OpenEuphoria

Re: Robot challenge

• Posted by Hawke <mdeland at NWINFO.NET> Nov 08, 1998
• 544 views

Lucius Hilley III wrote:
>It returns a sequence while it is still alive
>When my bot quits searching and is dead it returns an atom.
ok....

> draw_maze()
> integer busy
> object bot
> busy = 1
> bot = {{24, 24}} --starting point
> while busy do
>   if sequence(bot) then
>     pixel(BLUE, bot[1])--erases bot
>     bot = lucius(bot)
>     if atom(bot) then
>       if bot then
>         pixel(RED, bot[1])--bot reached RED
>       else
>         pixel(BLUE, bot[1])--bots dead REMOVE carcus
>       end if
>     end if
>   end if

ummmm i was trying to follow this, make sense of it...
but i'm having trouble because of this section of the example...
>     if atom(bot) then
>       if bot then
>         pixel(RED, bot[1])--bot reached RED
>       else
>         pixel(BLUE, bot[1])--bots dead REMOVE carcus
>       end if

first you test if bot is an atom, and if it _IS an atom_,
you pass bot[1] to pixel().
now, if we agree that an atom is a length 1 sequence,
then bot[1], when atom(bot) is true, is a single digit,
either real or integer, and passing a single digit
to pixel() (ie:pixel(color,bot[1])) in the parameter
location you're placing it, won't work because that
parameter is a coordinate sequence pair.

now, if we agree that an atom and a length 1 sequence
are NOT the same thing, then, when you test for bot
being an atom, and it passes, you will subsequently
attempt to subscript an atom by passing bot[1] to pixel().

(and the latter is what i believe will happen, and what
i believe is the correct interpretation)

so, with this in mind, i'm having trouble following
how bot=lucius(bot) would work...

perhaps, if we modified things a wee bit...
constant DEAD = 0, FINISHED = 1, WORKING = 2
integer busy,flag
sequence bot,pos
busy = 1
flag = WORKING
pos  = {24,24}
bot  = {flag,pos}
--now, to tend to your other passed back parameters, just
--append them to the end of the above, making sure that
--you always returned a minimum of a length 2 sequence
--that held {flag,pos} and your parameters *after* that

while busy do
   pixel(BLUE, pos)--erases bot
   bot  = lucius(bot)
   flag = bot[1]
   pos  = bot[2]
   if not OnScreen(pos) then
      --Error("bot went out of bounds, tsktsk")
   end if
   if    flag = DEAD then     --bots dead REMOVE carcus
         pixel(BLUE, pos)
   elsif flag = FINISHED then --bot reached RED
         pixel(RED, pos)
   elsif flag = WORKING then  --bot's cogitating, *sniff* sthmoke!
         pixel(BRIGHT_WHITE, pos)
   else  --Error("we're not real sure what the bot is doing")
   end if
   --he is less than working, ergo:lounging or comatose
   --and the memo said that comatose and deceased was no reason
   --not to be working...
   busy = flag < WORKING
end while


implementing it this way will also allow for multiple bots...
----although, here, i would have a sinking feeling that all
----of the bots would take the same path & make the same
----decisions because they all start at the same place and they
----all pass thru the same function... unless, lucius, do you
----have some sort of weighting or randomosity to your algorithm?
----something to ensure that (nearly) no 2 bots will travel the same?
allbots = repeat({flag,pos},numbots)
for i = 1 to numbots
   thisbot = allbots[i]
   thisbot = lucius(thisbot)
   flag = thisbot[1]
   pos  = thisbot[2]
and so on.... just like your other half of your email...


so, was this what you had in mind? something vaguely similiar?
cuz, if not, i'm not real sure i understand what you're
say then...

--Hawke'