Design and implement more capabilities and devices

[byorgey]

There are quite a few capabilities that are missing; see the comments in Swarm.Language.Capability. This will require some creative thinking and careful planning and testing.

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Here is a list of commands and related issues (TODO):

• View this should also require something. Give view a limited broadcast range #17
• Not, And, Or some kind of boolean logic cap? Add boolean logic capability #562
• Inl, Inr, Case should require a capability for sums Add capability for working with type sums and products #563
• Fst, Snd should require a cap for pairs Add capability for working with type sums and products #563
• Try definitely needs to require something Device to give exceptions capability #132
• Wait could require time capability Make clock provide time capability #402

Here is the list of capabilities that are missing devices:

• senseloc (Whereami)
• appear (Appear) Device with recipe for 'appear' capability #1027
• setname (Setname) device for setname #1028
• device to provide teleport capability #1041
• random (Random) Add randomness device #497
• create (Create) make restricted instead in Remove create capability #408
• compare (==,!=,<, <=,>,>=) added with comparator in Some new devices and recipes #395
• arith (+,-,*,/) added with calculator in add sand, glass, and calculator #362

Here is a list of devices that provide a capability but are missing a recipe (see also #361):

• create recipe for detonator #1017
• dictionary More devices + recipes #507
• tool kit Start base with finite supply of basic robot parts #361
• grabber More devices + recipes #507
• 3D printer Add 3D printer recipe #496
• flash memory Add a flash memory recipe #498
• treads recipes for treads + tank treads: LaTeX -> rubber + motors + iron #434

In addition, the following commands require god capability and are currently only intended for scenario development and not available to players (except for creative mode):

• RobotNamed, RobotNumbered
• As
• Create

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Since #373 the exception users will see if there are no devices to provide required capability looks like this:

Missing the random capability for:
  'random'
 but no device yet provides it. See
 https://github.com/swarm-game/swarm/issues/26

Restricted commands give different message:

Thee shalt not utter such blasphemy:
  'as'
  If't be true thee wanteth to playeth god, then tryeth Creative game.

[xsebek]

I would really like to link the “counter” to a small solar panel and have a pocket calculator with arithmetic capability. 🧮

[byorgey]

I like that idea! =) I had some vague thoughts about making an "ALU" but I like this better. What should be the recipe for a solar panel?

[xsebek]

Sorry for the late reply @byorgey. I think solar panel mainly needs glass and some copper wires. It would be really nice to only add sand on water beaches, but I am not sure if the noise function in water terrain generation would work for that. Assuming we had sand, I imagine the recipes would be:

     furnace
sand ───┴─── glass

     3D printer
glass ──┬┴─── solar 
copper ─┘     panel
wires

     3D printer
counter ──┬┴─── calculator
solar ────┘
panel

I only used 3D-printer to look fancy and avoid making recipe for cadmium telluride or something like that. 😏

[byorgey]

Yes, adding sand would be nice. I think we could probably find a way to put sand around the edges of water. We would have to play with it. (Filed as #336.)

A 3D printer does make it look fancy, but that means that only the base will be able to carry out those recipes at first --- for automation's sake I think we should make it possible for other robots to make these recipes.

[byorgey]

swarm/src/Swarm/Language/Capability.hs

Lines 274 to 310 in 7d2339f

	-- Some additional straightforward ones, which however currently
	-- cannot be used in classic mode since there is no craftable item
	-- which conveys their capability.
	Appear -> [CAppear] -- paint?
	Whereami -> [CSenseloc] -- GPS?
	Random -> [CRandom] -- randomness device (with bitcoins)?
	Neg -> [CArith] -- ALU? pocket calculator?
	Whoami -> [CWhoami] -- mirror, needs a recipe
	-- comparator?
	Eq -> [CCompare]
	Neq -> [CCompare]
	Lt -> [CCompare]
	Gt -> [CCompare]
	Leq -> [CCompare]
	Geq -> [CCompare]
	And -> []
	Or -> []
	Add -> [CArith]
	Sub -> [CArith]
	Mul -> [CArith]
	Div -> [CArith]
	Exp -> [CArith]
	-- Some more constants which *ought* to have their own capability but
	-- currently don't.
	Say -> []
	View -> [] -- XXX this should also require something.
	Run -> [] -- XXX this should also require a capability
	-- which the base starts out with.
	Not -> [] -- XXX some kind of boolean logic cap?
	Inl -> [] -- XXX should require cap for sums
	Inr -> []
	Case -> []
	Fst -> [] -- XXX should require cap for pairs
	Snd -> []
	Try -> [] -- XXX these definitely need to require
	Raise -> [] -- something.

[byorgey]

Some additional ideas related to #361 . I want to wait until #373 lands and then add these things.

• quartz can be mined. From quartz one can make silicon; also quartz could be an ingredient for making a clock.
• silicon + strange loop + some number of bits -> circuit
• Add red, green and blue pixel entities that grow and can be harvested, like bits
• glass + 10 red pixel + 10 blue pixel + 10 green pixel -> camera
• camera + circuit -> scanner

Started implementing these things on https://github.com/swarm-game/swarm/tree/quartz .

[byorgey]

Ideas for a device to give the compare capability: a comparator perhaps?

Recipe?

• 2 copper wires +
• 1 see-saw (made out of 1 board + 2 wooden gears)

I think we want comparison to be available pretty early. All the basic things you want to do with arithmetic (e.g. writing repeat : int -> cmd () -> cmd ()) also require comparison.

OK, this is now also in https://github.com/swarm-game/swarm/tree/quartz .

[byorgey]

Didn't realize we have a create capability. I always intended for create to be available only in creative mode, so maybe we should make it CGod also?

[byorgey]

I think we should just get rid of the say command, at least for now. It used to do something but kind of got left behind when we added logger devices.

[xsebek]

@byorgey I was thinking say would become useful as a global God log (we could read messageQueue in some pop-up creative window) and check in the tests (no log required). Maybe other robots could hear you too if they are nearby and listen.

But CCreate and raise are definitely outdated, let me make a PR...

[xsebek]

How about making a copper coin and iron coin that would give the random capability?

[byorgey]

Or how about combining a bit (0) and bit (1) (+ maybe some copper or iron ore?) to make a bitcoin that gives the random capability? 😁

[byorgey]

I was thinking say would become useful as a global God log (we could read messageQueue in some pop-up creative window) and check in the tests (no log required). Maybe other robots could hear you too if they are nearby and listen.

Ah, those are all good ideas, let's keep it.

[byorgey]

Idea for 3D printer recipe:

• printer (see Use typewriter device for reifying values as entities #116)
• 5 circuit
• 1 iron plate
• 3 copper pipe
• 16 iron gear

[xsebek]

Run this should also require a capability that the base starts with.

@byorgey do we need that? If #495 is implemented, the program will be inlined and checked for capabilities when hitting Enter in REPL. Unless I am missing something it should not give you any extra power than copy-pasting.

In particular, you would not be able to do:

waitForCommand <- build {require "rock"; until {run "put.sw";ishere "rock"}; grab; nowDoStuff};
// echo 'place "rock";' >> put.sw

[byorgey]

Oh, I totally agree with you. I wrote that comment a while ago before thinking things through more in #495.

[xsebek]

I will also remove say from the list, as I am currently trying to revive it in #513 and it will be useful for it to not require any devices.

We can imagine that speaking is natural to robots, perhaps they just bang the robot shell or whizz with the motor to signal. 🤔

[xsebek]

@byorgey you mentioned in #550 that water should be carried in some container - what do you think about using that instead of detonator to allow robots to shortcircuit?

[byorgey]

@byorgey you mentioned in #550 that water should be carried in some container - what do you think about using that instead of detonator to allow robots to shortcircuit?

Pouring water on yourself to shortcircuit is funny, but it sounds to me like it would just make the robot halt, not cease to exist.

Honestly self-destructing doesn't seem very useful except for system robots. Maybe we should just make it a CGod thing and forget about detonator?

[xsebek]

I guess using shortcircuit as a weaker halt (#392) also makes sense, but once you pour water on an electric circuit it can be destroyed forever, so self-destruction seems also plausible to me.

I can imagine situations where you would want to get rid of the robot quickly without collecting it with salvage. Once we have the meet command (and later antennas) one robot left around could break your expectations and any protocol you built on them.

Also, it is just nice from an aesthetic standpoint - once I can create as many robots as I like, I will eventually not want to bother with salvaging them to clean my map view, unless they had an important task.

[byorgey]

once you pour water on an electric circuit it can be destroyed forever, so self-destruction seems also plausible to me.

OK, sure.

I can imagine situations where you would want to get rid of the robot quickly without collecting it with salvage. Once we have the meet command (and later antennas) one robot left around could break your expectations and any protocol you built on them.

Also, it is just nice from an aesthetic standpoint - once I can create as many robots as I like, I will eventually not want to bother with salvaging them to clean my map view, unless they had an important task.

Yes, good point, you've convinced me. 😄

[xsebek]

While we no longer plan to finish this issue for the Alpha release, it is IMO good to leave it pinned. 📌

If anyone has a good idea for devices/recipes feel free to discuss it here, in a separate Issue or on IRC. 🙂

[byorgey]

There are only two items left (creating a device for teleport, and a recipe for detonator), neither is that important, and both have their own issue marked as "low hanging fruit". I think I'm going to close this issue now, but anyone should feel free to reopen if there's a reason it would be helpful!