Gene – a Lisp-like language built around a generic "Gene" data type

In plain words

Gene is a general-purpose, homoiconic programming language with Lisp-like syntax built around a unified data structure. Each Gene combines a type, key-value properties, and positional children, all of which can themselves be Gene values. This approach enables uniform composition of rich, self-describing structures without requiring separate meta-representations. The language is designed for programmers seeking an alternative to traditional list-based Lisp systems, offering an AST and runtime that share the same fundamental shape.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

Contribute to gene-lang/gene development by creating an account on GitHub.

In the maker’s words, at launch

Hi HN — I’ve been working on Gene, a general-purpose, homoiconic language with a Lisp-like surface syntax, but with a core data model that’s intentionally not just “lists all the way down”. What’s unique: the Gene data type Gene’s central idea is a single unified structure that always carries (1) a type, (2)…

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