Goblin Programming Language

Goblin is a general-purpose programming language created by Dan Donche and first released in 2025. The language was designed to support scripting, automation, simulations, games, websites, and long-running applications within a unified programming environment.

Goblin is dynamically typed and emphasizes readability, expressive syntax, and simulation-oriented programming.

History

Development of Goblin began in 2025 with the goal of creating a language that combined the accessibility of scripting languages with features commonly associated with simulation engines and game development frameworks.

Early versions of the language were executed through an interpreter written in Rust.

As the language matured, development expanded to include Vampire, a bytecode-based virtual machine intended to improve performance and provide a long-term execution platform for Goblin applications.

The language remains under active development.

Key Events

• Aug 10, 2025 - first github commit with 28 contributions that day
• Oct 24, 2025 - v0.1.0 first release
• Nov 17, 2025 - v0.8.2 first release of Sheriff
• Jun 05, 2026 - v0.26.2 release
• Jun 15, 2026 - v0.47.35 release with WASM and VM, includes garbage collection

Design

Goblin is a dynamically typed language that organizes behavior through actions, modules, classes, and objects.

The language uses a distinctive tether model to describe variable binding.

Goblin favors explicit syntax and descriptive naming conventions. The language was designed with an emphasis on readability and maintainability rather than minimizing the number of characters required to express an operation.

Features

Core language features include:

• Dynamic typing
• Actions
• Modules
• Classes
• Objects
• Arrays
• Maps
• String interpolation
• Date and time types
• Duration values
• Currency support
• Randomization utilities
• Collection Utilities

The language also includes facilities intended for simulation-oriented programming.

Implementation

The Rust mascot Goblin is primarily implemented in Rust.¹

The original runtime executes programs through an interpreter.

A newer execution engine, known as Vampire, compiles Goblin source code into bytecode and executes it through a dedicated runtime environment.

The long-term development roadmap calls for Vampire to become the primary execution platform for Goblin programs while maintaining compatibility with existing language semantics.

Ecosystem

Several projects have been developed alongside the language.

Vampire

Vampire is the official virtual machine for Goblin.

Sheriff

Sheriff is a publishing, deployment, and hosting platform developed alongside Goblin.

GLAMs

GLAMs are distributable Goblin modules that package reusable functionality, documentation, configuration, and supporting resources.

Philosophy

Goblin was created around the idea that simulation should be treated as a first-class programming concern rather than a niche domain requiring specialized frameworks.

The language attempts to provide a common environment for scripting, application development, simulation, automation, and publishing workflows.