Hacker News
John Carmack on the Goose Language: multiple data stacks and relative references
SoftwareFirst seen 551 points343 comments
John Carmack, a well-known game programmer, praised a new programming language called Goose. He said its features could make reading data much faster.
What happened
John Carmack posted on social media about Goose, a programming language. He said it handles multiple data stacks and resizable fields automatically. He also liked its relative references and built-in checks on binary structure.
Some key ideas
A data stack is a place where a program keeps information while it works. A relative reference points to data by its position relative to something else, not by a fixed address. Binary structure means data stored as raw 0s and 1s in a set layout. Validation means checking that the data follows the rules.
Why it matters
Carmack said that parsing, which means reading and breaking down file or network data, is often 100 times slower than it needs to be. If Goose can map data straight into memory and use network data right away, programs could run much faster. He said these features make many tasks practical that were hard before.
What to watch
- Whether Goose is released for other programmers to try
- Whether real tests show the speed gains Carmack described
- How other programmers respond to the language's design
Glossary
- John Carmack
- A famous game programmer who helped create well-known video games and game engines.
- Goose
- A programming language that Carmack praised for handling data in new ways.
- Binary structure
- A way of storing data as 0s and 1s in a fixed, set layout.