> But only a few, since Inform has no dependencies on third-party code. You need a modern C compiler, ideally clang, but gcc will do; and you need basic Unix to

> But only a few, since Inform has no dependencies on third-party code. You need a modern C compiler, ideally clang, but gcc will do; and you need basic Unix tools. But that's all. > Core Inform is written in ANSI C, properly speaking C99. That was the first decision I took, in 2001, and it was the wrong choice. I had my reasons, but C++ would have been better for the heterogenous tree structures you need inside of compilers. I feel much happier about my other early decision, which was to adopt literate programming. > Literate programming was invented by Donald Knuth in the 1970s: he was responsible for the slightly insulting name, as if all other programmers are illiterate. The idea is to write a program like an essay, with a narrative, so that its source code can be read by humans as well as computers. This is not just about commentary: it's about making long or complex functions more comprehensible. > Literate programming is not a popular choice today. The canonical primers on software are respectful but basically tell you not to use it: "Code Complete", for example, or "The Art of Unix Programming". It failed to catch on for several reasons: most programmers do not like to write essays. Most code has a short shelf life anyway. Commentary in code is out of fashion these days, and some coders even consider it harmful.