85 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
85 lines
3.2 KiB
Markdown
co.py.cat
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=========
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An implementation of [Douglas Hofstadter](http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/hofstadter/)'s Copycat algorithm.
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The Copycat algorithm is explained [on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copycat_%28software%29), and that page has many links for deeper reading. See also [Farglexandria](https://github.com/Alex-Linhares/Farglexandria).
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This implementation is a copycat of Scott Boland's [Java implementation](https://archive.org/details/JavaCopycat).
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The original Java-to-Python translation work was done by J Alan Brogan (@jalanb on GitHub).
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The Java version has a GUI similar to the original Lisp; this Python version has no GUI code built in but can be incorporated into a larger GUI program.
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J Alan Brogan writes:
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> In cases where I could not grok the Java implementation easily, I took ideas from the
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> [LISP implementation](http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~mm/how-to-get-copycat.html), or directly
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> from [Melanie Mitchell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanie_Mitchell)'s book
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> "[Analogy-Making as Perception](http://www.amazon.com/Analogy-Making-Perception-Computer-Melanie-Mitchell/dp/0262132893/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1351269085&sr=1-3)".
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Running the command-line program
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--------------------------------
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To clone the repo locally, run these commands:
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```
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$ git clone https://github.com/Quuxplusone/co.py.cat.git
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$ cd co.py.cat/copycat
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$ python main.py abc abd ppqqrr 10
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```
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The script takes three or four arguments.
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The first two are a pair of strings with some change, for example "abc" and "abd".
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The third is a string which the script should try to change analogously.
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The fourth (which defaults to "1") is a number of iterations.
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This might produce output such as
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```
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ppqqss: 6 (avg time 869.0, avg temp 23.4)
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ppqqrs: 4 (avg time 439.0, avg temp 37.3)
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```
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The first number indicates how many times Copycat chose that string as its answer; higher means "more obvious".
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The last number indicates the average final temperature of the workspace; lower means "more elegant".
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Running the `curses` interface
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------------------------------
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Follow the instructions to clone the repo as above, but then run `curses_main` instead of `main`:
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```
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$ git clone https://github.com/Quuxplusone/co.py.cat.git
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$ cd co.py.cat/copycat
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$ python curses_main.py abc abd ppqqrr
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```
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This script takes only three arguments.
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The first two are a pair of strings with some change, for example "abc" and "abd".
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The third is a string which the script should try to change analogously.
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The number of iterations is always implicitly "infinite".
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To kill the program, hit Ctrl+C.
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Installing the module
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---------------------
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To install the Python module and get started with it, run these commands:
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```
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$ pip install -e git+git://github.com/Quuxplusone/co.py.cat.git#egg=copycat
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$ python
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>>> from copycat import Copycat
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>>> Copycat().run('abc', 'abd', 'ppqqrr', 10)
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{'ppqqrs': {'count': 4, 'avgtime': 439, 'avgtemp': 37.3}, 'ppqqss': {'count': 6, 'avgtime': 869, 'avgtemp': 23.4}}
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```
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The result of `run` is a dict containing the same information as was printed by `main.py` above.
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Questions
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---------
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1. Why are codelets **NOT** implemented through lambda?
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