Turing tarpit

{{Short description|Intentionally obscure programming language}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}

A Turing tarpit (or Turing tar-pit) is any programming language or computer interface that allows for flexibility in function but is difficult to learn and use because it offers little or no support for common tasks.{{cite web| url=https://wiki.c2.com/?TuringTarpit |title=Turing Tarpit |website=wiki.c2.com |date=21 November 2014 |access-date=30 April 2023}} The phrase was coined in 1982 by Alan Perlis in the Epigrams on Programming:{{cite journal|last1=Perlis|first1=A|journal=ACM SIGPLAN Notices|volume=17|issue=9|pages=7–13|title=Epigrams on Programming|date=September 1982|publisher=Yale University|doi=10.1145/947955.1083808|s2cid=20512767|doi-access=free}}

{{quote|54. Beware of the Turing tar-pit in which everything is possible but nothing of interest is easy.}}

In any Turing complete language, it is possible to write any computer program, so in a very rigorous sense nearly all programming languages are equally capable. However, having that theoretical ability is not the same as usefulness in practice. Turing tarpits are characterized by having a simple abstract machine that requires the user to deal with many details in the solution of a problem.{{cite web |url=https://practicingruby.com/articles/exploring-a-turing-tarpit |title=Exploring the depths of a Turing tarpit |website=practicingruby.com |date=17 January 2012 |access-date=30 April 2023}} At the extreme opposite are interfaces that can perform very complex tasks with little human intervention but become obsolete if requirements change slightly.

Some esoteric programming languages, such as Brainfuck or Malbolge, are specifically referred to as "Turing tarpits"{{cite book|last1=Chandra|first1=V|title=Geek Sublime: The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty|date=2014|publisher=Graywolf Press|isbn=9781555973261|url=https://archive.org/details/geeksublimebeaut0000chan|url-access=registration|quote=turing tarpit.|access-date=28 August 2015}} because they deliberately implement the minimum functionality necessary to be classified as Turing complete languages. Using such languages is a form of mathematical recreation: programmers can work out how to achieve basic programming constructs in an extremely difficult but mathematically Turing-equivalent language.[https://web.archive.org/web/20020609152409/http://www.catseye.mb.ca/esoteric/index.html Esoteric Topics in Computer Programming], Cat's Eye Technologies, Canada. ("They present the programmer with the challenge, intrigue, and entertainment of looking at known algorithms and concepts in a whole new light.")