Make a slow error quine maker!

Question

As part of his answer to Make an Error Quine!, @Falko proposed the following algorithm:

How to create your own solution in 2 minutes?

Open a new file in an IDE of your choice.

Bang your head onto the keyboard in front of you.

Compile.

Replace the code with the compiler error message.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the code converges.

I bet such a procedure terminates pretty quickly in most cases!

Task

Your task is to prove him wrong.

Write a full program that satisfies the following:

When compiled or interpreted, it produces an error message that, when compiled or interpreted in turn, also results in an error message.
Repeating step 1 over and over again will eventually encounter a fixed point, i.e., an error quine.

Additional rules

The final error message must have a positive length. However, the previous error messages and the original source code may be empty.
The original source code's length may not exceed 1024 bytes.
Neither the original code or the code generated in any of the steps may produce non-error output.

The output has to be clearly identifiable as an error message, which has to be generated by the compiler/interpreter due to a syntax error, runtime error, undefined reference, etc.
Your program may not receive any input or require any flags to produce the loop.
Your program may rely on a specific implementation of its language or version thereof.

Scoring

Your score is the finite number of steps your source code requires before producing an error quine. The submission with the highest score wins.

The length of the original source code will be used as tie breaker. Shorter is better.

Example

In Chicken, the program

generates the following error message:

TypeError: Cannot read property 'NaN' of undefined

If this error message is, in turn, interpreted, it produces the error message

Error on line 1: expected 'chicken'

which, if interpreted in turn, produces itself.

Thus, the score of the empty Chicken program is 2.

Counterexample

The PHP code

ab<?=c

generates the error message

PHP Parse error:  syntax error, unexpected '?' in Command line code on line 1

which produces itself when interpreted.

However, the second source code prints the message to STDOUT, making this sequence invalid.

This procedure never produces an error quine in Pyth. It ends up in a repeating cycle, every third error output of which is Segmentation fault (core dumped). — isaacg, May 30, 2015 at 4:49
I believe this is the 3000th question, not counting closed or locked ones. Congrats! :) — Martin Ender, May 30, 2015 at 17:00
Too bad that C# can't do this, because the compiler generates an increasingly longer line of errors. — LegionMammal978, May 30, 2015 at 18:40
@IsmaelMiguel: I've added the last two iterations, to keep it short. — Dennis, May 31, 2015 at 4:13

jimmy23013 · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-31 14:29:14Z

Bash, 9223372036854775810

Inspired by Doorknob's answer.

a='"2>/dev/null;if(((i=$((i-1)))>0));then $(declare -p a);$a;else 1;fi #"'
i=2**63
eval $a

It should be run with bash < file.sh, or use the same file name for each program, to get rid of the different file names in the error messages.

The first few errors are (with LANG=C):

bash: line 3: 2>/dev/null;if(((i=9223372036854775807)>0));then declare -- a="\"2>/dev/null;if(((i=\$((i-1)))>0));then \$(declare -p a);\$a;else 1;fi #\"";"2>/dev/null;if(((i=$((i-1)))>0));then $(declare -p a);$a;else 1;fi #";else 1;fi #: No such file or directory

bash: line 1: 2>/dev/null;if(((i=9223372036854775806)>0));then declare -- a="\"2>/dev/null;if(((i=\$((i-1)))>0));then \$(declare -p a);\$a;else 1;fi #\"";"2>/dev/null;if(((i=$((i-1)))>0));then $(declare -p a);$a;else 1;fi #";else 1;fi #: No such file or directory

bash: line 1: 2>/dev/null;if(((i=9223372036854775805)>0));then declare -- a="\"2>/dev/null;if(((i=\$((i-1)))>0));then \$(declare -p a);\$a;else 1;fi #\"";"2>/dev/null;if(((i=$((i-1)))>0));then $(declare -p a);$a;else 1;fi #";else 1;fi #: No such file or directory

And finally:

bash: line 1: 2>/dev/null;if(((i=0)>0));then declare -- a="\"2>/dev/null;if(((i=\$((i-1)))>0));then \$(declare -p a);\$a;else 1;fi #\"";"2>/dev/null;if(((i=$((i-1)))>0));then $(declare -p a);$a;else 1;fi #";else 1;fi #: No such file or directory

bash: line 1: 1: command not found

bash: line 1: bash:: command not found

which is an error quine.

That's probably as high as we'll get on 64-bit machines. Well played. — Dennis, May 30, 2015 at 5:29
@Dennis It can be much higher if I use bc or write my own code for decrement. — jimmy23013, May 30, 2015 at 5:30
@Dennis Edited to make the errors fit in the maximum file sizes of 64-bit machines. — jimmy23013, May 30, 2015 at 5:46
This is especially ridiculously high scoring compared to the other answers. To be fair, Falko did say "most cases" (although this does provide at least 9223372036854775000 with score over 800.) — PyRulez, May 30, 2015 at 22:52
Maybe also add the last few ones (just before it becomes a quine)? — Paŭlo Ebermann, May 31, 2015 at 12:42

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

Pip 0.15.05.29, over 10^100,000

Technically not valid because it requires the -w flag for warning output. That being said, Pip by design doesn't display any runtime errors unless they actually crash the program (infinite recursion, e.g.); the problems with this code are things that other languages would definitely complain about.

i:5**6**7d:"i:1d: Ssi?dRo--iRsRPda"Ssi?dRo--iRsRPda

The exact number of steps depends only on the value assigned to i, so it could be arbitrarily large (until the Python interpreter runs out of memory). Also, it would take longer than the age of the universe to complete the above sequence. (The question did specify "slow"!)

Explanation:

It took some combing through the interpreter before I found an error that would let me put arbitrary code into the warning message. After that, it was essentially modifying standard quine techniques. Example here uses an i-value of 5 for purposes of explanation.

i:5d:"i:1d: Ssi?dRo--iRsRPda"Ssi?dRo--iRsRPda

After setting i, store a string in d and then attempt to execute the Swap statement. Swap expects two variables (more accurately, lvalues). s is fine, but the second expression is i?dRo--iRsRPda. If i is true (nonzero, for our purposes), the ternary evaluates to dRo--iRsRPd, which uses d from earlier to form a near-quine--only with i decremented. This expression is not an lvalue, so Pip complains:

Attempting to swap non-lvalue i:4d:"i:1d: Ssi?dRo--iRsRPda"Ssi?dRo--iRsRPda

... which then starts the whole thing over again. (Attempting to swap non-lvalue is a bunch of no-ops: At calculates the ASCII value of t = 10, n-l subtracts newline minus each value of an empty list, and all the lowercase letters are just variables.)

The process continues in like fashion all the way down to:

Attempting to swap non-lvalue i:0d:"i:1d: Ssi?dRo--iRsRPda"Ssi?dRo--iRsRPda

When this is run, i is now false. The ternary expression evaluates to the else branch a--which is an lvalue. Thus, swap doesn't complain anymore. Instead, we get:

Referencing uninitialized variable a

And upon running this, at last, we have an actual syntax error:

R is not a unary operator
Fatal error while parsing, execution aborted.

... at which point, since the "program" starts with R, Pip will continue complaining that R is not a unary operator forever.

The best solution that doesn't use -w is of length 3:

$~

While scanning, ignored unrecognized character: '~'
Missing operator for $ meta-operator? Got None instead
Fatal error while parsing, execution aborted.

Missing operator for $ meta-operator? Got m instead
Fatal error while parsing, execution aborted.

M is not a unary operator
Fatal error while parsing, execution aborted.

Pip -w counts as a programming language according to meta consensus — MilkyWay90, Jul 9, 2019 at 16:54
@MilkyWay90 Good point, though I think the wording of this question overrides that default ("Your program may not... require any flags to produce the loop"). It doesn't matter much to me one way or the other--my solution has been well-received in any case. :) — DLosc, Jul 19, 2019 at 4:20

Alex A. · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-30 04:23:14Z

15

Julia, 3

A simple one just to get the ball rolling...

Initial program:

inquisition

Error 1:

inquisition not defined

It may not be defined, but if it's Spanish, it's also unexpected. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

Error 2:

syntax: extra token "not" after end of expression

Error 3:

syntax: extra token "token" after end of expression

The third error message, when submitted as a program, produces that same error, hence the score of 3.

Work in progress! Surely I can do better than 3.

edited May 30, 2015 at 4:23

answered May 30, 2015 at 4:16

Alex A.

24.6k5 gold badges37 silver badges119 bronze badges

2

\$\begingroup\$ Unrelated, but worth watching (subtitles in Spanish): youtube.com/watch?v=8mzfyVluiIU or (subtitles in English, and better quality): youtube.com/watch?v=mog7Gsu613E \$\endgroup\$
– Ismael Miguel
May 31, 2015 at 2:16
2

\$\begingroup\$ @IsmaelMiguel That most certainly is related. :) \$\endgroup\$
– Alex A.
May 31, 2015 at 6:49

Add a comment |

Alex A. · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-30 04:29:30Z

10

R, 5

Initial program:

1i*"5"

Error 1:

Error in (0+1i) * "5" : non-numeric argument to binary operator

Error 2:

Error: unexpected 'in' in "Error in"

Error 3:

Error: unexpected string constant in "Error 'in'"

Error 4:

Error: unexpected symbol in "Error: unexpected string"

Error 5 (Quine):

Error: unexpected symbol in "Error: unexpected symbol"

answered May 30, 2015 at 4:29

Alex A.

24.6k5 gold badges37 silver badges119 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Doorknob · Accepted Answer · 2015-05-30 04:32:27Z

7

Bash, 3

cp

Very rudimentary shell script to test it:

llama@llama:~$ s=$(bash -c 'cp' 2>&1); olds=asdf; while [ "$s" != "$olds" ]; do echo $s; echo '-----'; olds=$s; s=$(bash -c $s 2>&1); done 
cp: missing file operand
Try 'cp --help' for more information.
-----
bash: cp:: command not found
bash: line 1: Try: command not found
-----
bash: bash:: command not found
bash: line 1: bash:: command not found
-----

answered May 30, 2015 at 4:32

Doorknob

71.4k19 gold badges141 silver badges383 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ Your test script doesn't ignore stdout. If there is stdout and stderr, it won't work properly. \$\endgroup\$
– wizzwizz4
Feb 7, 2016 at 15:19
\$\begingroup\$ @wizzwizz4 The challenge forbids non-error output. \$\endgroup\$
– Dennis
Feb 7, 2016 at 23:09
\$\begingroup\$ @Dennis Good point. But... the user isn't always as good as the programmer. (Even if the user is a programmer, they might not be an experienced one.) \$\endgroup\$
– wizzwizz4
Feb 8, 2016 at 17:34

Add a comment |

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

6

Ruby, 5

Initial Program

1

undefined local variable or method `q' for #<Context:0x00000001045d70>
(repl):1:in `initialize'

2

(repl):2: syntax error, unexpected tIDENTIFIER, expecting end-of-input
(repl):1:in `initialize'
                       ^

3

(repl):1: syntax error, unexpected ':', expecting end-of-input
(repl):2: syntax error, unexpected t...
       ^

4

(repl):1: syntax error, unexpected ':', expecting end-of-input
(repl):1: syntax error, unexpected ':', expecting end-of-input
       ^

5 (Quine)

(repl):1: syntax error, unexpected ':', expecting end-of-input
(repl):1: syntax error, unexpected ':', expecting end-of-input
       ^

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered May 31, 2015 at 4:07

mbomb007

23.3k7 gold badges60 silver badges134 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ necro but what's the difference between iteration 4 and 5 here? \$\endgroup\$
– thejonymyster
Oct 12, 2021 at 13:37
1

\$\begingroup\$ @thejonymyster Nothing. It just shows that it's a quine because it's the same as the previous stage. \$\endgroup\$
– mbomb007
Oct 13, 2021 at 22:21
\$\begingroup\$ oh, i see. I was miscounting / fence posting issue, my bad \$\endgroup\$
– thejonymyster
Oct 13, 2021 at 22:26

Add a comment |

mbomb007 · Accepted Answer · 2022-11-11 19:02:40Z

Java, 5

These are very long... so I verified string equality using a Python script, and I generated this formatted post, so I wouldn't have to manually insert tabs on 400 lines.

Initial Program

class Main {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    System.out.println("hello world");
  }}
}

1

Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
}
^
1 error

exit status 1

2

Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
^
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                         ^
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                    ^
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                         ^
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
Main.java:1: error: = expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                              ^
Main.java:3: error: illegal start of type
^
^
Main.java:3: error: ';' expected
^
 ^
Main.java:6: error: ';' expected
exit status 1
    ^
Main.java:6: error: <identifier> expected
exit status 1
           ^
Main.java:6: error: reached end of file while parsing
exit status 1
             ^
10 errors

exit status 1

3

Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
^
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                         ^
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                    ^
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                         ^
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
Main.java:1: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                              ^
Main.java:2: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
         ^
Main.java:2: error: ';' expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
          ^
Main.java:2: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
           ^
Main.java:2: error: = expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                  ^
Main.java:2: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                         ^
Main.java:2: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                    ^
Main.java:2: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                         ^
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
Main.java:2: error: = expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                              ^
Main.java:3: error: illegal start of type
^
^
Main.java:4: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
    ^
Main.java:4: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
         ^
Main.java:4: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
          ^
Main.java:4: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
           ^
Main.java:4: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
                  ^
Main.java:5: error: '(' expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
    ^
Main.java:5: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
         ^
Main.java:5: error: ';' expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
          ^
Main.java:5: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
           ^
Main.java:5: error: = expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                  ^
Main.java:5: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                         ^
Main.java:5: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                    ^
Main.java:5: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                         ^
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
Main.java:5: error: = expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                              ^
Main.java:6: error: illegal start of type
                         ^
                         ^
Main.java:7: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
    ^
Main.java:7: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
         ^
Main.java:7: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
          ^
Main.java:7: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
           ^
Main.java:7: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
                  ^
Main.java:8: error: '(' expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
    ^
Main.java:8: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
         ^
Main.java:8: error: ';' expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
          ^
Main.java:8: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
           ^
Main.java:8: error: = expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                  ^
Main.java:8: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                         ^
Main.java:8: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                    ^
Main.java:8: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                         ^
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
Main.java:8: error: = expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                              ^
Main.java:9: error: illegal start of type
                                    ^
                                    ^
Main.java:10: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
    ^
Main.java:10: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
         ^
Main.java:10: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
          ^
Main.java:10: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
           ^
Main.java:10: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                  ^
Main.java:10: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                          ^
Main.java:10: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                  ^
Main.java:10: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                   ^
Main.java:10: error: unclosed character literal
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                     ^
Main.java:10: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                       ^
Main.java:10: error: unclosed character literal
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                          ^
Main.java:10: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                                        ^
Main.java:10: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                                              ^
Main.java:10: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                                                         ^
Main.java:10: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                                                                    ^
Main.java:11: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
         ^
Main.java:11: error: ';' expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
          ^
Main.java:11: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
           ^
Main.java:11: error: = expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                  ^
Main.java:11: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                         ^
Main.java:11: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                    ^
Main.java:11: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                         ^
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
Main.java:11: error: = expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                              ^
Main.java:12: error: illegal start of type
                                         ^
                                         ^
Main.java:12: error: <identifier> expected
                                         ^
                                          ^
Main.java:13: error: = expected
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
   ^
Main.java:13: error: ';' expected
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
      ^
Main.java:13: error: <identifier> expected
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
              ^
Main.java:13: error: = expected
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
               ^
Main.java:13: error: ';' expected
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
                  ^
Main.java:13: error: = expected
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
                               ^
Main.java:13: error: unclosed character literal
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
                                   ^
Main.java:13: error: unclosed character literal
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
                                        ^
Main.java:13: error: = expected
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
                                                          ^
Main.java:14: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: = expected
         ^
Main.java:14: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: = expected
          ^
Main.java:14: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: = expected
           ^
Main.java:14: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: = expected
                  ^
Main.java:14: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: = expected
                    ^
Main.java:15: error: = expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
^
Main.java:15: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
    ^
Main.java:15: error: = expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
         ^
Main.java:15: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
          ^
Main.java:15: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
           ^
Main.java:15: error: = expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
             ^
Main.java:15: error: ';' expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                  ^
Main.java:15: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                         ^
Main.java:15: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                    ^
Main.java:15: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                         ^
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
Main.java:15: error: = expected
Main.java:5: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                              ^
Main.java:16: error: illegal start of type
                                              ^
                                              ^
Main.java:17: error: = expected
Main.java:3: error: illegal start of type
    ^
Main.java:17: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:3: error: illegal start of type
         ^
Main.java:17: error: ';' expected
Main.java:3: error: illegal start of type
          ^
Main.java:17: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:3: error: illegal start of type
           ^
Main.java:17: error: = expected
Main.java:3: error: illegal start of type
                  ^
100 errors

exit status 1

4

Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
^
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                         ^
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                    ^
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                         ^
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
Main.java:1: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                              ^
Main.java:2: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
         ^
Main.java:2: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
          ^
Main.java:2: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
           ^
Main.java:2: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                  ^
Main.java:2: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                         ^
Main.java:2: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                    ^
Main.java:2: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                         ^
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
Main.java:2: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                              ^
Main.java:3: error: illegal start of type
^
^
Main.java:4: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
    ^
Main.java:4: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
         ^
Main.java:4: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
          ^
Main.java:4: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
           ^
Main.java:4: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
                  ^
Main.java:5: error: '(' expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
    ^
Main.java:5: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
         ^
Main.java:5: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
          ^
Main.java:5: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
           ^
Main.java:5: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                  ^
Main.java:5: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                         ^
Main.java:5: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                    ^
Main.java:5: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                         ^
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
Main.java:5: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                              ^
Main.java:6: error: illegal start of type
                         ^
                         ^
Main.java:7: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
    ^
Main.java:7: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
         ^
Main.java:7: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
          ^
Main.java:7: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
           ^
Main.java:7: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: <identifier> expected
                  ^
Main.java:8: error: '(' expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
    ^
Main.java:8: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
         ^
Main.java:8: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
          ^
Main.java:8: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
           ^
Main.java:8: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                  ^
Main.java:8: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                         ^
Main.java:8: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                    ^
Main.java:8: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                         ^
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
Main.java:8: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                              ^
Main.java:9: error: illegal start of type
                                    ^
                                    ^
Main.java:10: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
    ^
Main.java:10: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
         ^
Main.java:10: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
          ^
Main.java:10: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
           ^
Main.java:10: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                  ^
Main.java:10: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                          ^
Main.java:10: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                  ^
Main.java:10: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                   ^
Main.java:10: error: unclosed character literal
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                     ^
Main.java:10: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                       ^
Main.java:10: error: unclosed character literal
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                          ^
Main.java:10: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                                        ^
Main.java:10: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                                              ^
Main.java:10: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                                                         ^
Main.java:10: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
                                                                                    ^
Main.java:11: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
         ^
Main.java:11: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
          ^
Main.java:11: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
           ^
Main.java:11: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                  ^
Main.java:11: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                         ^
Main.java:11: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                    ^
Main.java:11: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                         ^
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
Main.java:11: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                              ^
Main.java:12: error: illegal start of type
                                         ^
                                         ^
Main.java:12: error: <identifier> expected
                                         ^
                                          ^
Main.java:13: error: = expected
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
   ^
Main.java:13: error: ';' expected
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
      ^
Main.java:13: error: <identifier> expected
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
              ^
Main.java:13: error: = expected
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
               ^
Main.java:13: error: ';' expected
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
                  ^
Main.java:13: error: = expected
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
                               ^
Main.java:13: error: unclosed character literal
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
                                   ^
Main.java:13: error: unclosed character literal
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
                                        ^
Main.java:13: error: = expected
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
                                                          ^
Main.java:14: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: = expected
         ^
Main.java:14: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: = expected
          ^
Main.java:14: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: = expected
           ^
Main.java:14: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: = expected
                  ^
Main.java:14: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: = expected
                    ^
Main.java:15: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
^
Main.java:15: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
    ^
Main.java:15: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
         ^
Main.java:15: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
          ^
Main.java:15: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
           ^
Main.java:15: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
             ^
Main.java:15: error: ';' expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                  ^
Main.java:15: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                         ^
Main.java:15: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                    ^
Main.java:15: error: as of release 5, 'enum' is a keyword, and may not be used as an identifier
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                         ^
  (use -source 1.4 or lower to use 'enum' as an identifier)
Main.java:15: error: = expected
Main.java:1: error: class, interface, or enum expected
                                              ^
Main.java:16: error: illegal start of type
                                              ^
                                              ^
Main.java:17: error: = expected
Main.java:2: error: <identifier> expected
    ^
Main.java:17: error: <identifier> expected
Main.java:2: error: <identifier> expected
         ^
Main.java:17: error: ';' expected
Main.java:2: error: <identifier> expected
          ^
Main.java:17: error: illegal start of type
Main.java:2: error: <identifier> expected
           ^
Main.java:17: error: = expected
Main.java:2: error: <identifier> expected
                  ^
100 errors

exit status 1

5 (Quine) - Omitted because of post length.

Edit: While the initial post used repl.it for an online interpreter, you may now use https://ato.pxeger.com/ to avoid needing to create an account. The output will be different along the way, but it still reaches quine state in 5.

As the error messages are not standardized, could you add your compiler version (the output of javac -version)? — Paŭlo Ebermann, May 31, 2015 at 12:47
"[...]so I wouldn't have to manually insert tabs on 400 lines!" --> Paste on Notepad++, press CTRL+A (Select everything) and then press tab. That is a faster way. Also, you could have used text-compare.com to compare the texts, or the Compare plugin in Notepad++. The best of all is that text-compare.com allows to send the results over email. — Ismael Miguel, May 31, 2015 at 13:18
I used my script instead of a website, so that I would have all the output in a single list which could then be output. — mbomb007, Jun 1, 2015 at 13:31

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

2

Javascript, 3 error levels

This isn't that 'cleaver' or anything, but I found it rather weird...

Error 0 (original):

document.appendChild(HTMLAllCollection)

Error 1:

HierarchyRequestError

Error 2:

'HierarchyRequestError' is not defined

Error 3 (quine):

Excepted character ';'

This was all returned on Internet Explorer 11.0.9600.17416, being the errors translated to English.

Printscreen:

Printscreen showing the console output

^{* The error messages are shown in Portuguese and can be easily translated to English}

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered May 31, 2015 at 2:45

Ismael Miguel

7,8852 gold badges24 silver badges38 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ @LegionMammal978 In what exact version AND build number and date? \$\endgroup\$
– Ismael Miguel
Oct 22, 2015 at 20:04
\$\begingroup\$ @LegionMammal978 The answer was VERY specific. It only works on IE11, and that exact output will only happen on Windows with Portuguese (pt-PT) as the primary display language. I guarantee that it will work on 11.0.9600.17416. I can't and won't guarantee that it will produce the same output in newer builds or on another operating system. \$\endgroup\$
– Ismael Miguel
Oct 22, 2015 at 20:12
\$\begingroup\$ @LegionMammal978 Don't worry. Mark the comments as obsolete when you get this one. \$\endgroup\$
– Ismael Miguel
Oct 22, 2015 at 20:13

Add a comment |

Pacmanboss256 · Accepted Answer · 2022-11-09 14:23:45Z

Vyxal 3

Initial program

Error 1

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/Vyxal/mysite/vyxal/main.py", line 195, in execute_vyxal
    exec(code, locals() | globals())
  File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/home/Vyxal/mysite/vyxal/elements.py", line 3262, in monadic_minimum
    if len(lhs) == 0:
TypeError: object of type 'Zero' has no len()

Error 2

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/Vyxal/mysite/vyxal/main.py", line 195, in execute_vyxal
    exec(code, locals() | globals())
  File "<string>", line 141
SyntaxError: 'continue' not properly in loop

Error 3


Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/Vyxal/mysite/vyxal/main.py", line 195, in execute_vyxal
    exec(code, locals() | globals())
  File "<string>", line 144
SyntaxError: 'continue' not properly in loop

For some reason the debug error message for the first 2 errors doesn't start with a newline, so the error is in line 141, which becomes line 144 after the newline is added, which stabilizes.

oeuf · Accepted Answer · 2022-11-12 14:49:58Z

1

K (ngn/k), 4

f:{

Error 1:

'parse
 f:{
    ^

Error 2:

'parse
     ^
      ^

Error 3:

'value
 'parse
  ^

Error 4:

'value
 'value
  ^

Which for some reason repeats itself.

{ also works with the same amount of attempts needed.

edited Nov 12, 2022 at 14:49

answered Nov 11, 2022 at 7:06

oeuf

1,7933 silver badges18 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Infigon · Accepted Answer · 2023-03-05 18:54:32Z

JavaScript (Google Chrome): 6 levels

Interesting how no one realized that eval would work! I started out with this strange script: throw "=eval('throw 1')"

The trick was to set the variable Uncaught (which is allowed), which is done to let it evaluate the rest of the code, throwing an error that will cause more errors. Finally, we predefine eval to shave off a few bytes for tiebreaking, and we make it even deeper. (This can be deeper, but this cost me too much of my insanity already!)

So, here's the resulting code and errors:

e=eval;throw `=e('throw "=e(\\\\"throw \`=e(\\'throw 1\\')\`\\\\")"')`
Uncaught =e('throw "=e(\\"throw `=e(\'throw 1\')`\\")"')
Uncaught =e("throw `=e('throw 1')`")
Uncaught =e('throw 1')
Uncaught 1
Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected number
Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected identifier 'SyntaxError'

Also, you can probably think of something simpler if the Uncaught part of the error message doesn't count (first line is code, rest is errors):

throw `throw "throw 'throw \\"throw \\\\'throw x\\\\'\\"'"`
throw "throw 'throw \"throw \\'throw x\\'\"'"
throw 'throw "throw \'throw x\'"'
throw "throw 'throw x'"
throw 'throw x'
throw x
ReferenceError: x is not defined
SyntaxError: Unexpected identifier 'ReferenceError'
SyntaxError: Unexpected identifier 'identifier'

Notice how x and 1 give the same amount of errors. I'm getting tired of the word throw now, so I guess I'll leave it to you to comment if you want to get this up to around 1024 bytes.

bigyihsuan · Accepted Answer · 2023-03-05 20:09:45Z

Go, 4 errors

Level 1

package main
func main() {
println(a)
}

Attempt This Online!

Level 2

# command-line-arguments
../code.go:3:9: undefined: a

Attempt This Online!

Level 3

../code.go:1:1: illegal character U+0023 '#'

Attempt This Online!

Level 4 (loop)

../code.go:1:1: expected 'package', found '.'

Attempt This Online!

Every Go program with a compile-time error will have a score of 4, because of the first error (level 2) starting with #, which is an illegal character in Go code outside of strings. Then, Go will complain about not finding the package keyword at the start of the file, which is required for all Go source files.

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

0

JS in Firefox 66.0; 3 error levels

Input: 6?4;

Error #1 = Input #2: missing : in conditional expression

Error #2 = Input #3: expected expression, got keyword 'in'

Error #3 = Input #4 = Error #4: unexpected token: identifier

This is the highest I got.

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Mar 22, 2019 at 14:07

elipszilon

1011 silver badge3 bronze badges

Add a comment |

How to create your own solution in 2 minutes?

Task

Additional rules

Scoring

Example

Counterexample

13 Answers 13

Bash, 9223372036854775810

Pip 0.15.05.29, over 10100,000

Julia, 3

R, 5

Bash, 3

Ruby, 5

Initial Program

1

2

3

4

5 (Quine)

Java, 5

1

2

3

4

5 (Quine) - Omitted because of post length.

Javascript, 3 error levels

Vyxal 3

K (ngn/k), 4

JavaScript (Google Chrome): 6 levels

Go, 4 errors

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 4 (loop)

JS in Firefox 66.0; 3 error levels

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