WimⓂ️

Until about 2022, I loved to program in Raku, the language formerly know as Perl 6. (Sadly, since then, genAI has ruined that for me.)

Raku has neat feature called Junctions. A junction is a lazy expression of values of any type combined with Boolean-like operators `|`, `&` and `^`. When an operation is applied to a Junction, it is carried out for each junction element, and the result is the junction of the return values of the operations. You can optionally evaluate a Junction in a Boolean context using `so`.

So you can do things like

my \jj = 1&2;
say so jj; # True
say so (->\x {x-1})( jj ); # False

Back in 2020 I pointed out an issue with Junctions, [The strange case of the greedy junction](https://limited.systems/articles/greedy-junctions/). Junctions are *greedy*, they turn anything they are combined with also into a Junction. This is not always desirable. I proposed an additional operation ("collapse") to undo this behaviour.

In a second post [Reconstructing Raku's Junctions](https://limited.systems/articles/reconstructing-raku-junctions/) I provided a proof for both the observed behaviour and the need for a "collapse" operation, by formalising Junction semantics in terms of polymorphic algebraic data types. I just re-read it and I still think it is very cool.

The `collapse` method never made it into the language (https://github.com/rakudo/rakudo/pull/3944) but my implementation still works.

What I think is neat is that my formalisation lets you implement Junctions in any language.

#programming #programmingLanguages
#rakulang

🎶
I lived in magic solitude
cloudy-looking mountains
a lake made out of crystal raindrops
roamed through space
ten thousand years ago
seen the giant city of Atlantis
🎶

I started on my final study of the Major from from Ghost in the Shell, using a mechanical pencil and nice watercolour paper. Next, apply my new watercolour paint to it, then inking.

#theStudio #theAtelier
#GitS #Japanese #drawing #art #traditionalArt

What was the rationale to change the #uxn source from separate files for devices to a single file?

I'm following the Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou panels bot because I like those images in my timeline.

It is interesting also because it exposes the limits of AI-generated alt text: it is almost always somewhat inaccurate but frequently plain wrong, and has absolutely no context.

@damaru@merveilles.town I love them, and your studies!

I don't like that name for that flower, I think it does the flower a discourtesy. I much prefer the Japanese name "higanbana", or the other name Cluster Amaryllis.

There is a novel where these flowers have a key role, and I wrote an article about it on my blog:

https://quickandtastycooking.org.uk/articles/higanbana/