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PhiNotPi
PhiNotPi
1:27 AM
@MartinBüttner this is probably outside of the scope of this fortnightly challenge, but I think there is probably a way to mathematically compute the "terseness" of a language.
But it won't be practical (uncomputable problem?) to measure.
Such as (number of uniquely functioning valid programs of a certain max length) ^ (1 / length)
A language in which each possible combination of characters is a unique program would achieve maximum terseness.
But you would have to create set requirements for the "scope" of the language.
And "terseness" does not automatically lead to "usefulness."
 
 
8 hours later…
Martin Büttner
Martin Büttner
9:37 AM
@PhiNotPi the undecidable problem in there is uniqueness of different programs.
 
 
14 hours later…
PhiNotPi
PhiNotPi
11:30 PM
Idea for challenge (I'm literally writing this and typing it out now)
*Background*
Pattern matching is a very common problem in programming, especially code golf. Regexes, for example, can be used to detect a pattern in a line of text. There are not, however, any effective or terse method to describe and detect two-dimensional patterns.
*The Challenge*
In this challenge, you will design a language to match 2D patterns in text. Your answer should contain a description of the language, as well as (a link to the source code of) a working environment. Also, you should demonstrate your langu…
 

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