[comp.lang.misc] Karel the Robot

mesard@bbn.com (Wayne Mesard) (09/17/88)

From article <856@yunexus.UUCP>, by peter@yunexus.UUCP (Peter Roosen-Runge):
> I am looking for the titles and authors of  two introductory programming
> texts, written, I believe, in the early 80s, both of which had the theme
> of developing programs  to control a simple "robot".

I don't remember the author of the Karel book.  But I do remember the
two bizarre guys in my freshman dorm at CMU who were so taken with Karel
that they spent a month making three right turns when they wanted to
make a left down a hallway:-)

[Karel is a simulated robot in a two-d universe.  It was deliberately
designed to have a minimal amount of primatives.  Specifically:
turn-right, move, pick-up-beeper, put-down-beeper, check-for-beeper and
I think that's it.  Some people got really into it and spent hours
writing Karel programs to play tic-tac-toe, do long division, etc.  Ah
well, freshman nerds lack a certain "polish".]

-- 
void *Wayne_Mesard();         MESARD@BBN.COM         BBN, Cambridge, MA

erict@flatline.UUCP (j eric townsend) (09/19/88)

In article <29753@bbn.COM>, mesard@bbn.com (Wayne Mesard) writes:
| From article <856@yunexus.UUCP>, by peter@yunexus.UUCP (Peter Roosen-Runge):
| > I am looking for the titles and authors of  two introductory programming
| > texts, written, I believe, in the early 80s, both of which had the theme
| > of developing programs  to control a simple "robot".
| 
| I don't remember the author of the Karel book.  But I do remember the
| two bizarre guys in my freshman dorm at CMU who were so taken with Karel
| that they spent a month making three right turns when they wanted to
| make a left down a hallway:-)


I'm looking for this as well.  A cosc prof of mine suggested the book
to anyone interested in programming, whatever their level of education.
-- 
Skate Unix or die, boogie boy....
J. Eric Townsend ->uunet!nuchat!flatline!erict smail:511Parker#2,Hstn,Tx,77007
             ..!bellcore!tness1!/

jeff@stormy.atmos.washington.edu (Jeff Bowden) (09/19/88)

In article <336@flatline.UUCP> erict@flatline.UUCP (j eric townsend) writes:

>In article <29753@bbn.COM>, mesard@bbn.com (Wayne Mesard) writes:
>| From article <856@yunexus.UUCP>, by peter@yunexus.UUCP (Peter Roosen-Runge):
>| > I am looking for the titles and authors of  two introductory programming
>| > texts, written, I believe, in the early 80s, both of which had the theme
>| > of developing programs  to control a simple "robot".
>| 
>| I don't remember the author of the Karel book.  But I do remember the
>| two bizarre guys in my freshman dorm at CMU who were so taken with Karel
>| that they spent a month making three right turns when they wanted to
>| make a left down a hallway:-)
>
>
>I'm looking for this as well.  A cosc prof of mine suggested the book
>to anyone interested in programming, whatever their level of education.


I believe the author to this book is Richard E. Pattis, a C Sci professor
at this school (University of Washington).   hmmm, let's see...

% finger pattis@june.cs.washington.edu
[june.cs.washington.edu] 
Login name: pattis    			In real life: Richard Pattis
Directory: /u2/pattis               	Shell: /bin/csh
Group: faculty

Yep, he's here.