I'm a final-year software engineering student at the University of Newcastle. I build things — languages, tools, communities — and I'm just as interested in how software shapes the people around it as I am in the code itself.
github.com/lyxalSelected work
Community
Over on the StackExchange network, I've been moderating communities for a few years. It's given me a lot of insight into how technical communities work, where they break down, and how to help them run smoothly. While this experience is a bit different from software development, it's been invaluable for understanding how to build tools and systems that people actually want to use - whether that's a programming language or a Q&A site. Below are the communities I currently moderate.
Language Design Stack Exchange Code Golf Stack Exchange Generative AI Stack ExchangeAbout
I'm finishing a Bachelor of Software Engineering at the University of Newcastle (started 2021). The academic side is done; I'm currently looking for a placement to complete the required industry hours.
The thread running through most of my projects is an interest in what programming actually feels like to do. A lot of languages treat ergonomics as an afterthought - syntax gets inherited from whatever came before, friction accumulates, and nobody questions it. Vyxal came from asking what brevity looks like when you actually design for it. Valiance came from asking why array programming has to be so hostile to read.
I've also been moderating StackExchange communities for a few years, and spending time on the AI side working through what agentic workflows are capable of in practice.