What does it take to create a language of your own in Python?

Ever wondered how to create your own domain-specific language tailored to your needs?

This session explores how to build a programming language that lets users write code using natural language. Designed to be fun, intuitive and easy to use, the language is crafted for young learners especially those for whom English is not a first language. Built with Python, the system parses and interprets natural language into executable code. The design challenges, key insights, and lessons learned of the creation of this language will be shared.

This session is for anyone curious about building your own little domain-specific languages, exploring new ways to teach programming or just crafting code that speaks your own language.

Inspired by my working with an organization that taught coding to children and talks at PyCon APAC, I asked: What if programming could be made more accessible with a language tailored to children?

The talk will cover:

Language Design

• Making decisions around syntax depending on the purpose.

Architecture Choices

• Interpreter vs compiler: which architecture best fits for your need?
• Parsing libraries: tools available such as PLY, Lark.

Technical Implementation

• Building the lexer, parser, and interpreter and handling errors using Python.

Demo

• The language in action.

Future Directions

• Adding support for more languages, introducing to wider community.