GDSL – 800 line kernel: Lisp subset in 500, C subset in 1300
Pages for posting about my work
GDSL – 800 line kernel: Lisp subset in 500, C subset in 1300 launched on March 15, 2026 with 89 votes, #538 of 23,380 launches that month and more than 95% of that year's launches.
In plain words
GDSL is a minimal programming language consisting of an 800-line kernel that includes a 500-line Lisp subset and a 1300-line C subset. It is designed for developers interested in compact language implementations and embedded systems. The language stands out for achieving functional and imperative programming capabilities within extremely tight size constraints, making it useful for educational purposes or resource-limited environments.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Pages for posting about my work until I decide to tackle websites. Compilers are enormous these days, millions of lines spanning frontend to backend to turn text to process on a system. Any small compiler gets small by making tradeoffs, it constrains itself to a shape small enough that it fits, or simply doesn’t implement the features. That’s what I would’ve believed before I wrote a subset of C in 1500 lines, with the only feature compromises being ‘I haven’t built that part yet but I could’. Then, on the same kernel with zero modification, wrote a Lisp compiler in 500 lines. They’re fast enough to be useful, they aren’t fragile stacks of tightly optimized assumptions ready to collapse at…from firthemouse.github.io
Does a similar job
all alternatives →- LWLisp with GC in 436 Bytes2021 · justine.lol · ▲513
Lisp with copying GC in 537 lines of C (plus Lisp 1.5 on top)2018 · github.com · ▲152Moved to Forgejo! Contribute to krig/LISP development by creating an account on GitHub.
Minimal Lisp in ~70 lines of Haskell2011 · gist.github.com · ▲76GitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.
- SNSectorLISP now fits in one sector2021 · justine.lol · ▲323
- CDClojure DSL for pattern-matching, parsing and generic programming2012 · scattered-thoughts.net · ▲204
Lisp in C#2024 · github.com · ▲144a custom Lisp. Contribute to codr7/sharpl development by creating an account on GitHub.
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