If "fewest instructions" in Assembly is a valid question type

Question

I am trying to figure out how to write a good question. I have found that there are basically 3 2 types of acceptable answers (really only probably 1 as of today):

• Playing a game.
• Shortest in x language.
• Popularity contest.

I was wondering though if it would be acceptable to limit it to a specific language, and limit it to only the core language primitives. In x86 assembly, this would mean not calling to external libraries with call. In JavaScript this would mean only using var, if, while, etc.

Or perhaps you could list what languages are acceptable, i.e. "this can be done in x86, JavaScript, C, or Python", to give it more range but at the same time prevent the "shortest in x language" problem.

By doing so, the winning condition can be the fewest instructions or statements (statements would need to be defined for each language). Instructions is already clearly defined for Assembly. There is an actual number associated with the amount of primitive constructs used, which could be the score.

Answer 1

This is atomic-code-golf

From the tag description of atomic code golf:

Atomic code golf asks you to solve a task using only a limited set of operations, with as few of these operations as possible.

Which is what you are describing.

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It's also important to note that atomic code golf tends to work best when there is only one language involved. This allows the OP to define the scoring mechanic in an objective, and predictable way.