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

Load prose.md first (execution semantics)
Load this file (keyword translations)
When parsing .prose files, accept Arabian Nights keywords as aliases for functional keywords
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.

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

Shared appendix

Use shared-appendix.md for unchanged keywords and the common comparison pattern.

Recommended Arabian Nights rewrite targets:

session sample -> tale
parallel sample -> bazaar
loop sample -> telling
try/catch/finally sample -> venture / should misfortune strike / and so it was
choice sample -> crossroads / path

prose

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

Reusable Blocks (Frame Stories)

prose

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

do review("quantum computing")

prose

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

tell review("quantum computing")

Fixed Iteration

prose

# Functional
repeat 1001:
  session "Tell a story"

prose

# Nights
1001 nights:
  tale "Tell a story"

Immutable Binding

prose

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

prose

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

The Case For Arabian Nights

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

The Case Against Arabian Nights

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

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`

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

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.

OpenProse Arabian Nights Register

OpenProse Arabian Nights Register

How to Use

Complete Translation Map

Core Constructs

Composition & Binding

Control Flow

Error Handling

Session Properties

Shared appendix

Reusable Blocks (Frame Stories)

Fixed Iteration

Immutable Binding

The Case For Arabian Nights

The Case Against Arabian Nights

Key Arabian Nights Concepts

Alternatives Considered

For djinn (agent)

For tale (session)

For bazaar (parallel)

For scroll (context)

Verdict

For `djinn` (agent)

For `tale` (session)

For `bazaar` (parallel)

For `scroll` (context)