Drinkable Chicken

Thanks to everybody who replied to my previous inquiry about booting Ubuntu in text mode. Eventually, I managed to figure out a solution, sort of, after combining several of the tips.

Much of the advice was sound but didn’t really apply in one way or another. For example, Ubuntu 11.04 uses GRUB2, which apparently differs significantly from the old GRUB. This means that many of the proposed solutions didn’t apply (unless I had reinstalled using the old GRUB, I don’t know). There’s no /etc/inittab, no menu.lst, editing the boot menu works differently, the vga= parameter is no longer supported, etc.

The Ctrl-Alt-F1 (etc) suggestions sort of worked, but gave me the same small font, plus I really wanted the system to *start up* in text mode.

The reason I chose Ubuntu in the first place was because it’s popular.  My Secret Project (oh, the suspense ;-) involves building something on top of an Unixoid system, and Ubuntu seemed like a logical choice; it’s very actively developed, has drivers for a lot of hardware, etc. But on second thought, it might not have been a good choice for my purposes. Ubuntu strives to provide a smooth, user-friendly experience, which implies a desktop GUI. Support for terminals that boot up in text mode is, understandably, not their first priority.

However, there *are* Linuxen with different priorities. As reader “Kerobaros” pointed out in a comment, ArchLinux may be a better choice. So after a lot of fruitless experimenting with all the advice mentioned in the other comments, I decided, what the heck, I’ll give it a try. (It uses the old GRUB, so that made things easier as well.)

At first it did the same thing as Ubuntu: I could set the VGA mode/resolution in GRUB, and it would start up using that mode, but at some point during the booting process the screen would fall back to the 1024×768-based font. (I figure most people would actually prefer that font, since it’s much more crisp, and more text is visible on the screen, but for my old eyes, it’s not so good.)

Then eventually I read somewhere that this behavior is something that newer kernels do, and that the nomodeset option stops it from happening. It didn’t actually do that on Ubuntu 11.04, but it did on ArchLinux. So now I finally have a Linux install that sets the right font (80×25) and *keeps* it. ^_^

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I did offer a bounty to the person who could solve this problem. Oddly enough, the “golden tip” turned out to be the suggestion to use Arch Linux. Several people mentioned “nomodeset”, and while it didn’t have the desired effect on Ubuntu, it does work properly with Arch. Given that I couldn’t get any of the other tips to work with Ubuntu 11 at all, I think that Kerobaros should get his pick of the prizes, if he/she wishes.

(Thanks to everybody who replied. I still don’t have a working solution yet I eventually managed to find a configuration that works for my purposes, combining some of the advice; more about this in a followup post.)

~

OK, here’s an interesting problem for all you Linux masters/journeymen (or maybe even beginners) out there. The whole story is a bit too long to explain it on IRC or somesuch, so I’m doing it here. I’m also offering a bounty/reward; see below.

But first things first. Last week I got an ASUS 1018P. It’s a 10″ netbook that I specifically got to do a certain Project that I have been thinking about for a while now. It currently has Ubuntu 11.04 desktop on it (most attempts to install other versions of Linux failed, but that doesn’t matter right now). In GUI mode, everything seems to work fine; graphics are correct (it’s a widescreen), wireless is instantly recognized, sound works, etc. No problems there.

Now, what I want, is apparently rather unusual in this day and age. You know how in the old days of MS-DOS (or early Linuxen) the computer would boot, and you would get a 80×25 text screen? Well, that’s basically what I want here. I want an option in my boot menu that does just that; instead of booting into the GUI, it shows you a login prompt in 80×25 text mode, and stays there after logging in.

Sounds simple? Not for me. I know a little about Linux, but not enough to pull it all off, because I run into too many problems that I don’t know how to fix. The way I understand it, the new menu option must boot in runlevel 3, and must use a screen resolution lower than 1024×768 (currently it shows a font with more columns/rows than 80×25, which makes the text unpleasantly small on the 10″ screen).

(The machine is capable of showing 80×25, by the way; it uses it for the BIOS screen, and it also uses it for certain other Linux installations, like Gentoo, so I know it works. It’s just that Ubuntu insists on switching to a higher resolution with a smaller font.)

If you know how to fix this, I would like to hear from you. ^_^ Please leave comments either below, or via email (zephyrfalcon@gmail.com). Assume that I am not very smart and don’t know much about Linux. ;-) In other words, I would need some hand-holding, rather than vague advice.

The first reader to come up with an acceptable solution can pick a “prize” from the list below. To summarize, this is what I need:

• extra option in GRUB2 boot menu
• boot in runlevel 3 (necessary for text mode, I think, but feel free to correct me)
• set screen to a lower resolution, e.g. 640×480 or 800×600, which allows for 80×25 text
• ideally, the process should be reproducible on other netbooks as well (assuming Ubuntu)
• BONUS points if everything else still works in text mode (sound, wireless, etc)
• BONUS points if it’s still possible to switch to a graphics mode using one library or another, and back to text mode (not a GUI, I’m more thinking along the lines of SDL here, etc), and you can tell me a bit about how to do this

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Now for the rewards. I don’t have money to offer, but I do have a bunch of stuff laying around that I don’t use, and that might be of interest to people. I will send it to you free of charge. NOTE: Sorry, but I can only send it to you if you are in the US or Canada; otherwise the shipping costs will get a little too unwieldy. :( If you are from another country, maybe we can make other arrangements, e.g. I could write some Python code for you, or something.

Books:

• The Little Lisper, Third Edition
• Ada 95 Problem Solving and Program Design (Feldman, Koffman)
• Programming in Ada 95 (Barnes)
• Unix Ada Programming (Gehani)
• Data Structures and Algorithms: An Object-Oriented Approach Using Ada 95 (Beidler)
• Miranda: The Craft of Functional Programming (Thompson)
• Flex 3: A beginner’s guide (Davis, Phillips)
• The Art of Computer Programming vol. 1: Fundamental Algorithms, Second Edition (Knuth)
• Dreaming in Code (Rosenberg)
• In The Land of Invented Languages (Okrent)
• Twisty Little Passages (Montfort)
• Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals (Salen, Zimmerman)
• The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology (Salen, Zimmerman)
• Photoshop CS Bible (McClelland)
• Magic: The Puzzling (Rosewater)

If none of these are to your liking, I also have a bunch of Magic cards (mostly older ones), fantasy books, video games, disassembled Zoids, etc. Oh, and you get to pick more items if you satisfy the “bonus” conditions listed. :)

Thanks in advance…

–Hans who should really turn in his hacker’s license :(

Listen up. A company I used to work for, iTrackr, is looking for a Python developer. I cannot take this job myself, because I have other obligations elsewhere. However, I promised to help them find a suitable developer, so here goes.

What they are looking for is an experienced web developer. The current code they have in place is based on Pylons and makes heavy use of SQLAlchemy, so experience with those is a must. Some parts of the system also use Twisted, so knowledge of that is a definite plus. So is knowledge of web crawling and RESTful APIs. The database used is Postgres. (In general, the more you know about web development, the better… if you know Javascript, HTML/CSS, etc, this will all come in handy, but it’s the back-end stuff that counts right now.)

Let me be clear here. There is an existing code base, parts of which no longer work, and the idea is to get it working again as soon as possible. So what they need is someone who can hit the ground running; someone who can start immediately, take this code, analyze it, and start making noticeable improvements very soon. This is why the candidate must already be very familiar with Pylons and SQLAlchemy; if you “sort of” know it, sorry, this job is not for you.

Note: I don’t work for this company anymore; right now I am simply functioning as the middle man, helping them out to find a developer who is a good fit for this position. I am not a recruiter, so don’t send me your sales pitch; rather, just send me your resume, tell me something about yourself, and if you look like a suitable candidate, I will forward it to the company. You will have to negotiate payment rates, working hours, etc, with their management.

The company is based in South Florida, but you don’t have to be local. Working remotely is an option. Of course, you are expected to keep the team up-to-date through email, IM and/or conference calls.

If you’re interested, drop me a mail at zephyrfalcon@gmail.com. Please mention “iTrackr job” in the subject. I will look at all the replies and send the suitable ones to the company.

(I am using this “informal” way to find a developer, rather than using e.g. the Python Job Board, because they need to find someone *fast*. If necessary, I will repost on the job board, though.)

This is an interesting idea: Cubelets: modular, affordable robotics for kids and students.

Basically you build a robot out of small parts (cubes, in this case), each of which are simple to understand by themselves.

As it happens, I had a somewhat similar idea a while ago… a game that should appeal to programmers. The idea is currently very crude, but it comes down to building a “robot” from 4 parts. There would be blocks that allow it to move, see, jump, shoot, etc. You then put this robot in a certain environment (a level) and program it in some kind of language. You beat the level if it performs a certain task (maybe reaching the end, or picking something up, or even surviving for a certain amount of time… there are many possibilities).

Maybe someday I will take a stab at fleshing out the game idea some more and implement it using my “retro kit” (a small library on top of PyGame that works with a 40×25 text screen like the Commodore 64; currently unreleased). Yes, I realize that saying “maybe someday I will…” is lame. The problem is more that I have too many ideas and too little energy/motivation to implement them. :( The chaotic environment doesn’t help either. >.<

[By the way, I started writing on this blog again, because it's currently somewhat hard to update Aquiline Ascension, mostly because I don't have a Mac that is up to snuff.]

[By the way #2, I am still selling a bunch of stuff on eBay. ;-)]

It seems my “new” iMac is borked. The only Macs I have now are G3s, so blogging and hacking will be limited until I can afford a new one. (Speaking of which, I’m selling a bunch of stuff again. :-)

I suppose I *could* whip up Yet Another Blogging System using Gauche, but yeah… you can only write the same software so many times. ;-)

I was also trying to hack on something else in Gauche, but life kept interfering…

(( Gauche Scheme is seriously underrated, by the way. Although it’s an interpreter, it’s pretty fast; in an informal benchmark that I did just for the hell of it, it beat Chicken, Gambit, Scheme48 and Racket. Oh, and Python. ;-) I noticed this before, when it processed SXML much faster than *compiled* Chicken code. Also, it comes with a bunch of libraries baked in, and has a decent Windows version. What’s not to like? Well I do have a list of ideas for improvement actually, maybe someday I’ll blog about it… ))

Anyway, the plan is now, to raise ~$2000 so I can buy an iPad and a Mac that can actually be used to develop iOS software. Hence the renewed selling of stuff… As usual, I am also available for odd jobs and part-time work.

I have resumed my “Python vs Scheme” series. The latest installment can be found on my new blog. (I’m announcing it here because otherwise nobody would notice. <0.5 wink>)

As always, comments and corrections are welcome. ^_^

Thanks to everybody who replied to my previous post about picking a suitable compiler book.

I think that, at first, I will go with Language Implementation Patterns. It was suggested by several people and seems the least scary. ;-)  After that I can always upgrade to one of the other books mentioned, if necessary. (The Appel book was mentioned multiple times as well, so that seems like an interesting choice too. The ML version likely has the least boilerplate.)

If and when I have more to say on the matter, I will likely do so on my new blog, by the way. I would not be offended if you added it to your newsreader. ;-) As it is, I probably won’t post a lot here anymore (although this blog has the benefit of being syndicated by Planet Python).

(The new blog talks a lot about Magic right now, but that is because I am working on a few Magic-related projects at the moment. Over time it will likely cover many more topics, especially Python and other programming languages.)

[I posted this on Hacker News. Reposting it here to reach a different audience.]

For years I have been interested in programming languages and their implementation. I have made many attempts over time to create my own (experimental) programming languages, mostly interpreters.

The problem is, my knowledge of this area of computer science is fragmented, to say the least. I picked up things here and there, but I never learned how to properly implement a compiler, interpreter, virtual machine, or even a parser.

So, I have decided to pick a book and work my way through it. I just don’t know which book. They all seem equally intimidating. A few candidates that I am considering are:

• The Dragon Book (new version, 2006); seems awfully big though, making me wonder whether I should pick a book that is a bit less comprehensive first, then come back to this one later;

• The Dragon Book (old version, 1986)

• Engineering a Compiler, by Keith Cooper and Linda Torczon

• Parsing Techniques – A Practical Guide, by Dick Grune; focuses on parsing though rather than the whole package

So my question is, which of these books, or any others, do people recommend? (My main interests would be interpreters and languages that compile to bytecode, either custom or targeting existing VMs. “Traditional” compilers that produce a standalone executable, not so much.)

Thanks in advance!

…time to launch a new blog… (in progress, so bear with me…)

I’m working on a new website, and I’m looking for a decent comment system. I checked out Disqus, but it doesn’t look good with the site’s design; also, it seems to be overkill. I don’t need people to engage in “discussions” and have “comment threads” and whatnot. Something simple would suffice, e.g. something like this blog’s comment system (which is part of WordPress, so I don’t think I can use it separately).

Most modern comment systems seem to focus on the discussion idea, though; Intense Debate and Echo (formerly JS-Kit), for example. HaloScan would have done the job, but it’s gone. :-(

Anyway, if anybody reading this knows of a simple comment system that doesn’t suck, please let me know. ^_^