First of all, BrainFuck is not some random word I devised to make you click on this link. It's a real life programming language (which is also Turing complete, just like the Ethereum virtual machine, although a few orders of magnitude less performant than that). It was invented in 1993 by Urban Müller and it's famous (in a very small circle of programmers, though) for its extreme minimalism (and lack of applicability, for what matters).

I stumbled upon this gem while searching for ways to implement a virtual machine on top of an existing blockchain, without messing up with its current structure. I'm still searching for a suitable solution, but, as I was playing with BrainFuck, I had an idea.

But firs things first.

What Exactly Is BrainFuck?

Like I said, it's one of the smallest, if not the smallest, Turing complete virtual machine out there, with only 8 words. Here they are, taken from the Wikipedia page:

-	Meaning
>	increment the data pointer (to point to the next cell to the right).
<	decrement the data pointer (to point to the next cell to the left).
+	increment (increase by one) the byte at the data pointer.
-	decrement (decrease by one) the byte at the data pointer.
.	output the byte at the data pointer.
,	accept one byte of input, storing its value in the byte at the data pointer.
[	if the byte at the data pointer is zero, then instead of moving the instruction pointer forward to the next command, jump it forward to the command after the matching ] command.
]	if the byte at the data pointer is nonzero, then instead of moving the instruction pointer forward to the next command, jump it back to the command after the matching [ command.

By using just these 8 words, one can create whatever program you may create by using a Turing complete machine (like a C compiler, or a PHP interpreter). So, just to make things clear, a BrainFuck program will contain only these 8 characters.

Ok, so? How does this helps us?

Well, I thought to spice up a bit our interactions here on Steemit and do my own BrainFuck contest.

The Rules Of The Contest

I will write a small BrainFuck program each day, for 10 days in a row, which will do nothing but output a question. Maybe as we advance, I will try to make things even more complex, like asking for input from you, but for now let's say the program will just output a question. Or something that will generate interaction from you.

Your role is to run the BrainFuck program (I will give you some pointers for some free online BrainFuck interpreters), decode the question and decide if you want to answer to it here, in the comments.

The first 3 answers get a full upsteem from me (in the $0.9 - $1.5 range, depending on my current voting power and the value of Steem).

Got it?

Like it?

Great, lets play.

Here's the first BrainFuck program of the day. In order to see its output, you should run it through a BrainFuck interpreter - at the end of the post you'll find a link for some resources, or you can write your own (if you're a really good programmer, cc @abit :) )

++++++++[>+>++>+++>++++>+++++>++++++>+++++++>++++++++>+++++++++>++++++++++>+++++++++++>++++++++++++>+++++++++++++>++++++++++++++>+++++++++++++++>++++++++++++++++<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<-]>>>>>>>>>>>-.+<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>.<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>+.-<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>.<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>+.-<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>++.--<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>---.+++<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>.<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>+.-<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>-.+<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>---.+++<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>.<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>-.+<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>--.++<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>.<<<<>>>>>>>>>>+++.---<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>----.++++<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>---.+++<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>---.+++<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>---.+++<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>+.-<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>----.++++<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>-.+<<<<<<<<.

BrainFuck interpreter written in JavaScript and executed in browser: http://www.bf.doleczek.pl

Let's see the first 3 answers :)

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I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @dragosroua.

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You can also vote for me as witness here:
https://steemit.com/~witnesses

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If you're new to Steemit, you may find these articles relevant (that's also part of my witness activity to support new members of the platform):

• Rewards: Were Does The Money Come From?
• Netiquette: How To Avoid Being A Steem Douche?
• Witnesses: What Are They And Why Should You Care?
• How Can I Mine Steem And What CPU / GPU Power Do I Need For That?