So, Mama Kitty and Bob may come home today, probably by tomorrow, definitely by Wednesday. All the news I've heard is good, so I am hoping they have taken everything in stride and will be back to their old selves, minus elevated thyroid activity.
Here's what I've been playing with- a word of warning, it may induce slumber, so don't operate heavy machinery or juggle knives or anything like that while reading this.
Some of you may have heard of John Conway's "Life" (see:Life) - it's a computer simulation that's been around since the 1970s, and a fascinating little booger it is. Very simple, and yet it can give rise to very complex phenomenae (cf: cellular automata).
Basically, imagine a two dimensional grid. Each cell in this grid can be filled(alive) or empty(dead). The history of the grid is looked at in generations or "ticks". The rules are very simple-
1) If a cell is dead in the current generation, it becomes alive if it has precisely three neighbors.
2) If a cell is alive, it stays alive if if has two or three neighbors. Otherwise, it dies.
Well, in learning Java, as an example to myself, I've come up with my own kind of "Life". It's not as simple, and it doesn't really produce any pretty images (yet) but it's been a lot of fun for me.
Java is what's called an "object-oriented language". Many of the older languages, like say, PASCAL or FORTRAN or BASIC (in all its incarnations...) are what are called "procedural" languages. To simplify things a great deal, procedural languages are like scripted TV series, and object-oriented languages are more like reality TV series.
How, you ask?
Well, procedural languages concentrate on the equivalent of script-writing. They lay out a plot and a series of actions and these are followed through. Object-oriented languages lay out requirements for the participants (like the casting for American Idol or Survivor) and then concentrate on the interaction between these participants.
There's more to it, of course (Doesn't that always seem to be the way?) but there's your introduction. Now, if you want, you can explore this until the point where you can make a better analogy, and we can have lots of fun discussing that [yes, I'm serious
]... or, if not, I can move on.
Anyway, an idea for a simulation occurred to me because of the very nature of Java- its object orientation.
And I'll pick back up with that next time, because it's already time for me to be getting ready to leave...
Here's what I've been playing with- a word of warning, it may induce slumber, so don't operate heavy machinery or juggle knives or anything like that while reading this.
Some of you may have heard of John Conway's "Life" (see:Life) - it's a computer simulation that's been around since the 1970s, and a fascinating little booger it is. Very simple, and yet it can give rise to very complex phenomenae (cf: cellular automata).
Basically, imagine a two dimensional grid. Each cell in this grid can be filled(alive) or empty(dead). The history of the grid is looked at in generations or "ticks". The rules are very simple-
1) If a cell is dead in the current generation, it becomes alive if it has precisely three neighbors.
2) If a cell is alive, it stays alive if if has two or three neighbors. Otherwise, it dies.
Well, in learning Java, as an example to myself, I've come up with my own kind of "Life". It's not as simple, and it doesn't really produce any pretty images (yet) but it's been a lot of fun for me.
Java is what's called an "object-oriented language". Many of the older languages, like say, PASCAL or FORTRAN or BASIC (in all its incarnations...) are what are called "procedural" languages. To simplify things a great deal, procedural languages are like scripted TV series, and object-oriented languages are more like reality TV series.
How, you ask?
Well, procedural languages concentrate on the equivalent of script-writing. They lay out a plot and a series of actions and these are followed through. Object-oriented languages lay out requirements for the participants (like the casting for American Idol or Survivor) and then concentrate on the interaction between these participants.
There's more to it, of course (Doesn't that always seem to be the way?) but there's your introduction. Now, if you want, you can explore this until the point where you can make a better analogy, and we can have lots of fun discussing that [yes, I'm serious
]... or, if not, I can move on.Anyway, an idea for a simulation occurred to me because of the very nature of Java- its object orientation.
And I'll pick back up with that next time, because it's already time for me to be getting ready to leave...
VIEW 11 of 11 COMMENTS
my friends always yell at me cause i am a people watcher and like to contemplate everyone elses stories