The Nineteenth Byte

11:36 AM

@Anush you're right. change the range(len(a)+1) to range(1,len(a)+1)

oh wait, ninja'd

11:50 AM

@ASCII-only I feel that should really be fixed given it's meant to be definitive code

@Anush just edit it yourself then :P

"You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reason:

You must confirm your email address before editing pages. "

boring :)

@ExpiredData that's perfectly fine - just frowned upon

@Anush rip :/

rip?

I am wondering if we could have a juggling challenge on ppcg. You have two pinball style flippers and a ball is dropped vertically on to one of them

wat

11:54 AM

the flippers have to move to juggle the ball backwards and forwards

@Anush done

not the juggling I assume ;)

@Anush hmm?

@ASCII-only that's cool

@ASCII-only go on

@Anush what would input/output be

11:56 AM

@ASCII-only does it need input? I suppose the score is the number of flips until the juggling fails

it's not a trivial task

well how exactly would the juggling work

oh the input is where the ball is dropped I dropped

what variables are there

how does the physics work

@ASCII-only when a ball hits a flipper it bounces off using normal physics depending on the angle of the flipper. That is angle of incidence is angle of reflection I think

"normal physics"?

11:57 AM

say the flippers only have two speed. moving or stationary

what about gravity

@ASCII-only right.. there is gravity

I feel like you would be able to solve it for an infinite score?

otherwise you can't juggle :)

yeah right now it isn't well defined :/

11:58 AM

@ExpiredData maybe...I suppose the first answer would win then. But I am not sure that is easy

@ASCII-only gravity is quite well defined :)

will there be friction?

@ExpiredData I think not

if not I think there might be an equilibrium point with the flippers

@Anush it's also much too complicated to put into a challenge

where you just keep them there and the ball goes round them, obviously you'd have to work out how to get the ball to equilibrium

11:59 AM

like this but simpler youtube.com/watch?v=EuXhUC3TS_s

that is that but with one ball and no obstacles and no walls

if you made it codegolf and challenge is to never let the ball drop might work better

yeah you'll need to define things like speed of gravity, motion of flippers and things like that

since i think it will not be hard to keep ball up forever

@ExpiredData oh you don't think it will be hard?

like... where are the flippers at time t

and also that simulation takes into account movement of flippers

12:01 PM

@ASCII-only in what sense?

meaning reflecting off the flippers is quite a bit more complicated then angle of incidence = angle of reflection

yeah does it transfer momentum

since the flippers themselves are also moving (i.e. transferring momentum)

@ASCII-only I guess you are right. But hopefully not too complicated

do flippers have acceleration

12:02 PM

@ExpiredData I think not.. just speed 1 or 0

yeah, that'd be simpler

of course if it's too simple we can add more balls :)

but one ball would already be fun I think if the input is the position it is dropped to start with

nah simpler is better :P

:)

maybe not fun, but certainly it would already be interesting

12:04 PM

I also really want to pose this on ppcg as codegolf challenge open.kattis.com/problems/towers

it's a really nice question

maybe a chat room challenge :)

@ASCII-only I have no idea how to specify the graphical side of the question to satisfy the ppcg requirements

so I don't think I will actually pose the pinball challenge sadly unless someone would like to help

@Anush well i'd recommend against graphics at all

@ASCII-only so how would it work?

pinball without graphics?

yeah

can you explain?

you can simulate it without displaying it after all

i mean... is the challenge not to automatically play pinball?

12:07 PM

really to juggle the ball

there is more to pinball than that

well yeah, but my point is, there's no user input needed, so why would you need graphical output :P

how would you know it is working?

there is user input. The position the ball is dropped at to start with

@Anush the output would be the timings, right?

then just have a verifier program that takes the timings as input

I guess so

if anyone can work out a solution to the kattis puzzle above I would love to see it

lol Mathematica can't handle it (by default, at least)

12:21 PM

@ASCII-only right! That's why it's a really cool question

you can't just evaluate them

well

100^100^100... is a really really big number

it's a regular occurrence once you get to harder difficulties on this kind of website

Project Euler, for example

true.. I just like this one in particular

the trick has to be to take logs repeatedly

but getting it right looks interesting

well, not necessarily taking logs

but yeah, some way of basically decreasing the magnitude

12:22 PM

I think it could make a good ppcg question.

but writing the test cases looks hard without a solution

even 100^100^100^100^100 is too big for a computer

1:22 PM

or 100^100^100 in fact

Fatalize

2:03 PM

@Adám I've submitted a pull request from Brachylog's language bar. I've changed two symbols in the code page recently.

4:23 PM

Thanks everyone for being so supportive RE: my grad school stuff. I didn't expect 23 stars.

Skidsdev

@PhiNotPi I'm a little envious tbh. I skipped University to jump right into the programming workforce, which I don't regret, but it's on my bucket list to attempt a PhD

Q: I am having trouble trying to understand what my professor needs me to do

to celebrate you can give us a solution to open.kattis.com/problems/towers :)

New Main Posts

4:48 PM

-1

After reading the n+1 values, there will be one more integer (k) read from the keyboard. Search the array for the value k. If found, print the location where k was found. (1 = data value, n = last data value). If k is not found, print "not found". This is not an error. If there are more than one...

c basic array

Adám

5:20 PM

@Fatalize Thanks. Pulled. What happens to existing code?

dzaima

@Adám as long as the old version is available somewhere, by ppcg standards it's fine

Adám

@dzaima Sure, I know that, but all the TIO links…

dzaima

@Adám it seems the changes didn't remove/change existing functionality, just added new chars replacing unused ones

Adám

@dzaima Oh, I see.

Veskah

6:30 PM

Bleh, posting an answer that technically works but uses a garbo method

6:46 PM

@Skidsdev I suppose it depends on what you want to do. I'm getting my PhD in computational neuroscience because I want a career in neuroscientific research. Computer science has never been my primary area of study and I never intend on joining "the programming workforce."

As I understand it, the things that you get out of a PhD are (1) the ability to write grants and independently author papers, (2) the content you learn in your classes, (3) the dissertation itself, and (4) teaching experience and other experience that preps you for an academic job.

@PhiNotPi and the title itself can also have some impact in totally unrelated areas

(5) credibility that comes with being called "doctor"

trust me, I'm an ~~engineer~~ doctor

btw is this common that you can go from undergrad straight into a phd program?

Yes in the US.

It might have an effect on program length though? Maybe PhDs are different lengths in countries where a Masters is required. Overall I'm looking at 4 years undergrad + 5 years (planned) for PhD.

But anyways... if you look at that list and realize only one of those things is important to you, then it's probably not worth getting a PhD. Especially in comp sci, there's lots of ways to learn advanced content and get your name on papers without doing a whole PhD program. But if you want to get a high-ranking position in the research division of a big tech company, then those other skills matter.

Finally... I think the phrase "attempt a PhD" is a poor choice of words. As Yoda (who is CGI and therefore qualified regarding computational subjects) says: "do or do not, there is no try."

7:07 PM

@PhiNotPi at least in my country it isn't really limited how long it takes you to get whatever degree you're aiming for (there is a hard limit of like 15 semesters or so) - and there is also not such a big pressure to finish quickly as tuition is relatively low and for a phd the limit is usally determined by the funds:)

AdmBorkBork

@PhiNotPi Ack, my Frank Oz-loving heart.

Skidsdev

@PhiNotPi 2 and 5 are my focus points

DJMcMayhem

Can one get a PHD in code-golf so I can call myself a "golf-doctor"?

Giuseppe

@flawr yeah it's pretty common in the scientific fields for sure. The way it was explained to me when I was applying for Stat PhD programs was, it's typically 4 semesters of foundational coursework, followed by a comprehensive exam, which grants you a Master's degree when you pass. Then your focus is on research until you finish your thesis; most places I interviewed at said 4-6 years with 5 being around the "usual" length.

@DJMcMayhem PhDPCG

3

or PPCGhD?

DJMcMayhem

7:27 PM

Better than a PhPCG

AdmBorkBork

Dr. Golf, PhDPCG.