Babel: Languages

Note: Many languages in this table still require documentation. A template is provided in the worg git repository for the addition of language documentation.

Babel has support for the following languages.

Language	Documentation	Identifier	Requirements
Asymptote		asymptote	asymptote, asy-mode
Awk		awk	Awk
C	ob-doc-C	c	none
C++	ob-doc-C	cpp	none
Calc		calc	none
Clojure	ob-doc-clojure	clojure	clojure, clojure-mode, slime, swank-clojure
CSS		css	none
Ditaa		ditaa	ditaa (bundled with Org-mode)
Dot (Graphviz)		dot	dot
Emacs Lisp		emacs-lisp	none
Fomus		fomus (contrib)	fomus (music notation)
Fortran		F90	fortran
Gnuplot	ob-doc-gnuplot	gnuplot	gnuplot, gnuplot-mode
Haskell		haskell	haskell, haskell-mode, inf-haskell, lhs2tex
Java		java	java
Javascript		js	node.js
LaTeX	ob-doc-latex	latex	latex, auctex, reftex
Ledger	ob-doc-ledger	ledger	ledger
Lilypond	ob-doc-lilypond	ly	lilypond music notation
Lisp		lisp	slime
Matlab	ob-doc-octave-matlab	matlab	matlab, matlab.el
Maxima		max	maxima
Mscgen	ob-doc-mscgen	mscgen	Mscgen
Objective Caml		ocaml	ocaml, tuareg-mode
Octave	ob-doc-octave-matlab	octave	octave
Org		org	none
OZ	ob-doc-oz	oz (contrib)	Mozart which includes a major mode
Perl		perl	perl, cperl-mode (optional)
Picolisp	ob-doc-picolisp	picolisp	PicoLisp
PlantUML		plantuml
Python		python	python, python-mode (optional)
R	ob-doc-R	R	R, ess-mode, tikzDevice
Ruby		ruby	ruby, irb, ruby-mode, inf-ruby mode
Sass		sass	sass, sass-mode
Scheme		scheme	none
Shen		shen	shen
shell		sh	a shell
SQL		sql	none
Sqlite		sqlite	none

To add support for a particular language to your Babel installation first make sure that the requirements of the language are met, then you may customize the org-babel-load-languages variable, update the variable's value manually by adding¹

(lang . t)

to its definition. A line like the following to explicitly remove support for a language.

(lang . nil)

Here is an example manual configuration of this variable, which enables support for R, and disables support for emacs-lisp.

;; active Babel languages
(org-babel-do-load-languages
 'org-babel-load-languages
 '((R . t)
   (emacs-lisp . nil)
   ))

The core Babel functions (viewing, export, tangling, etc…) are language agnostic and will work even for languages that are not explicitly supported. Explicit language-specific support is required only for evaluation of code blocks in a language.

Babel is designed to be easily extended to support new languages. Language support is added by defining language-specific functions using a simple naming convention. The full suite of possible language specific functions need not be implemented all at once, but rather it is possible (and encouraged) to develop language-specific functionality in an incremental fashion – Babel will make use of those functions which are available, and will fail gracefully when functionality has not yet been implemented.

There is a short Emacs Lisp template (ob-template.el) which can be used as a starting point for implementing support for new languages. Developers are encouraged to read the Org-mode contribution instructions in the hope that the language support can be included into the Org-mode core.