Hμblog for 2022-05

This is an interesting writeup about webrings, a now forgotten phenomenon of the early web.

Current listening — while reading Dune. Massive index of ambient noise generators.

This is an interesting alternative compiler for producing Z-Machine images (.z5/.z8), taking inspiration from Prolog.

The author's website also appears an interesting homepage.

I have quite a bit of respect for the fact that this is a successful, real-world program developed using Literate Programming. It's a style of programming which has interested me before, but like many other people, I've found it hard to do in practice, and tools to be lacking.

As an aside, the interactive fiction community is from a technological perspective a fascinating microcosm, including from a CS perspective. You have not just one toolchain, but an entire ecosystem of competing virtual machine specifications (Z-Machine, Glulx, TADS, Hugo), compilers, and source languages, all intending to deliver architecture-independence and the ability to preserve IF for the ages, yet apart from all general-purpose technologies typically used for the task. (Read more...)