Production shots of the first قلب calligraphy piece, shown at Eyebeam’s Open Studios last week.

Second prototype of قلب’s code calligraphy. This one says مرحبا يا عالم (hello world), which isn’t executable code, but code-related and fun anyway.

First prototype of قلب’s code calligraphy, done in square kufic with glass tiles. It says “لكل ن” (for each n) and matches the bottom-right part of the bubble sort calligraphy prototype on the language’s site.

In preparation for Eyebeam’s Open Studios later this week.

Mockup of قلب’s new Scheme inspired syntax. I’ve been trying to arrive at a syntax that translates better into calligraphy than the first mockup, and with the parentheses removed, this syntax is nothing but words and numbers.

The parentheses are needed for the code to run correctly, but there is a precedent in leaving off dots, vowel markings, and punctuation in calligraphy, sacrificing readability for elegance.

The Scheme-like syntax is also easier to write an interpreter for.

The code was typed into TextMate, so it is unhighlighted and left-aligned. The English equivalent would be:

My father pointed out the spelling mistake in my bubble sort prototype (لائحة instead of لأحة). Stay tuned for a higher level of literacy in the future!

Process of designing the bubble sort piece, from Ruby code to Arabic code to Square Kufic prototypes in Photoshop.

Part of my fellowship at Eyebeam exploring Code as Self Expression.

A more organized version of the bubble sort algorithm in Square Kufic. I’m not sure which one I like more.

My first attempt at code calligraphy. Part of my fellowship at Eyebeam exploring Code as Self Expression.

My first attempt at code calligraphy. This bubble sort rendered in the Square Kufic style. Letters in red are language keywords. It is laid out in a spiral, starting at the lower right and circling clockwise towards the center.

Part of my fellowship at Eyebeam exploring Code as Self Expression.

Prototype of the editor I am writing for my Arabic programming language. It is a WebKit WebView with a customized CodeMirror instance. The code listed is an implementation of bubble sort. The equivalent Ruby code would be:

for n in 0..list.length
for m in 0..(list.length - n - 2)
if list[m + 1] > list[m] then
swap list[m], list[m + 1]
end
end
end


Part of my fellowship at Eyebeam exploring Code as Self Expression.