A single line of Basic sends readers into a labyrinth

#1

Post by munishdayal » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 12:13 AM UTC

A single line of Basic sends readers into a labyrinth
slate.com

Re: A single line of Basic sends readers into a labyrinth

#2

Post by alexleavitt » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 12:53 AM UTC

Highly recommend picking up this book. As a former local colleague of Nick Montfort, I can say it's going to be a great read.

Re: A single line of Basic sends readers into a labyrinth

#3

Post by joeld42 » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 1:00 AM UTC

I remember learning this trick, not sure where I learned it from but this particular snippet had a huge impact on me. I spent hours and hours playing with variations on this.

Re: A single line of Basic sends readers into a labyrinth

#4

Post by zaptheimpaler » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 1:01 AM UTC

The article seems to be a a lot of hyperbole without much substance.

The code itself is simple. CHR$(205.5 + RND(1)) becomes CHR$(205) or CHR$(206) depending on the random number. 205 generates a \ , and 206 generates a /.

Re: A single line of Basic sends readers into a labyrinth

#5

Post by diego » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 1:12 AM UTC

Can this book not be available in digital form? Amazon and MIT Press only list the hardcover edition.

http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/10-print-chr2055rnd1-goto-10-0

Re: A single line of Basic sends readers into a labyrinth

#6

Post by superprime » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 1:20 AM UTC

diego wrote: post #5

Can this book not be available in digital form? Amazon and MIT Press only list the hardcover edition. http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/10-print-chr2055rnd1-goto-10-0

The article links to the book's (free) download page: http://10print.org

Re: A single line of Basic sends readers into a labyrinth

#7

Post by xefer » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 1:21 AM UTC

I've always had a soft spot for mazes. Seeing how a recursive function could solve a maze was what got me hooked on programmng to begin with. At the time it was mind-blowing. It was the first time that software seemed like magic.

Re: A single line of Basic sends readers into a labyrinth

#8

Post by LarryMade » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 1:23 AM UTC

If you were like me back in the 80s on a PET you did that and then moved up to more complex randomness with other graphic symbols like the four corner curves or bends. I think they had that line in one issue of Creative Computing with a bunch of other character graphic effect snippets.

Re: A single line of Basic sends readers into a labyrinth

#9

Post by mmphosis » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 1:24 AM UTC

zaptheimpaler wrote: post #4

The article seems to be a a lot of hyperbole without much substance. The code itself is simple. CHR$(205.5 + RND(1)) becomes CHR$(205) or CHR$(206) depending on the random number. 205 generates a \ , and 206 generates a /.

   10 PRINT MID$("/\",1.5+RND(1),1);:GOTO 10

Run it on another old-school computer, like an Apple II, and you won’t get the same transfixing result, for details that have to do with the Commodore 64’s character set, called PETSCII.

Re: A single line of Basic sends readers into a labyrinth

#10

Post by akavi » Sat, Dec 01, 2012, 1:31 AM UTC

A version that works in bash:

yes 'c=(╱ ╲);printf ${c[RANDOM%2]}'|bash

Source and credit: http://stackoverflow.com/a/13612327