Add the long-horizon roadmap: 64, 99, 128, 256 and beyond

The first 64 languages are built by the core team in sessions of ten;
the community takes over from 99. README, LANGUAGES and CHALLENGE link
to the new ROADMAP.md.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: francescobianco

CHALLENGE.md

@@ -4,10 +4,9 @@
 
 > Italian original: [docs/CHALLENGE.it.md](docs/CHALLENGE.it.md)
 
-> **Update, October 2026.** The first public goal is **64 languages** (2⁶),
-> followed by 128 and 256, so every milestone is a power of two. See
-> [Why 64?](README.md#-why-64) in the README. The 100-language targets below
-> reflect the original proposal.
+> **Update, October 2026.** Milestones are now 64 (2⁶), 99, 128, 256 and
+> beyond, with no deadlines. See [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md). The 100-language
+> targets below reflect the original proposal.
 
 **Status:** consolidated project proposal  
 **Date:** 14 October 2026  

LANGUAGES.md

@@ -10,9 +10,10 @@
 Verification status is computed by CI on every run (`./elc test`) and recorded
 in `reports/report.json`. Only `verified` implementations count.
 
-### Next up (goal: 64 languages, then 128 and 256)
+### Next up
 
-C, Rust, Prolog, JavaScript, Java, COBOL, FORTRAN, Haskell.
+Goal: 64 languages, built in sessions of ten. See the session plan in
+[ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md#-64-the-first-goal).
 
 ## What counts as a distinct language
 

README.md

@@ -35,13 +35,14 @@ Each implementation in this repository:
 - ✅ **passes the same 87 test vectors** with identical JSON output;
 - 🔍 **leaves evidence**: source hashes, environment, per-test results and logs.
 
-Our target is **64 languages**, and then we keep doubling: **128**, **256** and
-beyond. [Why 64?](#-why-64)
+Our first goal is **64 languages**, then **99**, **128**, **256** and beyond.
+See [Why 64?](#-why-64) and the [roadmap](ROADMAP.md).
 
 ```text
-Goal      2⁶   ▋░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░    2 / 64
-Next      2⁷   ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░    2 / 128
-Extended  2⁸   ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░    2 / 256
+64     2⁶    ▋░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░    2 / 64     ← we are here
+99     🍺    ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░    2 / 99
+128    2⁷    ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░    2 / 128
+256    2⁸    ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░    2 / 256
 ```
 
 ## 🔢 Why 64?
@@ -64,9 +65,11 @@ keeps coming back to**:
   is also the largest unsigned 64-bit integer. It is still the classic way to
   explain exponential growth.
 
-So we set the bar at 64 languages. After that the ladder stays binary: **128**
-is 2⁷, the size of the ASCII table, and **256** is 2⁸, the values of a single
-byte.
+So we set the bar at 64 languages. Next comes **99**, a toast to
+[*99 Bottles of Beer*](https://www.99-bottles-of-beer.net), the classic
+collection of one song in a thousand languages. After that the ladder goes
+back to binary: **128** is 2⁷, the size of the ASCII table, and **256** is 2⁸,
+the values of a single byte.
 
 ## 🇮🇹 The algorithm: the Italian Fiscal Code
 
@@ -146,6 +149,19 @@ Every program speaks the same contract: **JSON in on stdin, JSON out on
 stdout, exit code 0 or 1.** Containers run with networking disabled, so the
 algorithm really has to be in the code.
 
+## 🛣️ Roadmap
+
+| | Milestone | Why | What happens |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| ✅ | Foundation | | Spec, 87 test vectors, dockerized runner, CI |
+| 🎯 | **64** | 2⁶ | Built by the core team, ten languages per session |
+| 🍺 | **99** | 99 Bottles of Beer | Community takes over; dashboard and Guinness application |
+| 🔤 | **128** | 2⁷, ASCII | Historical machines and emulators |
+| 💾 | **256** | 2⁸, one byte | Formal record attempt, second challenge (SHA-256) |
+| 🚀 | **512 → 1024** | 2⁹ → 2¹⁰ | The long tail, and the moonshot |
+
+No deadlines, just milestones. Full plan in [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md).
+
 ## 🤝 Contribute a language
 
 The unit of contribution is **one language not yet on the board**.
@@ -183,6 +199,7 @@ the evidence we are collecting.
 
 - [CHALLENGE.md](CHALLENGE.md): vision and operating plan ([🇮🇹 original](docs/CHALLENGE.it.md))
 - [SPECIFICATION.md](SPECIFICATION.md): the algorithm and the I/O contract
+- [ROADMAP.md](ROADMAP.md): milestones from 64 to 1024
 - [LANGUAGES.md](LANGUAGES.md): what counts as a distinct language
 - [CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md)
 

ROADMAP.md

@@ -0,0 +1,159 @@
+# 🛣️ Roadmap
+
+**One algorithm, every language, step by step.**
+
+This is a long-horizon project. We grow by milestones, not deadlines: each
+milestone is a number of **verified** languages, and each one unlocks the
+infrastructure the next one needs. We move on when a milestone is reached,
+not when a date arrives.
+
+```text
+  ✅ ──── 64 ──── 99 ──── 128 ──── 256 ──── 512 ──── 1024
+ base     2⁶     🍺      2⁷       2⁸       2⁹       2¹⁰
+          ▲
+       we are here
+```
+
+| Milestone | Why this number | What it unlocks |
+|---|---|---|
+| ✅ **Foundation** | — | Spec, test vectors, runner, CI, first languages |
+| 🎯 **64** | 2⁶, the number of computing | Built by the core team, 10 languages per session; spec 1.0 |
+| 🍺 **99** | *99 Bottles of Beer* | Community takes over; dashboard, hidden suite, Guinness application |
+| 🔤 **128** | 2⁷, the ASCII table | Historical machines and emulators, spec extensions |
+| 💾 **256** | 2⁸, one byte | Formal record attempt, second challenge |
+| 🧮 **512** | 2⁹ | Rare and esoteric languages, long-term archive |
+| 🚀 **1024** | 2¹⁰, one "kibi" of languages | The moonshot: every language that can run it |
+
+Live progress: [README](README.md) · open work:
+[milestones](https://github.com/openapi/every-language-fiscal-code/milestones).
+
+---
+
+## ✅ Foundation (done)
+
+- [x] Translated and published the [challenge](CHALLENGE.md)
+- [x] [Specification](SPECIFICATION.md) v0.1.0: algorithm, I/O contract, error codes
+- [x] 87 shared [test vectors](test-vectors/), cross-checked by two independent implementations
+- [x] Dockerized runner (`./elc`), per-language containers, network disabled
+- [x] JSON report and per-language evidence
+- [x] GitHub Actions CI
+- [x] Python and PHP verified
+- [x] Hacktoberfest 2026, with one issue per wanted language
+
+## 🎯 64: the first goal
+
+*2⁶. The word size of every modern processor; see [Why 64?](README.md#-why-64).*
+
+The first 64 languages are built **by the core team**, at a steady pace of
+**ten languages per working session**. That gives the community a solid,
+varied base to start from, and proves that the runner and the specification
+hold up across very different paradigms before anyone else depends on them.
+Community Pull Requests are welcome at any time and simply make us faster.
+
+**Sessions** (languages already verified are ticked):
+
+| Session | Languages | Total |
+|---|---|---|
+| 1 | ✅ Python, ✅ PHP, C, C++, Rust, Go, JavaScript, Java, Ruby, Perl | 10 |
+| 2 | C#, Kotlin, Scala, Lua, Swift, Dart, Haskell, OCaml, Elixir, Erlang | 20 |
+| 3 | F#, Clojure, Common Lisp, Scheme, Racket, Prolog, Julia, R, Tcl, Groovy | 30 |
+| 4 | Bash, AWK, COBOL, FORTRAN, Ada, Pascal, D, Nim, Zig, Crystal | 40 |
+| 5 | VB.NET, Octave, Smalltalk, Forth, Raku, PowerShell, Gleam, V, Odin, Standard ML | 50 |
+| 6 | Idris, Mercury, Haxe, Vala, Objective-C, FreeBASIC, x86-64 Assembly, Io, Rexx, Chapel | 60 |
+| 7 | APL, J, Pony, Hare | **64** |
+
+The order may change if a toolchain turns out to be hard to containerize. A
+language that cannot be verified in its session moves to a later one instead
+of blocking the others.
+
+**Infrastructure, built along the way.**
+- [ ] CI runs only the languages touched by a Pull Request, plus all of them nightly
+- [ ] Languages run in parallel in CI
+- [ ] Badge, progress bars and [LANGUAGES.md](LANGUAGES.md) generated from `report.json`
+- [ ] Contributor credits generated from manifests
+
+**Specification.**
+- [ ] Freeze **spec 1.0**: no more changes to existing expected outputs
+- [ ] Publish the language-classification rules as final (versions, dialects, supersets)
+
+**Community.**
+- [ ] Write-up: "The first 64 languages"
+- [ ] Open the issue backlog for the next milestones
+
+## 🍺 99: a toast to 99 Bottles
+
+*The [99 Bottles of Beer](https://www.99-bottles-of-beer.net) project has
+collected the same little song in well over a thousand languages since the
+1990s, a classic of polyglot programming. At 99 we raise a glass to it, one
+step before the symbolic 100.*
+
+From here on the **community** leads: every language beyond the core set is
+an open issue waiting for a contributor.
+
+**Infrastructure.**
+- [ ] Static dashboard on GitHub Pages: progress, languages, authors, tests, sources
+- [ ] Hidden verification suite, run by CI alongside the public one, so that
+      implementations cannot be tuned to known examples
+- [ ] Tagged releases with a signed evidence bundle (report, hashes, logs)
+
+**Record.**
+- [ ] Search for existing Guinness World Records categories
+- [ ] Submit the title proposal from [RECORD.md](RECORD.md)
+- [ ] Obtain the official guidelines and adapt evidence collection to them
+
+**Community.**
+- [ ] Write-up: paradigms, toolchains, surprises
+
+## 🔤 128: the ASCII milestone
+
+*2⁷. The 128 characters of ASCII, the table that taught computers to write.*
+
+**Historical computing.**
+- [ ] Support for languages that need emulators or vintage environments
+      (e.g. DOS, mainframe or 8-bit toolchains in containers)
+- [ ] Distinguish **historically verified** implementations from those
+      **verifiable in current CI**
+- [ ] Toolchain recipes preserved in the repository whenever legally possible
+
+**Specification 1.x extensions.**
+- [ ] Validate an existing fiscal code
+- [ ] Decode the information contained in a code
+- [ ] Homocode (*omocodia*) variants
+
+## 💾 256: one byte of languages
+
+*2⁸. Every value a byte can hold: one language for each.*
+
+**Record.**
+- [ ] Formal record attempt, **only** if the category has been approved and
+      under the official rules received
+
+**Ecosystem.**
+- [ ] Launch the second challenge, `every-language-sha256`, on the same runner
+- [ ] Multi-architecture verification (amd64 and arm64)
+
+## 🧮 512: the long tail
+
+*2⁹. Rare, academic and esoteric languages.*
+
+- [ ] Dedicated track for esoteric languages, with classification rules
+- [ ] Long-term archive of sources and toolchain images (e.g. Software Heritage)
+- [ ] Reproducible rebuilds of every verified implementation from a tag
+
+## 🚀 1024: the moonshot
+
+*2¹⁰. One "kibi" of languages.*
+
+Every programming language that can still be run, running the same algorithm
+and passing the same tests. We may never get there, and that is fine: the
+journey is the project.
+
+---
+
+## How the roadmap evolves
+
+- A milestone is **reached** when the number of `verified` languages in the CI
+  report on `main` reaches it.
+- Infrastructure items may land earlier than their milestone. They are listed
+  where they become **necessary**.
+- Changes to this roadmap are proposed through issues or Pull Requests.

docs/CHALLENGE.it.md

@@ -2,10 +2,9 @@
 ## Un algoritmo, tutti i linguaggi del mondo
 ### Progetto open source promosso da Openapi — Specifica e piano operativo
 
-> **Aggiornamento, ottobre 2026.** Il primo obiettivo pubblico è **64 linguaggi**
-> (2⁶), seguito da 128 e 256: ogni traguardo è una potenza di due. Vedi
-> [Why 64?](../README.md#-why-64) nel README. Gli obiettivi di 100 linguaggi
-> riportati sotto fanno parte della proposta originale.
+> **Aggiornamento, ottobre 2026.** I traguardi ora sono 64 (2⁶), 99, 128, 256
+> e oltre, senza scadenze. Vedi [ROADMAP.md](../ROADMAP.md). Gli obiettivi di
+> 100 linguaggi riportati sotto fanno parte della proposta originale.
 
 **Stato:** proposta progettuale consolidata  
 **Data:** 14 ottobre 2026