Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences]].  Until 2011, the only known compiler/interpreter was written for the [[CDC 6600]], a mainframe computer.  In order to program in Artspeak on the CDC 6600, one had to use punch cards and utilize [[batch processing]].<ref>[http://www.atariarchives.org/bcc3/showpage.php?page=63 ARTSPEAK -- A Computer Language For Young At Heart And The Art Lover (The ARTSPEAK graphics programming language; history, reaction, examples)]</ref>
Artspeak was a specialized language that worked with a single-color graphical [[plotter]] to produce graphical output on a 10-inch by 10-inch sheet of paper.  It used simple, English language-based statements to draw elemental shapes, including [[circle]]s, [[point (geometry)|point]]s, [[Plain text|text]], and many types of [[curve]]s (including [[line (geometry)|lines]]).
In 2011, Ron Schnell (author of [[Dunnet (video game)|Dunnet]]) found an old draft manual for the language, and after discovering that the language ceased to exist, wrote it from scratch in [[Python (programming language)|Python]].<ref>[http://artspeak.quogic.com/artspeak.pdf New Artspeak Reference Guide]</ref>
The new version of Artspeak outputs to a [[computer monitor]], as opposed to a plotter, and allows local and server storage of Artspeak programs.  There are other differences from the original Artspeak, all of which are detailed in the reference guide.
==General references==
* [http://artspeak.quogic.com Ron Schnell's 2011 implementation of an Artspeak Interpreter]
* [[Henry Mullish]] (1974): The art of programming ARTSPEAK: A computer graphics language
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Educational programming languages]]
[[Category:High-level programming languages]]