H UO Philosopher v2.0 for Commodore 64/128

Contents

1. Description of the program.. 1

2. How to use the program.. 2

3. How the code works. 5

3.1 Neural learning. 5

4. How to load in an emulator 6

APPENDIX I – Contact information. 8

APPENDIX II – Source code. 9

APPENDIX III – Number of characters per line. 10

 

1. Description of the program

The program HUOPHIL1 (Huo Philosopher v2.0) is a tiny program by Spyridon Kakos that can make deep philosophical conversations about any available subject. Its deep irrational understanding of the cosmos is based on nothing more than sets of random phrases the program brilliantly combines in order to produce phrases that will make any philosopher shiver from the sheer terror of its non-knowledge of metaphysics.

HUOPHIL - Main program characteristics
Platform	Commodore 64/ 128
Programmer	Spyridon Kakos (huo)
Language	Commodore BASIC V2
Category	SCHAU

The program was developed in 2021 for Commodore 64/ 128 using the C64 Studio 6.6 and was tested in VICE emulator and a real Commodore 128. The program complies with the maximum number of 256 characters per line rule (Category "SCHAU").

2. How to use the program

Just load and program and RUN it. The program will first ask you if you want to activate the neural learning functionality.

After that, the program will ask you for input.

Write anything regarding God, the cosmos or the meaning of life. Philosophy is the favorite subject of Huo Philosopher, but you can ask anything else as well. Press Enter and then the program will reply back with phrases with deep philosophical meaning.

After the answer from the computer and if you have activated neural learning, the computer will ask you whether you found the answer satisfactory. You must answer with a Y (Yes) or N (No). If your answer is N (No), then the computer will document the combination in his large brain that led to that answer so that it does not repeat it again…

As simple as that. If you do not want to continue the interesting discussion with the electronic philosopher, simply write Q and press Enter and the program will terminate.

Enjoy and have fun!

And remember…

Try not to think in order to think...

 

Important Notes

• Do not rush it. Just wait for the program to answer. Give it time to think...
• The neural learning table L$ holds up to ten (10) combinations. Everything has a limit, even neural learning. After ten rejected phrases, the computer keeps on replacing element L$(10) again and again.

 

 

3. How the code works

The program uses three sets of arrays that contain...

• An initial phrase. (Table X$)
• A middle phrase: This is the more complex one and uses three arrays that hold the start, the middle and the ending of the second phrase. (Tables Y$ + Z$ + W$)
• An ending phrase. (Table E$)

The program initially initializes the values in the tables and asks for user input. Then it generates random numbers and combines elements from the tables mentioned above to generate the three phrases. A delay between the phrases as they appear on the screen add to the mystery and the tension...

3.1 Neural learning

If the neural learning is activated, then the program will ask for your feedback after it provides its answer. If your feedback is negative, then the combination used to generate the phrase (STR$(X)+STR$(Y)+STR$(Z)+STR$(W)+STR$(E)) will be documented in table L$ and will never be used again.

Each time the program generates a new phrase, it will check whether that specific phrase exists in the table and if yes, it will automatically reject it and generate a new one.

Important Notes

4. How to load in an emulator

To load and execute the program in an emulator follow the steps below. Note that the screenshots are from the VICE emulator of Commodore 128, but the process should be similar in any other emulator for Commodore.

Step 1: Load the SKAKOS10L2.D64 image.

Step 2: After the image is loaded, list the programs in the list and load “HUOPHIL2” program.

Figure 9 – Load the philosopher by loading program HUOPHIL2…

Step 3: Execute the program loaded and get ready for interesting discussions…

Figure 10 – RUN and discover the deep secrets of existence…

Have fun!

Keep coding...

Huo, 2021-02-28