Huh. Cool to see this get some space on the HN front page. I created the Tumblr https://moviecode.tumblr.com/ a few years ago and I've started this channel to go a little deeper into some of the examples. Hope people like it.
Next up: two episodes of Knight Rider, Westworld (1973) and Swordfish.
Oh man, I loved Whiz Kids when it was on TV. I'm not specifically looking for bugs or 8 bit stuff just really spelunking into where the code came from. The Westworld one is very interesting because it's 1973 and Westworld was the first film with computer graphics in it... I finally figured out what's being shown.
Yes, thanks. I have that one in the queue to do a video on. But thanks for that link as I'm trying in the text beneath the videos to credit people who discover these things and I'll add that.
Do Person of Interest please :). They actually used Shellshock on-screen as an exploit quite soon after it was in the news, and also AFAIR featured Stuxnet dumps.
Revolution had some Lisp code in the first season[0].
Not a movie but there's a wonderful source listing in Lost Universe (I think) where the C code starts with some macros that use setjmp/longjmp to implement gosub/return. Will try to find specific episode/timestamp when I get home.
I did a similar thing a while back and, although it was one of my favourite shows as a kid, I have to conclude that re-watching it was a mistake. Same with Knightrider.
I've been re-watching Knight Rider on-and-off for a while now, and it's actually fairly good. I wouldn't compare it directly to anything modern, as long as I accept it for what it is - a 1980s show.
If anyone, like me, is wondering if the bug solution is correct, here's the original documentation for the RND() function in Applesoft BASIC language (page 102):
RND(aexpr)
Returns a random real number greater than or equal to 0 and less than 1.
Which is pretty much the standard for a random function in many other computer languages through history, ie. Python's random.random(), JS Math.random(), ... There are other, more creative versions of the function, like Perl's and Ruby's rand(max), which differ slightly by allowing the user to set the max number.
But this other reference link, which presumably takes its information from the back of another book could have led the Airwolf programmer to make the mistake:
Even if it were 0.0 to 1.0 inclusive there'd still be a bug in the code since there's a very slim chance of getting a 1.000000 from the RNG, so in that buggy code, 'F' would still almost never be selected.
For that reason, a floating point random number from 0 to 1.0000000 inclusive would be hard to work with.
Absolutely! As a kid that rode dirt bikes all the time, and loved technology, I was totally into it. That and Knight Rider spurred a lot of ideas when I was young, and I was excited when I came across a set of Street Hawk DVDs a few years back. Brought back great memories.
I hope this message reaches you before you take the plunge...... I would recommend not watching Airwolf as an adult. Let it live in the "wondrous memory" part of your brain forever.
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[ 3.9 ms ] story [ 85.1 ms ] threadhttps://moviecode.tumblr.com
Next up: two episodes of Knight Rider, Westworld (1973) and Swordfish.
I just googled it and found http://thedailywtf.com/articles/Stargate-Code-of-the-Replica... so that might be a fun one to do a deep dive on.
It's funny because when I arrived at the restaurant, they were easy to spot. It was the table full of pony tails and neckbeards. (Not joking)
The only one I remember by name is Remy.
https://mtgap.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/objective-c-reference...
Revolution had some Lisp code in the first season[0].
[0] - https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/216352/lisp-in-Revolutio...
And 24 had Chloe walking over to a terminal and doing `svn unlock xyz` once.
But I watched a couple of episodes a few weeks ago (yikes!)
Season 2 and 3 was where the real meat of the show was found.
Fun Fact: My wife wouldn't let me name our son Stringfellow
Though if you actually follow @AirWolf4Life for any length of time you may disagree with that previous statement.
https://mirrors.apple2.org.za/Apple%20II%20Documentation%20P...
Which says:
Which is pretty much the standard for a random function in many other computer languages through history, ie. Python's random.random(), JS Math.random(), ... There are other, more creative versions of the function, like Perl's and Ruby's rand(max), which differ slightly by allowing the user to set the max number.But this other reference link, which presumably takes its information from the back of another book could have led the Airwolf programmer to make the mistake:
http://www.landsnail.com/a2ref.htm
It says the generated number is between 0 and 1, without mention to 1 being exclusive. I believe this a common confusion when it comes to RND() usage.
For that reason, a floating point random number from 0 to 1.0000000 inclusive would be hard to work with.
*If positive, which RND's return value must be.
Edwin Van Santen - Airwolf (Mix) Commodore 64 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15oujjzU1lM
The Helicopter Speed Limit - Helicopter Physics Series - #7 - Smarter Every Day 51 -- starts at 2m46s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pbdwueqGp4
I was surprised to learn that Chinooks are faster than sportier-looking helicopters because of that factor.