Questions tagged [source-layout]
For challenges that involve the physical layout or physical manipulation of source-code.
191 questions
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Break my source file! [duplicate]
Challenge
Create a program that, when run, changes the contents of the source file. This means that you can delete/add/change characters in the source file, but you can't delete the (source) file ...
- 1,209
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Reuse your code!
In this challenge we try to solve two important problems at once. They are:
Given integers \$a\$ and \$b\$, tell if \$a^b-1\$ is a prime number.
Given integers \$a\$ and \$b\$, return \$a\choose b\$.
...
- 5,157
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votes
5
answers
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Letter, Number, Symbol, Space, Repeat
There are 97 ASCII characters that people encounter on a regular basis. They fall into four categories:
Letters (52 total)
...
- 90.8k
24
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16
answers
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Running Merge Conflict
When using a tool such as git to merge two files, a conflict could be detected and added to the result of the merge.
A merge of these two files:
my file:
...
- 343
25
votes
11
answers
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Quote-Safe Quines
Your task is simple: write a program (or function) that takes no input and outputs (or returns) its source code. The catch is that when the program is wrapped in ...
- 15.6k
16
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15
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Hidden Inversions (Robbers' Thread)
This is a cops-and-robbers puzzle, the cops' thread can be found here.
Your task will be to find an anagram of the provided programs in the cops' thread that performs its left inverse.
Once you ...
- 103k
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17
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Hidden Inversions (Cops' Thread)
This is a cops-and-robbers puzzle the robbers' thread can be found here.
Your task will be two write two programs (or functions) such that they are anagrams of each other and one performs the left ...
- 103k
6
votes
1
answer
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Shrink your language's character set [duplicate]
We often get restricted-source questions here on PPCG that favour submitting solutions using only a subset of characters (sufficiently so that there's a tag printable-ascii that identifies a ...
user62131
19
votes
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Make an interweaving quine
Your task is to create a program that, when run, returns itself as output (this is known as a quine). However, this quine must, when it is copied n times, returns ...
- 7,000
10
votes
2
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Positional Awareness
Positional Awareness
Your task is to generate a program that, for every permutation of its characters (which includes the original program), outputs the positions of every character relative to the ...
- 7,000
80
votes
16
answers
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Error 404: Character Not Found
Scenario
One of your friends is struggling on a homework assignment. He needs a simple program which prints the first 404 natural numbers:
...
- 14.7k
111
votes
36
answers
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What are the five most powerful characters in your language?
Choose any five characters your language supports. There are 5! = 5×4×3×2×1 = 120 ways these can be arranged into a 5-character string that contains each character once; 120 permutations.
Choose your ...
- 90.8k
32
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Figure and Ground
Source: Wikipedia
For this challenge, you should write two programs which resemble the figure and ground of the above image, such that one of them prints figure ...
- 198k
42
votes
19
answers
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Program template for printing *any* string
Write a program with the following properties:
When run as-is, the program produces no output (i.e. 0 bytes of output).
There is a location within the program (of your choice: it could be at the start,...
user62131
8
votes
10
answers
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Make your program sequential! [closed]
Your task, if you choose to accept it, is simple.
Objective
You must make a program that, when run, prints some (as many as you want) terms in a sequence that you choose. The sequence must be a ...
- 507
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votes
2
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Primes with a twist
Note: this is heavily inspired by this question.
Task:
Your task is to generate the nth prime, when each character of your program is repeated ...
- 7,000
27
votes
2
answers
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Hyper about quines
Inspired by Hyperprogramming: N+N, N×N, N^N all in one.
Thanks to @MartinEnder and @trichoplax for their help in the sandbox.
Definitions
Hyperquines
Define a hyperquine of order n as a quine-...
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171
votes
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answers
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Hyperprogramming: N+N, N×N, N^N all in one
Write a program that takes in a number N from 1 to 9 inclusive. In its native form your program should output N+N. E.g. output 2 if N is ...
- 90.8k
0
votes
1
answer
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“HHeelllloo,, EEaarrtthh!!” [duplicate]
Much like this challenge, write a program or function that takes no input and prints or returns the string
Hello, Earth!
with an optional trailing newline.
The ...
- 90.8k
21
votes
2
answers
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Chuck Norris vs Travelling Salesman
Introduction
Almost everyone is familiar with the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP). The task is to, given a list of N cities, find the minimum Hamiltonian cycle ...
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17
votes
15
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Write a program that outputs the number of times it has been run [duplicate]
In a programming language of your choice, write a full program that, when run, prints a positive integer N and then modifies its own source file such that the next time it is run it will print N+1.
...
- 90.8k
12
votes
2
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Right and tfeL truncatable primes
A right-truncatable prime is a prime where every prefix is a prime (in base 10). A left-truncatable prime is exactly the opposite, where every postfix is a prime (primes that start with 0 aren't ...
- 14.5k
15
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3
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Write a program that always prints N when it is shifted N times up the ASCII alphabet
Write a program using only printable ASCII characters that takes no input. For reference, here are the 95 printable ASCII characters in order:
...
- 90.8k
17
votes
7
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Normal and visual string reversion
Write some code that acts as a cat program. That is, to input a string and output it as is. But the normal reversion of your code must output the normal reversion of the input string. And the visual ...
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Coding Around The Clock
Write a single line program two or more characters long that contains no line terminators and takes no input. For example, your program might be:
MyProgram
When ...
- 90.8k
16
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13
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Double-duty quine: quine!dlroW ,olleH
Write a program that will output its own source code when run, and nothing else. Seems easy, right?
The catch is that when the source code is reversed, your program must output "Hello, World!" ...
- 2,300
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21
answers
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Sequential Multiplication
Your objective is to write a program that takes an input, and, when chained together N times, performs "sequential multiplication". What is sequential ...
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19
answers
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Inverse function
Wouldn't it be neat if programming functions could be inverted, just like the mathematical function they implement?
Write a function (or program) that takes one input ...
- 1,859
7
votes
3
answers
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views
The confused twister
The basic idea is to write a program that twists itself, and the twisted version untwists itself. The first program will just be the twisting algorithm described here, and when given its own source ...
- 5,091
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votes
9
answers
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Build a twisted "Hello world!"
Your job is quite simple, write a program that prints Hello, world!, that when twisted creates a program that prints Twister!.
...
- 5,091
21
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2
answers
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Compile Regexes (By Substitution)
Your task is to compile regexes... by specifying a substitution for each character in a regex.
Regexes
The regexes support these
...
- 2,049
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90° Self-Rotating Program
Introduction
Write a complete program that rotates a rectangular block of ASCII characters 90 degrees clockwise. When the program itself is rotated 90 degrees clockwise, it rotates a block of ASCII ...
- 2,715
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answers
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Print a Symbolic Negative of your Code
(This is a variation on Print a Negative of your Code, which I enjoyed a lot! Thanks to Martin Büttner♦ - almost all of this text is his.)
Let's consider the symbols to be the following printable ...
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answers
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Source Code Metamorphosis
mbomb007 asked us to make a self mutilating program. Its an interesting challenge, but I personally don't like to encourage my programs to be self-mutilating. I like to think that, at the heart of ...
- 508
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Self-Mutilating Program
Simply put, your goal is to create a complete program that modifies its own source code until every character of the source is different than what it started as.
Please include the beginning source as ...
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65
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Palindrome Hello, World
Your task is to create a program that prints "Greetings, Planet!" exactly to the console. Seems simple enough, right? Well, here's the trick. The code must be a palindrome, meaning it reads from right ...
user45510
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Beatles Songs and Hexagons
Write two triangle (i.e. pyramid) shaped programs.
The first one should be an upwards pointing text triangle with a minimum base width of three characters. So it would have a structure like
...
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Code close to the challenge: Inception
This is a sequel to this challenge: Code close to the challenge: Sum of integers
The challenge in this one is a bit harder, and also makes for a cool title (Which is why I picked it):
Calculate the ...
user40734
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votes
34
answers
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Code close to the challenge: Sum of integers
This is a simple challenge:
Given a sequence of integers, find the sum of all integers in it.
But with a twist.
Your score is the Levenshtein distance between your code and the following phrase (The ...
user40734
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votes
8
answers
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40 Numbers in 9 Bytes
There are 40 ways a directed Hamiltonian path can be arranged on a 3×3 grid:
This graphic (thanks Sp3000!) shows only the 20 undirected paths. Traverse each colored line in both directions for the 40 ...
- 90.8k
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7
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XOR encrypt your programs with the source of other programs
Write two programs such that when the bytes of their source code are XOR-d together it produces a third, valid program, all in the same language. The length of each of the three programs in bytes must ...
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Write A Program That Outputs Its Mirror Level
There are 95 printable ASCII characters:
!"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~
In the ...
- 90.8k
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Multiplication by Self-Modification
...at least for some definition of "self-modification".
The Task
In this challenge, your task is to write three strings A, B ...
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Princely Prefix by a Program in Pattern
You should write a program or function which outputs or returns as much of Chapter I of The Little Prince as it can. Your program or function has to be an M-by-N block of code containing only ...
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Programming Tetris Blocks (Literally)
In the game Tetris, there are 7 types of bricks or Tetriminoes, which are mathematically known as tetrominoes because they are all made with 4 square segments:
The have the names I, J, L, O, S, T, and ...
- 90.8k
13
votes
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Row, Column, Diagonal, Block
Write a square block of code that is N characters wide and N characters tall, for some positive integer N.
For instance, your N may be 5 and the block look like this:
...
- 90.8k
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Pure Sourcery - Shaping programs that output the digits 0 through 9
Here's a pixelated 5 by 7 font for the digits 0 through 9:
...
- 90.8k
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votes
16
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Sierpinskified Code
Write a rectangular block of text that when arranged into a Sierpinski carpet, using same-sized blocks of spaces for the empty portions, creates a program that outputs the iteration number of the ...
- 90.8k
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12
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Reading Code in 8 Ways to Output 8 Numbers
The English language and most programming languages are written and read from left-to-right, top-to-bottom, but that needn't be the case.
In fact for the block of text
...
- 90.8k
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votes
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One hundred passwords
I have one hundred vaults, each one within another. Each vault has a password, consisting of a single number.
95 43 81 89 56 89 57 67 7 45 34 34 78 88 14 40 81 23 26 78 46 8 ...
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