The alphabet in programming languages

Question

Our task is to, for each letter of the (English) alphabet, write a program that prints the alphabet, in a language whose name starts with that letter.

Input: none

Output:

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

uppercase and trailing newline optional

Rules:

The scoring metric is the length of the programming language name, plus the length of the code. Hence, C will be assessed a "penalty" of 1, while GolfScript will be assessed a penalty of 10.
One language/implementation per answer. Multiple answers are encouraged.
If a programming language name's first letter is not an English letter, it should not be coerced into one. It will be treated as a separate letter (meaning less competition).
No answer will be accepted until every English letter has a solution.

Current rankings:

APL: 5
BNQ: 10
Canvas: 7
DOS: 13
ESMin: 7
Fig: ~4.646
Gs2: 4
Husk: 8
Implicit: 15
Japt: 6
Keg: 6
Ly: 13
MATL: 7
Nibbles: 9.5
Ohm v2: 9
Pip: 4
QuadR: 9
RProgN: 7
Stax: 6
Thunno: 8
Uiua: 10
V: 4
W: 4
XJam: 10
Y: 30
Z80Golf: 16

Tell me if I'm missing anybody.

Automatic leaderboard (experimental)

var QUESTION_ID=2078;function answersUrl(e){return"https://api.stackexchange.com/2.2/questions/"+QUESTION_ID+"/answers?page="+e+"&pagesize=100&order=desc&sort=creation&site=codegolf&filter="+ANSWER_FILTER}function commentUrl(e,s){return"https://api.stackexchange.com/2.2/answers/"+s.join(";")+"/comments?page="+e+"&pagesize=100&order=desc&sort=creation&site=codegolf&filter="+COMMENT_FILTER}function getAnswers(){jQuery.ajax({url:answersUrl(answer_page++),method:"get",dataType:"jsonp",crossDomain:!0,success:function(e){answers.push.apply(answers,e.items),answers_hash=[],answer_ids=[],e.items.forEach(function(e){e.comments=[];var s=+e.share_link.match(/\d+/);answer_ids.push(s),answers_hash[s]=e}),e.has_more||(more_answers=!1),comment_page=1,getComments()}})}function getComments(){jQuery.ajax({url:commentUrl(comment_page++,answer_ids),method:"get",dataType:"jsonp",crossDomain:!0,success:function(e){e.items.forEach(function(e){answers_hash[e.post_id].comments.push(e)}),e.has_more?getComments():more_answers?getAnswers():process()}})}function getAuthorName(e){return e.owner.display_name}function process(){var e=[];answers.forEach(function(s){var r=s.body;s.comments.forEach(function(e){OVERRIDE_REG.test(e.body)&&(r="<h1>"+e.body.replace(OVERRIDE_REG,"")+"</h1>")});var a=r.match(SCORE_REG);a&&r.indexOf('non-competing')===-1&&e.push({user:getAuthorName(s),size:+a[2],language:a[1],lang:/<a/.test(a[1])?jQuery(a[1]).text():a[1],link:s.share_link})}),e.sort(function(e,s){var d=e.lang[0].toLowerCase(),a=s.lang[0].toLowerCase();return(d>a)-(d<a)||e.size-s.size});var s={},a=null,n="A";e.forEach(function(e){n=e.lang[0].toUpperCase(),a=e.size;var t=jQuery("#answer-template").html();t=t.replace("{{PLACE}}",n+" is for").replace("{{NAME}}",e.user).replace("{{LANGUAGE}}",e.language).replace("{{SIZE}}",e.size).replace("{{LINK}}",e.link),t=jQuery(t),jQuery("#answers").append(t);var o=e.lang,p=o[0].toUpperCase();s[p]=s[p]||{language:e.language,lang:e.lang,letter:p,user:e.user,size:e.size,link:e.link}});var t=[];for(var o in s)s.hasOwnProperty(o)&&t.push(s[o]);t.sort(function(e,s){return(e.letter>s.letter)-(e.letter<s.letter)});for(var c=0;c<t.length;++c){var i=jQuery("#language-template").html(),o=t[c];i=i.replace("{{LANGUAGE}}",o.language).replace("{{NAME}}",o.user).replace("{{SIZE}}",o.size).replace("{{LINK}}",o.link),jQuery("#languages").append(jQuery(i))}}var ANSWER_FILTER="!t)IWYnsLAZle2tQ3KqrVveCRJfxcRLe",COMMENT_FILTER="!)Q2B_A2kjfAiU78X(md6BoYk",answers=[],answers_hash,answer_ids,answer_page=1,more_answers=!0,comment_page;getAnswers();var SCORE_REG=/<h\d>\s*(?:<[^>]+>)?(?:[^]+?for )?((?:<a[^>]*?>)?(?:(?! [(=→-])[^\n,:])*[^\s,:])(?:[,:]| [(=→-]).*?(\d+)(?=[^\n\d<>]*(?:<(?:s>[^\n<>]*<\/s>|[^\n<>]+>)[^\n\d<>]*)*<\/h\d>)/,OVERRIDE_REG=/^Override\s*header:\s*/i;

body{text-align:left!important}#answer-list,#language-list{padding:10px;width:290px;float:left}table thead{font-weight:700}table td{padding:5px} /* font fix */ body {font-family: Arial,"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,sans-serif;} /* #language-list x-pos fix */ #answer-list {margin-right: 200px;}

<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/2.1.1/jquery.min.js"></script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="//cdn.sstatic.net/codegolf/all.css?v=83c949450c8b"> <div id="answer-list"> <h2>Winners by Letter</h2> <table class="language-list"> <thead> <tr><td>Language</td><td>User</td><td>Score</td></tr></thead> <tbody id="languages"> </tbody> </table> </div><table style="display: none"> <tbody id="answer-template"> <tr><td>{{PLACE}}</td><td>{{LANGUAGE}}</td><td>{{NAME}}</td><td>{{SIZE}}</td><td><a href="{{LINK}}">Link</a></td></tr></tbody> </table> <h2>Everything</h2> <table class="answer-list"> <thead> <tr><td></td><td>Language</td><td>Author</td><td>Size</td></tr></thead> <tbody id="answers"> </tbody> </table> </div><div id="language-list"> <table style="display: none"> <tbody id="language-template"> <tr><td>{{LANGUAGE}}</td><td>{{NAME}}</td><td>{{SIZE}}</td><td><a href="{{LINK}}">Link</a></td></tr></tbody> </table>

@Peter Taylor: Go nuts. To answer your question, yes, printing junk to stderr is fine (as long as stdout is correct). — Joey Adams
– Joey Adams, Commented Apr 18, 2011 at 22:05
Funge is distinct from Befunge. Surely my pedanticism will be rewarded on a site dedicated to feats of it! — tngreene
– tngreene, Commented Mar 23, 2017 at 19:53

snail_ · Accepted Answer · 2018-02-02 05:52:24Z

1

S is for SmileBASIC, 39 37 bytes

FOR I=65TO 90?CHR$(I);:NEXT

edited Feb 2, 2018 at 5:52

answered Feb 3, 2017 at 5:01

snail_

2,68013 silver badges16 bronze badges

1

\$\begingroup\$ I do not believe you have properly read the scoring rules for this challenge. Your score is the length of your code plus the length of the language name. \$\endgroup\$

Pavel
– Pavel

2017-02-03 06:25:53 +00:00
Commented Feb 3, 2017 at 6:25
\$\begingroup\$ Fixed, sorry. (padding) \$\endgroup\$

snail_
– snail_

2017-02-03 13:49:14 +00:00
Commented Feb 3, 2017 at 13:49
\$\begingroup\$ You can save 2 characters by adding 65 to the start/end of the loop. \$\endgroup\$

12Me21
– 12Me21

2017-02-03 13:58:37 +00:00
Commented Feb 3, 2017 at 13:58

Add a comment |

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

S is for SMBF, 10 chars -> Score: 14

SMBF stands for Self-modifying Brainf***, and both names are used interchangeably. The original interpreters were named smbf.c and smbf.rb.

\x1a is a hex literal (a single non-printable ASCII character) for the decimal number 26.

<[-<.+>]a\x1a

The \x1a is used as a loop counter. a is printed and incremented each time.

JayCe · Accepted Answer · 2018-08-18 23:04:11Z

1

R is for R, 17 bytes Score -> 18

intToUtf8(97:122)

Try it online!

answered Aug 18, 2018 at 23:04

JayCe

3,04313 silver badges17 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Olly · Accepted Answer · 2018-08-21 15:48:44Z

1

M is for M, 20 characters → Score: 21

let s={"a".."z"}in s

(M language reference)

edited Aug 21, 2018 at 15:48

answered Aug 21, 2018 at 15:29

Olly

1115 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Bubbler · Accepted Answer · 2018-08-22 01:51:26Z

Z is for Z80Golf, 9 bytes + 7 = 16

00000000: 3e61 061a ff3c 10fc 76 >a...<..v

Try it online!

According to the Web Archive, Z80Golf code golf machine was created (at least) in December 2007.

Disassembly

start: ld a, 97 ; the char to print ld b, 26 ; loop count loop: rst $38 ; 1-byte alias for putchar inc a djnz loop ; decrement b and jump to `loop` if nonzero halt ; end program

heratyian · Accepted Answer · 2019-09-25 22:54:19Z

1

S is for Swift, 76 characters -> Score: 81

var s="" for i in 97...122{s.append((Character(UnicodeScalar(i))))} print(s)

edited Sep 25, 2019 at 22:54

answered Oct 21, 2016 at 16:32

heratyian

1112 bronze badges

2

\$\begingroup\$ Isn't it easier to just print a string containing the alphabet? \$\endgroup\$

acrolith
– acrolith

2016-10-21 16:41:36 +00:00
Commented Oct 21, 2016 at 16:41
\$\begingroup\$ Of course, but that just wouldn't be as fun \$\endgroup\$

heratyian
– heratyian

2016-10-21 17:57:10 +00:00
Commented Oct 21, 2016 at 17:57
\$\begingroup\$ my_string could be reduced to one letter. \$\endgroup\$

The Fifth Marshal
– The Fifth Marshal

2019-09-22 18:41:11 +00:00
Commented Sep 22, 2019 at 18:41
\$\begingroup\$ good call @pppery \$\endgroup\$

heratyian
– heratyian

2019-09-23 17:27:24 +00:00
Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 17:27
\$\begingroup\$ You should update the bytecount after golfing your answer. \$\endgroup\$

The Fifth Marshal
– The Fifth Marshal

2019-09-23 19:05:25 +00:00
Commented Sep 23, 2019 at 19:05

Add a comment |

dingledooper · Accepted Answer · 2019-09-26 00:08:48Z

1

I is for Io, 31 characters -> Score: 33

for($,65,90,$asCharacter print)

answered Sep 26, 2019 at 0:08

dingledooper

23.4k1 gold badge40 silver badges130 bronze badges

Add a comment |

dingledooper · Accepted Answer · 2019-09-27 22:40:32Z

1

Z is for Zsh, 19 characters -> Score: 22

19 character solution thanks to @GammaFunction.

<<<${(j::):-{a..z}}

Another 18 character solution using Perl.

perl -eprint\ a..z

edited Sep 27, 2019 at 22:40

answered Sep 26, 2019 at 0:00

dingledooper

23.4k1 gold badge40 silver badges130 bronze badges

1

\$\begingroup\$ Not sure whether that would qualify for Zsh, it's more "Zsh+perl" (which would have a much larger penalty). You can get a pure Zsh answer in 19 characters, though: <<<${(j::):-{a..z}} \$\endgroup\$

GammaFunction
– GammaFunction

2019-09-26 09:05:35 +00:00
Commented Sep 26, 2019 at 9:05

Add a comment |

tjjfvi · Accepted Answer · 2019-10-02 19:26:08Z

1

F is for Fish, 16 bytes; score 20

"a"r:o1+:"{"=?;r

answered Oct 2, 2019 at 19:26

tjjfvi

7,51023 silver badges37 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

1

Wake, 33 bytes, score 37

all: "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Apr 18, 2011 at 23:19

ninjalj

3,1461 gold badge23 silver badges22 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Bubbler · Accepted Answer · 2019-10-15 23:35:42Z

F is for Forth (gforth), 26 + 5 = 31

'{ 'a [do] [i] emit [loop]

Try it online!

Two improvements over the submission by leancz 6 years ago:

An ASCII char prefixed with a quote gives the ASCII value of that char. So '{ saves a byte over 123. 'a is just for consistency.
The looping words including do and loop can't be used in interpreted mode, but gforth provides interpreted versions surrounded with brackets like [do] and [loop]. If a function uses three or less such words, using interpreted mode saves some bytes, as illustrated below.

\ using compiled mode : a '{ 'a do i emit loop ; a \ using interpreted mode '{ 'a [do] [i] emit [loop]

DJMcMayhem · Accepted Answer · 2019-10-30 16:56:27Z

D is for D2, 2 + 6 = 8

!a[.+]

!a expand to 10 +, setting the current cell to 10 (a in base 36), and [.+] print the current cell as a base 36 string and increment the cell. Since the maximum value a cell can hold is 35, at 36 the cell is zeroed and the loop stop.

John Red · Accepted Answer · 2019-11-01 10:50:22Z

P is for Pyth, 1 character -> Score: 5

Try it out!

That's it - just 1 letter. This is how it works:

The variable G is by default initialised to abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz in this language.
By default, the value returned by a program is printed out to the standard output.

user85052 · Accepted Answer · 2019-12-04 12:27:52Z

1

Jelly, 2 bytes, score: 7

Jelly has a built-in.

Øa

Try it online!

answered Dec 4, 2019 at 12:27

user85052

Add a comment |

user85052 · Accepted Answer · 2019-12-04 12:31:30Z

1

Pyth, 1 byte, score: 5

Pyth has a shorter built-in than Jelly.

Try it online!

answered Dec 4, 2019 at 12:31

user85052

Add a comment |

user85052 · Accepted Answer · 2019-12-04 12:42:47Z

1

Pip, 1 byte, score: 4

Try it online!

answered Dec 4, 2019 at 12:42

user85052

Add a comment |

user85052 · Accepted Answer · 2019-12-04 12:48:15Z

1

V (vim), 3 bytes, score: 4

¬az

Try it online!

answered Dec 4, 2019 at 12:48

user85052

Add a comment |

user85052 · Accepted Answer · 2019-12-05 12:54:55Z

Wren, 58 bytes

The iteration method

System.printAll((97..122).map{|i|String.fromCodePoint(i)})

Try it online!

Wren, 42 bytes

The boring method

System.print("abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz")

Try it online!

user92069 · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-21 06:31:20Z

Befunge-93, 33 bytes

I thought I could beat Brachylog... never mind.

"a">:,1+:"{"-#v_@ ^ <

Try it online!

score 1 · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-21 12:18:26Z

1

Ly, 11 bytes -> Score: 13

'Rrp['`+o]

Try it online!

Explanation

' Push 26 R 0-range r reverse stack p Pop 0 ['`+o] Output the whole stack, added by 97

edited Jun 21, 2020 at 12:18

answered Jun 21, 2020 at 12:10

user92069

\$\begingroup\$ This less interesting, since it's brute force, but shorter tio.run/##y6n8/189Ub0qSC3//38A which is this: 'a'zR&o \$\endgroup\$

cnamejj
– cnamejj

2023-04-02 00:43:32 +00:00
Commented Apr 2, 2023 at 0:43

Add a comment |

PkmnQ · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-21 16:33:28Z

1

F is for Foo, 17 bytes, score: 20

&65>&26(-1<$c+1>)

Try it online!

Ties the Fish answer.

answered Jun 21, 2020 at 16:33

PkmnQ

2,72310 silver badges21 bronze badges

Add a comment |

640KB · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-22 16:15:32Z

DOS, x86, 10 bytes + 3 = 13

This answer is fundamentally the same as Peter Cordes' x86, but uses DOS for I/O and as the "framework" of sorts to be able to "print[s] the alphabet" per the challenge description.

One could attempt to make the case that since this uses DOS API for said I/O that it one-step higher level than just x86. After all, DOS is an operating system, programming API, interpreter and framework all rolled into one, right? Also most every submission here eventually gets compiled down to machine code eventually to run, so aren't we really considering the submission to be the highest level required to produce the desired output?

Okay, feel free to call this rationalization baloney. It's not shorter than Peter's earlier x86 so just thought I'd throw in another take, competing or not! :)

Binary:

00000000: b061 cd29 403c 7a7e f9c3 .a.)@<z~..

Listing:

B0 61 MOV AL, 'a' ; start at 'a' CLOOP: CD 29 INT 29H ; write AL to console 40 INC AX ; increment letter 3C 7A CMP AL, 'z' ; is <= 'z'? 7E F9 JLE CLOOP ; if so, keep looping C3 RET ; return to DOS

And yes "DOS" can be considered a generic term for other different non-IBM PC Disk Operating Systems. However Wikipedia's entry for "DOS" specifically refers to IBM DOS and describes DOS as "a common shorthand for disk-based operating systems on IBM PC compatibles".

manatwork · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-25 18:42:24Z

1

ink, 26 bytes, score: 29

Glad to hear that newer languages are allowed.

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

Try it online!

edited Jun 25, 2020 at 18:42

manatwork

20.9k5 gold badges53 silver badges82 bronze badges

answered Dec 4, 2019 at 11:25

user85052

Add a comment |

score 1 · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-26 09:56:45Z

1

Husk, 4 bytes → Score: 8

…"ab

Try it online!

edited Jun 26, 2020 at 9:56

answered Jun 21, 2020 at 11:52

user92069

\$\begingroup\$ …"ab saves a byte. \$\endgroup\$

Zgarb
– Zgarb

2020-06-21 16:44:20 +00:00
Commented Jun 21, 2020 at 16:44

Add a comment |

score 1 · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-26 10:03:32Z

Ni, 13 bytes, score: 15

#61>#1a{<!+>}

Try (the snippet) online!

Explanation

#61 Set Current as 'a' > Move the pointer right #1a Set current as 26 { Repeat 26 times: < Move left ! Print the letter + Increment the letter > Move right } (Automatically decrement counter)

user92069 · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-27 00:41:50Z

W, 3 bytes (score: 4)

Near built-in solution, intended to beat Wake.

'zk

Explanation

'z Push the character z k Generate a downwards character range for that character.

PkmnQ · Accepted Answer · 2020-11-08 06:45:27Z

1

Q is for QuadR, 26 bytes, Score: 31

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

Try it online!

answered Nov 8, 2020 at 6:45

PkmnQ

2,72310 silver badges21 bronze badges

Add a comment |

avarice · Accepted Answer · 2021-05-29 03:50:22Z

1

V for Vyxal, 2 bytes, score 2+5=7

ka

Try it Online!

Dunno someone has posted this already

answered May 29, 2021 at 3:50

avarice

12.5k1 gold badge21 silver badges52 bronze badges

Add a comment |

oeuf · Accepted Answer · 2022-11-12 00:47:50Z

1

K is for K (ngn/k), 9 bytes -> Score: 18

`c$97+!26

Try it online!

Bruh.

answered Nov 12, 2022 at 0:47

oeuf

1,9556 silver badges19 bronze badges

Add a comment |

south · Accepted Answer · 2022-11-12 08:58:34Z

1

Fig, \$2\log_{256}(96)\approx\$ 1.646 bytes + 3 = 4.646

ca

Try it online!

answered Nov 12, 2022 at 8:58

south

2,3209 silver badges13 bronze badges

Add a comment |

The alphabet in programming languages

Automatic leaderboard (experimental)

164 Answers 164

S is for SmileBASIC, 39 37 bytes

S is for SMBF, 10 chars -> Score: 14

R is for R, 17 bytes Score -> 18

M is for M, 20 characters → Score: 21

Z is for Z80Golf, 9 bytes + 7 = 16

Disassembly

S is for Swift, 76 characters -> Score: 81

I is for Io, 31 characters -> Score: 33

Z is for Zsh, 19 characters -> Score: 22

F is for Fish, 16 bytes; score 20

Wake, 33 bytes, score 37

F is for Forth (gforth), 26 + 5 = 31

D is for D2, 2 + 6 = 8

P is for Pyth, 1 character -> Score: 5

Jelly, 2 bytes, score: 7

Pyth, 1 byte, score: 5

Pip, 1 byte, score: 4

V (vim), 3 bytes, score: 4

Wren, 58 bytes

Wren, 42 bytes

Befunge-93, 33 bytes

Ly, 11 bytes -> Score: 13

Explanation

F is for Foo, 17 bytes, score: 20

DOS, x86, 10 bytes + 3 = 13

ink, 26 bytes, score: 29

Husk, 4 bytes → Score: 8

Ni, 13 bytes, score: 15

Explanation

W, 3 bytes (score: 4)

Explanation

Q is for QuadR, 26 bytes, Score: 31

V for Vyxal, 2 bytes, score 2+5=7

K is for K (ngn/k), 9 bytes -> Score: 18

Fig, \$2\log_{256}(96)\approx\$ 1.646 bytes + 3 = 4.646

Linked

Related

Hot Network Questions