F*: A general-purpose proof-oriented programming language

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

Three dominant themes in the discussion

Lack of accessible examples

"Clicked like 5 pages and never found 1 code example!" – cyanregiment
"I still don't see any code examples!" – cyanregiment
Proof‑oriented focus, not typical “hello‑world” problems

"These are not the kind of problems which are related to [\"HTTP server\", \"hello world\", \"todo list app\", …]." – cyanregiment
"Often the reason [...] the examples how to write something in it are merely the 'more boring' consequences of this different way of thinking." – aleph_minus_one
Usability and design friction

"F is the dwarf fortress of programming languages. Screenshots are only going to confuse anyone who isn't ready to take a significant mental journey." – Verdex
"Could not start SMT solver process. Command: '/home/site/wwwroot/fstar/bin/z3'" – flux*

🚀 Project Ideas

A hosted, zero‑setup browser REPL that ships with a curated set of “Hello World”, “HTTP server”, and “Todo list” examples for F* and dozens of emerging languages.
Users can instantly see syntax, edit, run, and see proof checks without leaving the site.

Key	Value
Target Audience	Newcomers to proof‑oriented languages, educators, conference speakers
Core Feature	Pre‑loaded interactive snippets (e.g., minimal HTTP server) that compile/run instantly in WebAssembly‑based sandbox
Tech Stack	React front‑end, Monaco editor, WebAssembly F* interpreter, Firebase Hosting
Difficulty	Medium
Monetization	Revenue-ready: Freemium (free sandbox, paid premium tutorials & CI pipelines)

Directly answers the HN complaints “I clicked like 5 pages and never found 1 code example” and “What does the syntax look like”.
Sparks discussion about language ergonomics and proof‑oriented use cases.

A lightweight JavaScript widget that scans documentation homepages and injects prominent “Run‑Now” buttons for sample code blocks.
It automatically creates a one‑click sandbox for each highlighted example, removing the “click‑through” friction.

Key	Value
Target Audience	Language designers, maintainers of programming‑language sites, technical writers
Core Feature	Auto‑detects code fences, wraps them in an interactive Playground iframe, supports multiple languages
Tech Stack	Vanilla JS, iframe API, Serverless function for code execution, Cloudflare Workers
Difficulty	Low
Monetization	Hobby

Solves the exact pain point raised by “cyanregiment”: “I wonder why more languages don't have a few simple examples … that you can just click and it shows the code”.
Generates discussion about tooling improvements for language adoption.

A community‑curated gallery where each language gets a dedicated page with a minimal, fully functional project (e.g., “hello world”, “todo app”) plus a live demo link.
Includes downloadable source, README, and a “Why use this language?” blurb.

Key	Value
Target Audience	Language creators, learners evaluating new languages, recruiters
Core Feature	Template repository with CI‑enabled build, Dockerized demo, sample implementations across domains
Tech Stack	GitHub Templates, GitHub Actions, Netlify for live demos, Markdown documentation
Difficulty	High
Monetization	Revenue-ready: Sponsorship model (GitHub Sponsors) + paid custom templates

Provides the missing “what does a simple solution look like in F*?” and “why would I use this language?” answers that were repeatedly requested.
Will generate discussion threads around each language’s design choices and practical utility.