I'm 17 and wrote a guide on how to build your own programming language
Hey! I’m JC. I’m 17 and part of Hack Club, a nonprofit where we help teenagers ship programming projects with their friends while growing technically. A while ago, I asked myself the question, “How exactly do programming languages work behind the scenes?” It seemed really daunting until I went to a half hour workshop at a high school hackathon about writing a tree-walk interpreter and realized that getting started was actually super fun. This guide is designed in the vein of that - to get people, especially teenagers, started on learning how to build a programming language in a literal…
I'm 17 and wrote a guide on how to build your own programming language launched on May 16, 2024 with 149 votes, #368 of 4,539 launches that month and more than 95% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 2 years on.
In plain words
This is a beginner-friendly guide for building a programming language, written by a 17-year-old and designed to be completed in a weekend. Intended primarily for teenagers and those new to language design, it demystifies how programming languages work by teaching tree-walk interpreter concepts through hands-on practice. The guide serves as an accessible stepping stone toward understanding compilers and performance optimization, drawing inspiration from established resources but emphasizing an approachable, project-based learning experience that can be accomplished quickly.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Learn how to write a programming language in a weekend!
It's a normal Saturday for Orpheus the dinosaur. Or rather, not normal. This is the first Saturday in a while where she can lie in bed alone, look out the window, and daydream about whatever she wants to. No tea parties to go to, no meetings, no nothing. She can just lie in bed and think about pancakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. What a perfect day. You know what would be even more perfect? Actual pancakes. Blueberry pancakes, chocolate pancakes, banana pancakes. That means she has got to get out of bed and check if she has those ingredients. She rolls over and out of bed and into the kitchen. When she gets to the kitchen, there's a knock on the door. Now, Orpheus' house is laid out…from easel.hackclub.com
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hey! I’m JC. I’m 17 and part of Hack Club, a nonprofit where we help teenagers ship programming projects with their friends while growing technically. A while ago, I asked myself the question, “How exactly do programming languages work behind the scenes?” It seemed really daunting until I went to a half hour workshop…
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Hi! I am doing a learning project, attempting to build an imperative language (and interpreter). The end product will be useless for others, I just want to learn and better understand how to build imperative languages. :) If someone else shares this interest and want to give some good hints on good resources I would be grateful. Currently I am looking at an awesome text by Bob Nystrom. All suggestions and tips on resources are most welcome. I am very much a beginner in this, but I find this topic very fascinating. Mail me or post links here! Cheers! You can try a beta version Online at…
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Source: Show HN post ↗ · launch text quoted in part
