Throughout these stories, you will find what should hopefully look like code.

It’s deliberately not one single programming language but a combination of several so that it’s easy for anyone to read without requiring knowledge of any particular syntax.

It’s pseudo-code, not meant to be compiled but capable of indicating intent. Sometimes this means the code is ambiguous. I think that’s ok as sometimes the Bible can have multiple interpretations too.

If you’re a developer

Hopefully, this makes sense to you, but if you imagine the code rewritten in a different way, structure, or language, please leave a comment under each entry with your thoughts on how else to interpret the text as code.

A note on interfaces

Some of the pseudo-code makes use of interfaces. Interfaces are a feature of object-oriented programming that allows for the definition of a collection of properties and methods for other class(es) to implement. It’s then possible to use all classes that implement an interface in the same way. By convention, the names of interfaces start with a capital letter I (i), which should help you identify them. If their use is ever confusing, please leave a comment.

If you’re not a developer

if (You.DoNotUnderstand(this))
{
    "Do not Worry".RepeatToSelf()
}

If you have never read (or written) code before, this may all look completely foreign. Feel free to skip over those bits if that’s the case. If you’re still curious, try just focusing on the words and ignoring the brackets, parentheses, and full stops.

For example, this snippet from The Ten Commandments

while (true)
{
  GOD.Priority = BigInteger.MaxValue
}

could be read as

While true (is true– i.e., forever)
God’s priority is (equals–or should be) the biggest (maximum) value for a number (integer) there is.
(The implication is that nothing can have a higher priority than God.)

Or from Genesis 2

Foreach (creature in [LiveStock, Birds, WildAnimals])
  Adam.AssignName(creature)

could be read as

Taking each of the livestock, birds, and wild animals in turn
Have Adam assign a name to the creature.

Don’t worry if you’re still confused; there are lots of people for whom this makes sense. If you know any, consider passing this along.