Topic: Coding Pets
Author: Stoko
Summary: Stoko walks through the creation of a pet, progressing from basic
commands through more complex commands.

"Coding Pets", held by Stoko@M*U*S*H at 16th October 2002 in RedHat Hall.
Logged by Zebranky@M*U*S*H

<Lecturer> Stoko says, "hello, fellow M*U*S*H'ers. The lecture starts."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "everyone, read -help lecture and -help lecture2 if you
haven't yet."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "let's start with coding a basic pet, which can only do
SIT, STAY, SPEAK, ROLLOVER and BEG."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "first, we will create an object which will be our pet.
@create <pet's name>."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "then, we will put the custom commands on him."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "&command_sit <pet's dbref>=$sit:@emit <the text which
should be displayed to describe the pet's action of sitting>"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "&command_stay <pet's dbref>=$stay:@emit <the text
which should be displayed to describe the pet's action of staying>"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "et cetera. We do the same thing for the remaining
three commands. &command_<the name of the command> <pet's dbref>=$<the name of
the command>:@emit <the text that should be displayed to everyone in the room
when someone types that command>"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "so, whenever we type the text between $ and :,
everyone in the room will be displayed the text after @emit"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "the next step is unsetting the NO_COMMAND flag on the
pet"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "NO_COMMAND is put on every newly created object, and
it needs to be reset in order to enable the object (our pet, in this case), to
respond to commands that are programmed on it."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "we reset it with @set <pet's dbref>=!no_command"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "next, we @describe our pet with @desc <pet's
dbref>=Pet's description."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and the major part of the work for the basic pet is
done and we only need to make several finishing touches"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "first, the owner may disable everyone except him to
pick the pet up"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "it's done with @lock <pet's dbref>=me"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "also, the owner can disable everyone except him to use
the commands stored in the pet's attributes."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "he does so by typing @ulock <pet's dbref>=me"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and that's it, regarding the begginer pets."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "any questions before we move to intermediate pets?"
<Lecturer> Stoko pouts at the sleeping audience.
You say, "I have a question. Are there cocktail shrimp after the show?"
<Lecturer> Stoko lies to keep Zebranky here, "Yes."
You say, "YAY!"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "so, now I'll talk about coding the intermediate pets."
Zebranky cant read, and sees that as 'Stoko likes to keep Zebranky here'
banana would like some shrimp as well!
China says, "if sir, we use the commands simply as 'sit' 'stay' etc, will that
trigger all the other pets to do thier tricks too at the same time?"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "it will, unless they are @ulocked or in the
inventories of their owners."
China nodnods.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "also, some of the pets don't have their commands
triggered by 'sit', 'speak', etc. Those pets are the advanced ones, because
for the advanced pets all the commands are spoken and not typed."
<Lecturer> Stoko greets the newcomer, "Take a seat, colleague."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "okay, now about the intermediate pets."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "for intermediate pets, one of the basic commands (sit,
speak, stay, rollover, beg) has to be spoken"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "those commands start with ^ instead of $"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and are given to the object (or pet) not by typing,
but with speaking ('say sit' - Stoko says, "sit"), for instance."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "for the SIT command, we will make this code:
&command_sit <pet's dbref>=^* says, "Sit":@emit <the text that will be
displayed to everyone in the room>"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "the MONITOR flag has to be set on the pet with the
^-command. Otherwise, it won't react to such commands at all."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "@set <pet's dbref>=monitor"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "that covers the spoken commands."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "before we move to the advanced pets, I'll explain how
to code the FETCH and the COME command. FETCH will be first to be explained."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "we have to create an object which the pet will fetch.
@create <the fetch-object's name>"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "I have seen several variations of the FETCH command,
one of it is the searching of an object in the entire MUSH, passing several
exits, getting the object, and returning back to the master again,..."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and second was fetching an object on the adjacent
location"
Farside raises hand.
<Lecturer> Stoko sighs, perspirates and lights a cigarrette, apologizing, and
thinking frantically about the ways how to code this command, "Just give me a
moment, please."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "yes?"
Farside says, "Wait, nevermind. Sorry."
Farside returns to his seat.
<Lecturer> Stoko shrugs and takes a few inhalations of the cigarette's smoke.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "for instance, we could, for our commotion, code a
fetch object which has a 'throw' command on it."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "the 'throw' command will cause the object to leave
your inventory and enter an adjacent location with 'go <exit's name>'. the
syntax will be 'throw <exit's name>'"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "we already created the fetch object, and now we'll
first unset the no_command flag."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "we'll type: &throw <fetch object's dbref>=$throw
*:@force me=leave;@emit Stoko throws the [name(me)].;go %0 . This is a simple,
sloppy, version of the code for 'throw', but it will work if the exit's name
is typed correctly."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "next, we'll code the spoken fetch command on the pet."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "it could be triggered by typing: say <pet's name>,
fetch <fetch object's name>"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "it's good to put the '<pet's name>,' part in the
spoken commands because, otherwise, commands could be triggered by
accidentally saying the command word in a conversation or by some other
petmaster's command to his own pet."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "but this percaution isn't necessary to avoid the
latter case if the pet is @ulocked to you."
<Lecturer> Stoko ponders a little.
Letters is late. :/
<Lecturer> Stoko writes some code on the blackboard, and says, "It's halfway
written."
<Lecturer> Stoko finishes the code, wiping perspiration from his forehead,
"&command_fetch <pet's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>, fetch <fetch object's
name>":@force me=go
[setq(0,loc(me)][iter(lexits(here),switch(1,gt(match(lcon(loc(##)),<fetch
object's dbref>),0),##),%b,{});get <fetch object's dbref>;go
iter(lexits(here),switch(%q0,loc(##),##),%b,{})"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "this is the code for the fetch command."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "I'll explain what it does."
China drops her jaw.
Farside raises hand.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "farside?"
Letters drops his jaw too...
Farside says, "In your first function, setq, you have a parenthesis error."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "true. thank you, Farside."
Farside says, "No problem."
Farside sits back down.
<Lecturer> Stoko adds a bracket to the code on the blackboard. The code is now
like this:
<Lecturer> &command_fetch <pet's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>, fetch <fetch
object's name>":@force me=go
[setq(0,loc(me)][iter(lexits(here),switch(1,gt(match(lcon(loc(##)),<fetch
object's dbref>),0),##),%b,{});get <fetch object's dbref>;go
iter(lexits(here),switch(%q0,loc(##),##),%b,{})
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "sorry."
<Lecturer> &command_fetch <pet's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>, fetch <fetch
object's name>":@force me=go
[setq(0,loc(me))][iter(lexits(here),switch(1,gt(match(lcon(loc(##)),<fetch
object's dbref>),0),##),%b,{});get <fetch object's dbref>;go
iter(lexits(here),switch(%q0,loc(##),##),%b,{})
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "there."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "so, the explanation."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "the setq part sets the dbref of the starting location
to a local variable, %q0, because it will be useful later, to returning to the
starting point."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "another error."
<Lecturer> Stoko adds a square bracket to the code.
<Lecturer> &command_fetch <pet's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>, fetch <fetch
object's name>":@force me=go
[setq(0,loc(me))][iter(lexits(here),switch(1,gt(match(lcon(loc(##)),<fetch
object's dbref>),0),##),%b,{})];get <fetch object's dbref>;go
iter(lexits(here),switch(%q0,loc(##),##),%b,{})
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "I hadn't have closed the square bracket in front of
first iter()"
<Lecturer> Stoko rolls another cigarette before continuing.
Farside wonders why you did a switch(1,...
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "we'll come to that."
<Lecturer> Stoko lights the cigarette and says, "the first iter checks all the
exits in the room to see in which of it's destinations is the fetch object. It
checks that with switch() which returns the exit's dbref if it's destination
contains the object we're looking for.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "so, the resulting command is 'go <the dbref of the
exit that leads to the location which contains the fetch object>', and the
result is that the pet leaves the room through that exit, arriving at the same
place with the fetch object."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "now, to answer Farside's question."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "the second part of the switch is 0 if the dbref of the
fetch object isn't among the contents of the location we are probing, and
greater than zero otherwise."
<Lecturer> Stoko ponders, "Perhaps it puzzled you why I didn't simply use >0
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "am I right?"
Farside says, "Oh, I see. Backwards heh."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "the result is the same, but I've, wrongly, chosen the
bulkier variation."
<Lecturer> Stoko ponders a little more and continues, "The next thing the pet
does is 'get <fetch object's dbref>'. That part is clear
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "the last part of the code is returning to the starting
location, to put the fetch object in front of the pet's master afterward. I
forgot to put the last part in the code, but I will after I explain the
returning to the starting location."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "the iter checks all the exits on the new location to
see which one leads back to the starting room. The code recognizes the
starting room by it's dbref which it stored in the local variable %q0"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and the resulting code is 'go <the dbref of the exit
that leads to the starting location>'"
<Lecturer> Stoko appends some code to the code on the blackboard.
<Lecturer> &command_fetch <pet's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>, fetch <fetch
object's name>":@force me=go
[setq(0,loc(me))][iter(lexits(here),switch(1,gt(match(lcon(loc(##)),<fetch
object's dbref>),0),##),%b,{})];get <fetch object's dbref>;go
iter(lexits(here),switch(%q0,loc(##),##),%b,{});drop <fetch object's dbref>
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "the last command in the semicolon-separated queue is
'drop <fetch object's dbref>"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "that's it, regarding the functional part of the FETCH.
One can put some @emits in the code to make the thing look more pretty."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "feel free to queue your questions before we move to
the COME command."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "no questions? all right."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "the COME command orders the pet to come to you from
the adjacent location."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "we have to make a command object for otherwise the
absent pet wouldn't know that we called it."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "@create <command object's name - "<pet's name>'s
command object" should be fine>"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "we will store the spoken COME command onto the pet's
command object."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "but, before that, we can code the spoken 'go' command
which we will use to make the pet leave our location and get to the place from
which we will call it."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "&command_go <pet's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>, go
*":go "
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "sorry.."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "&command_go <pet's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>, go
*":go %1"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "It took so long because I wanted to make a longer,
less sloppy, error-proof, command, but I changed my mind."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "then we'll put the COME command on the command object"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "after typing @set <command object's
dbref>=!no_command"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and @setting the command object MONITOR"
<Lecturer> Stoko starts writing the code for COME on the blackboard.
<Lecturer> &command come <command object's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>,
come":@force <pet's dbref>=go iter(lexits(loc(<pet's
dbref>)),switch(1,gt(match(lcon(loc(##)),<pet owner's dbref>),0),##),%b,{})
<Lecturer> Stoko ponders over the code, making sure he got everything right.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "yeah, the code is good."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "so, we'll also @ulock the command object to ourselves
with @ulock <command object's dbref>=me"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and also lock it to ourselves so that none other may
pick it up, with @lock <command object's dbref>=me"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and we'll drop it before using the come command, and
pick it up afterward."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "we use this spoken command with 'say <pet's name>,
come"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "that covers the intermediate pets"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "any questions before we move to advanced ones?"
China says, "is this 'command object' the Controller Thingy that Grinna wanted
all the pets to have?"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "yeah."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "since it seems that no more questions will be asked,
I'll start explaining how to code advanced pets."
China says, "if it was never required before, why does she require it now?"
China says, "oops, sorry."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "it's okay."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "I don't know. She's the person to ask about that, not
me."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "not I, I mean."
Farside says, "Can you teach us how to make pets that learn new tricks on
command, and age, and die, and how to build obidience schools?"
China nods. "just wondered. Thought it was something to do with how code
works."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "in fact, even a basic pet could be coded to work with
a controller"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "simply, you put the commands on the controller, and
not on the pet, but the controller forces the pet to perform the commands."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "with @force."
China ponders this.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "I can, Farside, teach you the first three things you
mentioned, but I'm not certain what the obedience schools are."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "although, that digression would take too much time and
would prevent me from explaining the crucial thing, from explaining how to
code advanced pets."
Farside says, "Alright. Just do what you were going to do. :-)"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "perhaps after I'm done with the advanced pets, if you
really are interested."
<Lecturer> Stoko nods.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "while the novice level required only three basic
commands which can be either $commands or spoken ones, and while the
intermediate level required four basic tricks plus one intermediate command
(FETCH or COME), requiring at least one of those five total commands to be a
spoken one, the advanced level requires all the novice and intermediate tricks
plus find, and all of those commands have to be spoken."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "I'll have to return to the intermediate level for a
moment, though, because I forgot something."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "COME code again.."
<Lecturer> &command come <command object's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>,
come":@force <pet's dbref>=go iter(lexits(loc(<pet's
dbref>)),switch(1,gt(match(lcon(loc(##)),<pet owner's dbref>),0),##),%b,{})
<Lecturer> Stoko adds some text to the end of the code.
<Lecturer> &command come <command object's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>,
come":@force <pet's dbref>=go iter(lexits(loc(<pet's
dbref>)),switch(1,gt(match(lcon(loc(##)),<pet owner's
dbref>),0),##),%b,{});follow <owner's dbref>
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "I've added the 'follow' part. I suppose everyone here
knows what the 'follow' and 'unfollow' commands do, and, if not, they should
type 'help follow' and learn."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "I've done so to give the intermediate version of the
STAY command a purpose."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "this way, COME will cause the pet to come to it's
owner and follow him around."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "while the STAY command will, except for giving a
picturesque description to everyone in the room, cause the pet to stop
following it's owner. It's code can be like this:"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "let's make it in the spoken-command form."
<Lecturer> &command_stay <pet's dbref>=^* says, "stay":@force me=@emit <the
text displayed to everyone in the room>;unfollow <pet owner's dbref>
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "so, finally, the advanced level."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "FIND is the only thing left to explain for the
advanced level."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "FIND should cause the pet to say where the wanted
object or person is, and to, afterwards, go to that object or person."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "we will make the code that causes the pet to say where
the object or person is and go to it's location only if it's adjacent."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "furthermore, this code will find the objects only if
their dbref is supplied and say their name, and find a specific player if his
or her name is said."
<Lecturer> Stoko starts writing.
<Lecturer> &find <pet's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>, find *":@force me={@sel
1=isdbref(%1),{"The object with that dbref is named [name(setr(0,num(%1)))]
and it's location is
[loc(%1)].},hastype(*%1,player),{"[name(setr(0,num(*%1)))]'s location is
[name(loc(*%1))]};@sel 1=match(loc(me),loc(%q0)),{@emit <pet's name> points to
name(%q0) which is right
here.},words(setr(1,iter(lexits(here),switch(1,gt(match(lcon(loc(##)),%q0),0),
##,%b,{}))),go %q1
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "this code could be made better by putting some finesse
in it, which could include causing the pet to say that a player is unfindable
if he is."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "that's it about find. First, I'd like to give you a
chance to ask a question or two before I say several finishing notes."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "oh, yes, one more thing regarding the finesse. This
code will work only if something findable is said in it's syntax. If a
nonexistant dbref or player is mentioned, the code will show its sloppiness."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "that's another one thing that should be fixed."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "okay. how many of you, in the audience, are still
awake?"
China smiles.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "one, at least."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "okay, the finishing remarks, now."
China continues to listen intently.
You say, "I'm awa--zzzZZZzzz..."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "all the spoken commands can be easily transformed into
commands that are invoked by POSE-ing"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and if you want to make an advanced pet, it would be
nice if at least one command was posed, as the bb post 18/10 says."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "let's consider a spoken SIT command."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "&command_sit <pet's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>,
sit":@emit <the description of the pet obeying the command>"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "to convert this spoken command into a posed one, we
type:"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "&command_sit <pet's dbref>=^* shouts at <pet's name>
angrily, "Sit, you no-good, flea-bitten sonofab....":@emit <the description of
the pet biting the owner>"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and we use the command by typing: pose shouts at
<pet's name> angrily, "Sit, you no-good, flea-bitten sonofab....""
China chuckles.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "that's it, regarding the technical stuff. Next, and
probably the last, in queue is the cosmetical stuff."
You say, "Mmm, comestible stuff..."
You say, "Oh, cosmetical."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "It's almost crucial that the pets are unique and funny
or interesting, not merely functional, so you'll want to make interesting and
creative @emits and poses on the part of the pet."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "also, please don't forget the @description."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "the commands mentioned in bbpost 18/10 are the
required ones, but it would do no harm if the pet's owner puts the commands on
the pet which he or she himself or herself made up."
China says, "Wed Oct 16 20:35:29 2002"
China crys as her log now has a 'hole' in it.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "that's it. any questions that need to be answered or
any new, miscellaneous, direction in which this lecture could go before it
ends?"
Another Robot Drone pats China and gives her a can of Patch-A-Log spray. I'm a
lumberjack and I'm okay... :)
You say, "Well, how about Farside's strange question about learning, aging,
death, etc?"
Farside says, "Don't forget rabies and breeding."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "if three of five of you in the audience vote for
hearing twenty minutes of lecture on pets with AI, I'll indulge Farside's
wish."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "you've got two minutes to voice your opinion."
China is willing to listen. :)
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "since farside asked about it, and zebranky reminded me
of it, it seems that three indeed are interested."
China smiles.
You say, "And now I idle to sleep. But I continue logging. Spooky."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "so, let's shed light on the AI by taking an exact
purpose for the AI we want to make: making a code that will code a novice pet"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "first, we have created the pet, then we @described it,
we've set it !no_command, @locked it and @ulocked it to ourselves."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "we'll set it MONITOR, too, because we'll code all the
commands as spoken."
<Lecturer> Stoko ponderse.
<Lecturer> Stoko typos and ponders.
<Lecturer> Stoko takes out a sandwich and meditates while eating. You try to
calculate the duration of this interruption, and conclude he'll be done with
devouring the poor piece of bread and ham in, around, three minutes.
China grins.
<Lecturer> Stoko finishes eating and throws, over his shoulder, the paper in
which his meal was wrapped straight into the trash basket by the blackboard.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "We will code this in a cosmetically sloppy way."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "since I can't come up with something sufficiently
acceptable."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "we'll make a spoken command for learning"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "to use it, we'll be typing this: say <pet's name>,
when I say "*", everyone in the room will see: *"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and the code will be like this:"
<Lecturer> &command_learn <pet's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>, when I say
"*", everyone in the room will see: *":@force me={@set me=%1:^* says, "<pet's
name>, %2":@emit %3;pose intelligently nods to %N.}
<Lecturer> Stoko will code such pet now.
<Lecturer> Stoko drops An Archetypal Pet.
<Lecturer> Stoko looks at the topic, puzzled, "It's blank"
<Lecturer> Stoko goes down the few steps to the seating area.
Stoko comes down the few steps from the stage.
<Lecturer> Stoko has left.
Stoko has arrived.
Stoko carefully walks up the narrow stairs to the stage.
Stoko has left.
<Lecturer> Stoko has arrived.
<Lecturer> An Archetypal Pet is now listening.
Farside furrows brow.
<Lecturer> Stoko finishes assembling the pet, putting only the single command
on it.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "pet, when I say "sit", everyone in the room will see:
The pet sits."
<Lecturer> Stoko gahs.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "lapsus..."
<Lecturer> Stoko debugs
<Lecturer> &command_learn #4784=^* says, "Pet, when I say "*", everyone in the
room will see - *":@force me={@set me=%1:^* says, "Pet, %2":@emit %3;pose
intelligently nods to %N.}
<Lecturer> Stoko debugs some more
<Lecturer> &command_learn #4784=^* says, "Pet, when I say "*", everyone in the
room will see - *":@force me={@set me=command_%1:^* says, "Pet, %1":@emit
%2;pose intelligently nods to %N.}
<Lecturer> &command_learn #4784=^* says, "Pet, when I say "*", everyone in the
room will see - *":@force me={@set me=command_%1:^* says, "Pet, %1":@emit
%2;pose intelligently nods to %N.}
<Lecturer> Stoko oopses.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "sorry for repasting. I accidentaly hit the 'enter'
key."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "pet, when I say "sit", everyone in the room will see -
Pet sits."
<Lecturer> An Archetypal Pet intelligently nods to Stoko.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "pet, sit"
<Lecturer> Pet sits.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "this way, we can put all the novice commands on the
pet, and, of course, much more of them."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "but, we should be more creative than I'm right now."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "pet, when I say "speak", everyone in the room will see
- Pet barks."
<Lecturer> An Archetypal Pet intelligently nods to Stoko.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "pet, speak"
<Lecturer> Pet barks.
China says, "oh cool."
<Lecturer> Stoko takes An Archetypal Pet.
China says, "I just was thinking I didn't understand your goal with just the
first example, but with the additional second one I understand. :)"
<Lecturer> Stoko nods and smiles.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "here is a sample of the code made by the
'command_learn' code:"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "(copy/pasted from the Pet object itself)"
<Lecturer> ^* says, "Pet, sit":@emit Pet sits.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "rather, I'll set the object visual"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "it's dbref is #4784"
China looks.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "that much about the novice pets with AI."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "which enable you to design commands for them and the
reactions to them without typing any code."
China thinks about this.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "it would be complicated, if not impossible, to make an
AI which could learn tricks of the intermediate or advanced level type."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "so, we'll develop our archetypal pet in a different
direction."
<Lecturer> Stoko grins evilly, "we'll make it age until it dies!"
China blinks.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "we will define it's lifespan, we'll cause it to get
older over time and we will cause it to die when it's time comes."
Bob emerges from the Linux Lobby.
Bob has arrived.
<Lecturer> Stoko greets Bob and tells him to take a seat. Also, he points to
-help lecture and -help lecture2
<Lecturer> Stoko drops An Archetypal Pet.
Bob takes a seat in the Left Front Row.
Bob says, "Whoa...fun-kayyyy.."
<Lecturer> Stoko addresses Bob, "Unfortunately, you missed the most
interesting part. Now, you'll probably only hear a lot of gibberish about
coding a pet that has a lifespan."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "first, we could code a command that defines the length
of the lifespan."
Bob nods and leans back to listen.
<Lecturer> &command_lifespan <pet's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>, you will
live * hours.":@force me={:nods.;@set me=data_lifespan:[mul(%1,60,60)]
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "this command stores the attribute on the pet with the
number of seconds which define the length of its life."
<Lecturer> Stoko scratches his head, "No, it's unnecessary to store it in
seconds. We'll take plain hours, rather."
<Lecturer> &command_lifespan <pet's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>, you will
live * hours.":@force me={:nods.;@set me=data_lifespan:%1
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "then, we could make the command which will cause it to
be born and get older and older."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "the status of it's life could be stored in the
&data_status attribute, and could be either alive or dead."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and the command for getting born could go like this:"
Bob stands and leaves the Left Front Row.
Bob goes home.
Bob has left.
China listens, absolutely fasinated.
Farside says, "This isn't good enough. I want my pet to love me. To really,
truly love me :~("
Farside is so lonely *cries*
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "thank you for your support, China", and continues
writing the code on the blackboard.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "well, Farside, since I started explaining this, I'll
finish."
China nodnodnods, and definitely wants you to finish this. :)
<Lecturer> &command_revive <pet's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>, you are now
alive.":@sel 1=match(v(status),alive),:stares at %N, puzzled.,{@set
me=data_age:0;@set me=data_status:alive}
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "We'll probably return to this command to add some
stuff to it later."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "now, we need a code that will increase pet's age every
full hour after we've made him alive."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and also a way of preventing it to react to commands
if it's dead."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "there is, also, an option to make it forget all it
learned before it died after we revive it, but we won't"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "I mean, but we won't put that option in the code."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "to do so, we'll use @wait and @trigger"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "we'll now recode the revive command, to start the loop
that will age the pet every hour"
<Lecturer> &command_revive <pet's dbref>=^* says, "<pet's name>, you are now
alive.":@sel 1=match(v(status),alive),:stares at %N, puzzled.,{@set
me=data_age:0;@set me=data_status:alive;@trigger me/loop_aging}
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and now to put the code in the loop_aging attribute."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "sorry... I'll change the command_revive a little"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "hm.. never mind. now to make loop_aging"
<Lecturer> &loop_aging <pet's dbref>=@sel
0=gte(v(data_age),v(data_lifespan)),{@set me=age:[inc(v(age))];@wait 3600=@tr
me/loop_aging},{@set me=data_status:dead;@emit name(me) drops dead!}
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "this loop, every hour, checks whether it's pet's time
to die and kills him if it is, and otherwise increases it's age and queues
another aging loop that will get executed in an hour."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "there are ways of unabling a pet to react to commands
if it's data_status attribute isn't set to alive, but we won't code that."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "I'll, now, demonstrate the birth, very short life and
death of the archetypal pet."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "his lifespan will be measured in minutes, and not in
hours."
<Lecturer> Stoko starts coding.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "at any time, you can examine #4784 to see the code on
the pet."
China don't see those commands on #4784.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "I'm putting them right now."
China says, "oh. *blushes* sorry."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "done"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "ack. just a second"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "done."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "pet, you will live 2 minutes."
<Lecturer> An Archetypal Pet nods.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "pet, you are now alive."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "he should drop dead in two minutes"
<Lecturer> Stoko looks at his watch, "We'll wait."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "we won't. something has gone wrong"
<Lecturer> &command_revive #4784=^* says, "Pet, you are now alive.":@sel
1=match(v(status),alive),:stares at %N\, puzzled.,{@set me=data_age:0;@set
me=data_status:alive;@trigger me/loop_aging}
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "there was a comma in the text of :-pose in the
command, and I fixed the problem by escaping that comma with a \"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "pet, you are now alive."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "okay, so we wait."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "hm..."
<Lecturer> Stoko @halts the pet
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "a bug again"
China smiles.
<Lecturer> &loop_aging pet=@sel 0=gte(v(data_age),v(data_lifespan)),{@set
me=data_age:[inc(v(age))];@wait 60=@tr me/loop_aging},{@set
me=data_status:dead;@emit name(me) drops dead!}
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "instead of data_age, I typed only 'age'"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "one more time..."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "pet, you are now alive."
<Lecturer> Stoko !halts the pet.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "pet, you are now alive."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "okay, we're waiting."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and I think it should work."
<Lecturer> Stoko facepalms.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "yeah... I see the error"
<Lecturer> &loop_aging pet=@sel 0=gte(v(data_age),v(data_lifespan)),{@set
me=data_age:[inc(v(date_age))];@wait 60=@tr me/loop_aging},{@set
me=data_status:dead;@emit name(me) drops dead!}
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "pet, you are now alive"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "I had to type 'date_age' instead of 'age' where it was
an argument of v()"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "I'm certain that it'll work now."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "the class is over when the pet dies."
China laughs.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "while we wait, are there any questions?"
China says, "you going to do more lectures on other code things? :)"
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "I'd like to, every few weeks or so."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "when someone asks me to explain some subject to him,
I'll do it here."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "and whoever wants to listen, he's welcome"
China HOPES she can make them all then. :)
<Lecturer> Stoko smiles, bows and thanks very much for the compliment.
<Lecturer> Stoko kills the pet, since it won't die of old age.
China LAUGHS.
China usually drop kicks objects across the room when they won't work.
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "there was another bug, it seems."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "well, that's all."
<Lecturer> Stoko says, "Thank you for attending the lecture."
China awwws. "but I still 'enjoyed' what you talked on, sir. :)
China applauds.
<Lecturer> Stoko bows, "Thank you, thank you."
<Lecturer> Stoko goes down the few steps to the seating area.
Stoko comes down the few steps from the stage.
<Lecturer> Stoko has left.
Stoko has arrived.
China extends her hand to shake Stoko's for his having given the lecture
tonight.
Glassbrain says, "Thanks."
Stoko accepts the hand which gets all shook up, "You're welcome."
China smiles, "if you get the pet's age to work, will you append the lecture,
Sir?"
Stoko says, "I hope you managed to learn something today from my babbling."
Glassbrain ding.
Stoko says, "No, I won't. the lecture's over. *shrugs*"
China says, "I kept doing exams as I wanted to see if some of the code on it
would get deleted when it died."
Stoko says, "it wouldn't get deleted."
Stoko says, "but the pet could be coded that way, that the things it learned
get deleted."
China nodnods.
Stoko says, "you'll participate in the pet show, china?"
China nodnods, "yes every one I can. But I've never gotten past 'fancy'
beginners.
China says, "and I'd finally gotten to a simple form of the advanced ones, and
Grinnna added that 'controller thing' which I never understood what it was or
how it was to work."
Stoko says, "well, if you get a level higher because of this lecture, it will
be the best possible compliment to it."
China says, "yes, I'm going to keep going over this, til I understand it
completely ...as I understand if asked, you NEED to be able to explain what's
happening wiht the code parts that you use."
China says, "which til I 'learn' it I can't use it in the pet show."
Stoko nods.
China says, "I'd wanted very much to enter last years. I've entered all the
others since I've been on M*U*S*H."
Stoko nods.
China says, "and I've had an idea for a pet since last year. :)"
Glassbrain making uber-moosie.
Glassbrain says, "If you givez him a muffin he duz your taxes."
China says, "anyway... I just feel real lucky that I was here when I heard
mention on Public channel of asking about where lecture was. :)"
Stoko says, "thank god for this lecture, the opportunity to occupy my brain
with something other than with my usual obsessive thoughts concentrated on a
girl that's been almost continuously on my mind for almost a year."
Stoko nods.
China chuckles, "oh you need distraction to forget her."
China says, "or to just not be so obsessed? :)"
Stoko says, "both."
Stoko says, "the former, rather"
Stoko says, "glassbrain, any impressions or comments regarding the lecture,
maybe?"
China says, "well I'm glad you stepped forward with doing it. I know Trispis
canceled his, which I was looking forward too. I try to attend all those I
can/know about. Unfortunately I'm not an easy learner, being rather dence
about how it all works."
Stoko says, "either negative or positive?"
Stoko nods, "I've got 33% of a lecture about my style of coding prepared.
perhaps I'll hold it soon."
China nodnods, "I'd like to attend it. :)
Mika says, "Thanks for letting me idle here."
Mika says, "ANd thanks for the lecture!"
Mika poofs.
Mika goes home.
Mika has left.
Stoko nods, "I think I'll inform you about the time, in time."
Stoko says, "the time of the lecture."
China says, "I have some problems happening in November, so I don't know my
schedule then."
Stoko nods.
China says, "do your lectures get posted on the M*U*S*H website, Sir?"
Stoko says, "nope."
China :(
Stoko says, "perhaps the lecture about the coding style that tries to be as
fast and as short as possible will"
China says, "I'll just have to pray that timing will be perfect for me to
attend then. :)"
Stoko nods and shrugs.
China chuckles as your having the knowledge is the easier end, then for the
ones who still hunger for it.
China says, "anyway.. I apprecitate your doing the lecture and your
willingness to do more of them. Thank you again."
Stoko says, "you're welcome."
China smiles and leaves now, before she begins to bore you. :)
China enters Linux Lobby.
China has left.
Stoko has left.