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[Mrhappyface]

I like math, but some of the members of the higher math fandom are some of the best and worst people I have known. Same is true for specialized med fields.

[slothen]

2) Toady has a doctorate in maths. Half of his generation solutions use high-end maths, I'm not surprised if most of his coding solutions contain high-end maths. Mathematics is a very weird science.

math is awesome!  a bastion of absolute certainty and logic.  However, 95% of the gruntwork in coding an application makes very little use of advanced mathematics.

Except everything regarding the world-gen, which uses fractals if I'm not mistaken.

Yeah, but thats the exception.  Math can guide you to writing some sophisticated and cool algorithms for certain problems.  But that is never the bulk of the work.  Solving the core problem is about or less than 5%.  It is often even less, since most math heavy problems have well-known optimized solutions.  Once the problem is framed in the correct terms, you don't need to know much to implement the algorithm.

[Draco18s]

Except everything regarding the world-gen, which uses fractals if I'm not mistaken.

I thought they were perlin noise maps?

Nope, it's fractal.
Wiki entry on the method.  I know there's an interview around somewhere where Toady describes it, and it is exactly that method.

It's also why the map sizes are "powers of 2 plus 1."  (Hint: Perlin Noise doesn't give a damn)

[Sizik]

Perlin noise can be used to create fractal maps.

[Murgy]

It's all math. It's like trying to figure out the problem with just the answer.

That's a perfect analogy. Short, simple, and relevant.
Asking a computer to accurately decompile something is an impossibility on the same principles as being given the number 42 and being asked to find what operations were used to come to that result. It could be anything from 21+21=X to (2*8+(-3²)-20/5)*2=X

[Draco18s]

That's a perfect analogy. Short, simple, and relevant.
Asking a computer to accurately decompile something is an impossibility on the same principles as being given the number 42 and being asked to find what operations were used to come to that result. It could be anything from 21+21=X to (2*8+(-3²)-20/5)*2=X

You have more clues than that, but in a simplistic manner, yes.

It's kind of like knowing that 42 is a result, as is 15, and that there's a cube-root involved.

For some languages it's easier (for example, Flash, as it preserves classes when it's compiled*) other languages, it's much more difficult (for example, C++).

*Along with all kinds of other things.  Function names, global variable names, class variable names, class names, and package identifiers.  Local variable names are the only stripped names.  I know from having decompiled my own projects.  It's possible to obfuscate things, there are several encryptors/obfuscators available, though I don't use them.

[Quietust]

I think the point has been made and the thread can now be allowed to die a peaceful death.

[nenjin]

Aw, but there's still so much room left to dogpile on.....

[Finn]

I think the point has been made and the thread can now be allowed to die a peaceful death.

Yeah, really Quietust.  I was hoping one more person could post and explain how the symbol table is discarded after compilation.  Now you've ruined all the fun.