Using TeX to control a Mars rover (see page 5)(haskell.org)
haskell.org
Using TeX to control a Mars rover (see page 5)
http://www.haskell.org/sitewiki/images/8/85/TMR-Issue13.pdf
8 comments
I don't understand how a language designed for document programming can be a good choice for controlling a rover..
Is it a joke, is he really serious about this?
Is it a joke, is he really serious about this?
Both: He's not seriously proposing that TeX is a good choice for the task, but he was serious about accomplishing the task, and he managed to turn it into a paper for publication.
In this case "controlling a rover" was the task of the 2008 ICFP programming contest, and he thought it would be "interesting" to write an entry using TeX. While he wasn't the highest scoring entry, he won the judges' prize for his unusual approach.
A more practical explanation of the project, from his blog: http://sdh33b.blogspot.com/2008/07/icfp-contest-2008.html
In this case "controlling a rover" was the task of the 2008 ICFP programming contest, and he thought it would be "interesting" to write an entry using TeX. While he wasn't the highest scoring entry, he won the judges' prize for his unusual approach.
A more practical explanation of the project, from his blog: http://sdh33b.blogspot.com/2008/07/icfp-contest-2008.html
It's a joke that he took seriously enough to actually program a mars rover in TeX. I am both amused and awed.
Corrected the title.
There was this apocryphal rumour going on, when I was doing my Ph.D, that if you could master LaTex and TeX you deserved your Ph.D, your reserch was actually a marginal note! Excellent article!
TeX is an enjoyable language for programming--it's something like writing in lambda calculus. It's too bad most people don't realize it's a complete language. I use it all the time for generating automated documents and such.