About Otter
Otter is a programming language designed so that a program can be understood when it is read aloud.
Otter was created by Jeffrey Macy. It is written in PowerShell. On Windows 10 and Windows 11 it runs on the Windows PowerShell 5.1 that is already there, and on macOS and Linux on PowerShell 7.
The idea
Most languages ask you to learn punctuation before you can express an idea. Otter asks for the idea. Statements read as sentences, blocks end with a period, and each statement has exactly one meaning, so a beginner can read a program aloud and know what it does - and the computer can read it exactly one way.
Otter
age is 20
if age is at least 18
say "Adult"
.
What Otter is today
This is Otter 1.0.0 (Stable release). The language, the command-line tools, desktop and web application support, and the standard library are all in active use. Otter runs on Windows, macOS and Linux; desktop windows and a few Windows features need Windows.
Design philosophy
The reasoning behind the language - why properties use of, why a period only ever ends a block, why one canonical spelling beats many - is written down.
Readable like English
Structural words
Period and block rules
Philosophy
License and credits
Otter is free to use, including for commercial software. See the license page for exactly what you can and cannot do.
The Otter Free Use License
Third-party notices