Write-only language

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Write-only language is a derogatory term for a programming language whose syntax is considered inscrutable. Write-only code is source code so arcane, complex, or ill-structured that it cannot be reliably modified or even comprehended by anyone with the possible exception of the author. The phrase "write-only" is a play on read-only memory.

Many programmers believe that certain languages make it easy to write (subjectively) "bad" programs. In such a language it would be more difficult to read, understand, and modify existing source code than to start over and rewrite it from scratch.

Languages that are often derided as write-only include TECO, APL, Forth, and Perl, especially regular expressions. Attributes that these languages have in common include a large set of operators and a syntax which permits (or encourages) the writing of very dense code.