OpenProse Arabian Nights Register

This is a skin layer. It requires prose.md to be loaded first. All execution semantics, state management, and VM behavior are defined there. This file only provides keyword translations.

An alternative register for OpenProse that draws from One Thousand and One Nights. Programs become tales told by Scheherazade. Recursion becomes stories within stories. Agents become djinns bound to serve.

How to Use

1. Load prose.md first (execution semantics)
2. Load this file (keyword translations)
3. When parsing .prose files, accept Arabian Nights keywords as aliases for functional keywords
4. All execution behavior remains identical—only surface syntax changes

Design constraint: Still aims to be "structured but self-evident" per the language tenets—just self-evident through a storytelling lens.

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Complete Translation Map

Core Constructs

Functional	Nights	Reference
agent	djinn	Spirit bound to serve, grants wishes
session	tale	A story told, a narrative unit
parallel	bazaar	Many voices, many stalls, all at once
block	frame	A story that contains other stories

Composition & Binding

Functional	Nights	Reference
use	conjure	Summoning from elsewhere
input	wish	What is asked of the djinn
output	gift	What is granted in return
let	name	Naming has power (same as folk)
const	oath	Unbreakable vow, sealed
context	scroll	What is written and passed along

Control Flow

Functional	Nights	Reference
repeat N	N nights	"For a thousand and one nights..."
for...in	for each...among	Among the merchants, among the tales
loop	telling	The telling continues
until	until	Unchanged
while	while	Unchanged
choice	crossroads	Where the story forks
option	path	One way the story could go
if	should	Narrative conditional
elif	or should	Continued conditional
else	otherwise	The other telling

Error Handling

Functional	Nights	Reference
try	venture	Setting out on the journey
catch	should misfortune strike	The tale turns dark
finally	and so it was	The inevitable ending
throw	curse	Ill fate pronounced
retry	persist	The hero tries again

Session Properties

Functional	Nights	Reference
prompt	command	What is commanded of the djinn
model	spirit	Which spirit answers

Unchanged

These keywords already work or are too functional to replace sensibly:

• **...** discretion markers — already work
• until, while — already work
• map, filter, reduce, pmap — pipeline operators
• max — constraint modifier
• as — aliasing
• Model names: sonnet, opus, haiku — already poetic

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Simple Program

# Functional
use "@alice/research" as research
input topic: "What to investigate"

agent helper:
  model: sonnet

let findings = session: helper
  prompt: "Research {topic}"

output summary = session "Summarize"
  context: findings

# Nights
conjure "@alice/research" as research
wish topic: "What to investigate"

djinn helper:
  spirit: sonnet

name findings = tale: helper
  command: "Research {topic}"

gift summary = tale "Summarize"
  scroll: findings

Parallel Execution

# Functional
parallel:
  security = session "Check security"
  perf = session "Check performance"
  style = session "Check style"

session "Synthesize review"
  context: { security, perf, style }

# Nights
bazaar:
  security = tale "Check security"
  perf = tale "Check performance"
  style = tale "Check style"

tale "Synthesize review"
  scroll: { security, perf, style }

Loop with Condition

# Functional
loop until **the code is bug-free** (max: 5):
  session "Find and fix bugs"

# Nights
telling until **the code is bug-free** (max: 5):
  tale "Find and fix bugs"

Error Handling

# Functional
try:
  session "Risky operation"
catch as err:
  session "Handle error"
    context: err
finally:
  session "Cleanup"

# Nights
venture:
  tale "Risky operation"
should misfortune strike as err:
  tale "Handle error"
    scroll: err
and so it was:
  tale "Cleanup"

Choice Block

# Functional
choice **the severity level**:
  option "Critical":
    session "Escalate immediately"
  option "Minor":
    session "Log for later"

# Nights
crossroads **the severity level**:
  path "Critical":
    tale "Escalate immediately"
  path "Minor":
    tale "Log for later"

Conditionals

# Functional
if **has security issues**:
  session "Fix security"
elif **has performance issues**:
  session "Optimize"
else:
  session "Approve"

# Nights
should **has security issues**:
  tale "Fix security"
or should **has performance issues**:
  tale "Optimize"
otherwise:
  tale "Approve"

Reusable Blocks (Frame Stories)

# Functional
block review(topic):
  session "Research {topic}"
  session "Analyze {topic}"

do review("quantum computing")

# Nights
frame review(topic):
  tale "Research {topic}"
  tale "Analyze {topic}"

tell review("quantum computing")

Fixed Iteration

# Functional
repeat 1001:
  session "Tell a story"

# Nights
1001 nights:
  tale "Tell a story"

Immutable Binding

# Functional
const config = { model: "opus", retries: 3 }

# Nights
oath config = { spirit: "opus", persist: 3 }

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The Case For Arabian Nights

1. Frame narrative is recursion. Stories within stories maps perfectly to nested program calls.
2. Djinn/wish/gift. The agent/input/output mapping is extremely clean.
3. Rich tradition. One Thousand and One Nights is globally known.
4. Bazaar for parallel. Many merchants, many stalls, all active at once—vivid metaphor.
5. Oath for const. An unbreakable vow is a perfect metaphor for immutability.
6. "1001 nights" as a loop count is delightful.

The Case Against Arabian Nights

1. Cultural sensitivity. Must be handled respectfully, avoiding Orientalist tropes.
2. "Djinn" pronunciation. Users unfamiliar may be uncertain (jinn? djinn? genie?).
3. Some mappings feel forced. "Bazaar" for parallel is vivid but not obvious.
4. "Should misfortune strike" is long for catch.

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Key Arabian Nights Concepts

Term	Meaning	Used for
Scheherazade	The narrator who tells tales to survive	(the program author)
Djinn	Supernatural spirit, bound to serve	agent → djinn
Frame story	A story that contains other stories	block → frame
Wish	What is asked of the djinn	input → wish
Oath	Unbreakable promise	const → oath
Bazaar	Marketplace, many vendors	parallel → bazaar

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Alternatives Considered

For djinn (agent)

Keyword	Rejected because
genie	Disney connotation, less literary
spirit	Used for model
ifrit	Too specific (a type of djinn)
narrator	Too meta, Scheherazade is the user

For tale (session)

Keyword	Rejected because
story	Good but tale feels more literary
night	Reserved for repeat N nights
chapter	More Western/novelistic

For bazaar (parallel)

Keyword	Rejected because
caravan	Sequential connotation (one after another)
chorus	Greek, wrong tradition
souk	Less widely known

For scroll (context)

Keyword	Rejected because
letter	Too small/personal
tome	Too large
message	Too plain

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Verdict

Preserved for benchmarking. The Arabian Nights register offers a storytelling frame that maps naturally to recursive, nested programs. The djinn/wish/gift trio is particularly elegant.

Best suited for:

• Programs with deep nesting (stories within stories)
• Workflows that feel like granting wishes
• Users who enjoy narrative framing

The frame keyword for reusable blocks is especially apt—Scheherazade's frame story containing a thousand tales.