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Code as Poetry?

Started by CloudNine Jul 29, 2006 at 8:05 AM 12 replies 2.4k views

Original Post

Jul 29, 2006 at 8:05 AM

Hi, This thread will probably qualify me for the geekiest thing I've done in a while ;), but do you think some code does resemble an art form, and if so, what's the prettiest bit of code you've (ever) written? Of course, the prettiness of code is relative to the language of the code itself. Here's a contendor for mine - it's short, to the point and simple - from my operating system, Whitix (although the more I look at it, the less poetic it looks :):


/***********************************************************************
 *
 * FUNCTION: VmLookupPage
 *
 * DESCRIPTION: Looks up a page in a vNode by file offset to see if anyone
 *		has mapped the page already.
 *
 * PARAMETERS: vNode - vNode that contains the shared list.
 *	       offset - file offset needed.
 *
 * RETURNS: the virtual page containing the file data.
 *
 ***********************************************************************/

static struct VMMapPage* VmLookupPage(struct VNode* vNode,Offset offset)
{
	struct VMMapPage* page;

	/* Has anyone else mapped it in? */
	if (!vNode || vNode->refs == 1 || ListEmpty(&vNode->sharedList))
		return NULL;

	/* Loop through the shared list and return the one with the offset we need. */
	ListForEachEntry(page,&vNode->sharedList,list)	
		if (page->offset == offset)
			return page;

	/* Not found. It will now be mapped in. */
	return NULL;
}

Trapper Zoid

Jul 29, 2006 at 8:58 AM

Although only one line, my favourite is this function header from "Pierre and the Fish".

void UpdateFishie(Fishie *fish);	// this is pure poetry!

And yes, that comment was already there [grin]

OrangyTang

Jul 29, 2006 at 9:23 AM

Seen in lots of code littered around the place:

// Hocus pocus// grab the focussetFocused(true);

MumbleFuzz

Jul 29, 2006 at 9:38 AM

Reversing a list in Haskell:

reverse [] = []reverse (x:xs) = reverse xs ++ [x]

kSquared

Jul 29, 2006 at 12:42 PM

This thread probably has broader appeal than just GP, so I'm moving it to the Lounge.

Don Carnage

Jul 29, 2006 at 4:49 PM

#include <iostream>#define Beauty int main()#define is {#define in std::cout<<#define the #define eye "Hello, world!"#define of ;#define beholder return 0; }Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

superpig

Jul 29, 2006 at 7:07 PM

Quote:
Original post by MumbleFuzz
Reversing a list in Haskell:
reverse [] = []reverse (x:xs) = reverse xs ++ [x]

Beautiful indeed. And from it you build an in-place swap:

swaps n[a..b] with n[x..y]
> swap a b x y = reverse (reverse n[a..b] ++ reverse n[b+1..x-1] ++ reverse n[x..y])

Oberon_Command

Jul 29, 2006 at 7:12 PM

One possibility:

void SDLVideo::TextOut(SDL_Surface *screen, char *str, int x, int y){     char current_char; // this is the current character we are going to print     int character_code = 0; // the final code we will use to draw it     int length = strlen (str); // calculate the length     int x_pos = 0;       // where we are on the screen     int line = 0;        // what line of text we're on          // now we iterate through the string, and print the characters one by one     for (int loop = 0; loop < length; loop++)     {         current_char = str[loop]; // get the next character                  if (str[loop] == '\n') // check for newline         {                // if there's a newline go to the next line         	line++;                	x_pos = 0;         }                  // check what character we got; got to make it fit into the          // character set         if (current_char <= 57)             character_code = (int)current_char - 32;         if (current_char > 57)            character_code = (int)current_char - 39;         if (current_char > 90)            character_code = (int)current_char - 45;                          // actually blit the character         BlitRegion(font[currentFont], screen, (x + (x_pos)), y + (line*16), (character_code * 8), 0, 8, 16);         // go to the next character spot on the screen         x_pos+=10;     } // end for} // end function

Another possibility, though I don't know quite what I was thinking when I wrote it (it's a function that runs another task using function pointers...).

int runExecutable0(EXECUTABLE_FILE *execFile){	void *pointer;	void (*function)();	// figure out where the code is in memory		pointer = execFile->code;	if (pointer == 0)			BSOD("Executable not found");	function = (void *) pointer; 	// actually run the code        function();		// NO MORE LINES AFTER THIS OR IT CRASHES!!!	// return success	return 1;}

MindWipe

Jul 29, 2006 at 7:26 PM

Back to the topic of geeky things (I aer a bit drunk). I told my gf I couldn't talk to her because I wanted to implemnt collisions between rigid bodies or something like that. And today when I told her I was working on my physics engine she answered "Where did you get the parts for it?" thinking it was a real engine sort-of-thing.

Yes, time to eat and sleep to sober up.

/MindWipe

Way Walker

Jul 29, 2006 at 7:49 PM

#define a#define and#define are     z%=sizeof x-1;#define became  "hps\nwLL?smr\nhhtwdekwWDkbtkhdkvt?thLr"#define by      }#define called  putchar(x[z]);#define calls   const char*strchr(const char*,int);#define child#define For     int putchar(int);#define He#define Himself int main(void){#define His     return 0;#define I       "WlL\nhhLwvdpmpWvLtkhLLwothmppsLtkh lD",#define is      =#define Lamb    char x[]#define lamb    while(*y++){#define little  "WlL\nhhLsimaaLhommwe?intspsk lD"#define meek    " heWntsarwdoip\nAvDmlk?Lb", *y#define mild    "qeLhektkhLsbehLmtkamaAdhLlktkhdkvsapthLr"#define name    }#define thou    z=1;#define We      z+=strchr(x,*y)-x;For He calls Himself a LambHe is meek and He is mildHe became a little childI a child and thou a lambWe are called by His name

Thevenin

Jul 29, 2006 at 8:53 PM

#teleport *GM Thevenin* to (466,546)

TheRXTP = new Regex(@"^(#teleport)[\s][\x2a](?
[a-zA-Z_0-9\s]*)[\x2a][\s](to)[\s]
[\x28](?[0-9]*)[,](?[0-9]*)[\x29]");

Maega

Jul 29, 2006 at 9:21 PM

Quote:
Original post by MindWipe
I told my gf I couldn't talk to her because I wanted to implemnt collisions between rigid bodies or something like that.

/MindWipe

Wouldn't it have been easier to just ask her for sex instead of encoding it in euphemisms?

kSquared

Jul 30, 2006 at 11:31 AM

Here's my submission for poetry as code:

void CreateLimerick() {#define scanning terriblySlick  if (lines == 5  && rhymesWith("live") {doLaugh(); perform(new Trick()); }}

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