From: justliketomsthumbsblues@gmail.com   
      
   On Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at 1:18:01 PM UTC-5, Tom Thumb wrote:   
      
   > Perhaps. I just want to scroll though output from my running app   
      
   Neither here nor there but, well…   
      
   I’ve been wanting to write a program to set flagstones in a given area that   
   shows placement and tallies stones used since my IIgs. The smallest stone is   
   12” x 12” and sizes are in increments of 6” up to 36” x 36”, though   
   a stone of that size    
   is uncommon.   
      
   So the stones would be placed on a grid, the first x,y gridlines a mutiple of   
   12 from the edges, subsequent x,y gridlines multiples of 6 from the previous   
   gridline. Given the IIgs aspect ratio, y gridlines are calculated multiples of   
   6 x 1, x gridlines    
   multiples of 6 x 2, also real world stones are 1/2” smaller than their   
   denominations to allow for a mortar joint, a 12 x 12 stone is actually 11   
   1/2"  x 11 1/2" and that is accounted for with the stone size and gridlines.    
      
   Stones would be placed on the grid according to several rules; the rules   
   being: two stones of the same size may be placed next to each other but no   
   more than two, three of the same stones in a row or column is off-putting.   
   Edges of stones may form a    
   continuous line but no more than perhaps 4’ after which the line would need   
   to be broken by placing a stone across the line. Lines of stone edges may not   
   form a cross, as in “+” but must be offset as in “—|__”. Orphaned   
   spaces, ie. voids on    
   the grid less than 12 x 12 must be avoided and occur easily.   
      
   So, there are choices such as when creating the collection of stones should a   
   12 x 24 and a 24 x 12 be created or just a 12 x 24 created and turned as   
   needed. So far I chosen the later, seems more real world, saves space and such   
   though that’s kind of    
   trivial.   
      
   I’ve done some; I pseudo-randomly choose a stone from the collection and   
   again randomly turn it if it isn’t square and draw them to the screen but   
   I’ve a long way to go and now I’ve gone by the wayside trying to output   
   printf and sprintf    
   statements that don’t scroll off to oblivion.   
      
   Seems like a simple thing and it is called random flagstone but when a human   
   goes about it it is anything but random. Choices are consciously made and   
   evaluated for pitfalls and esthetics. Maybe one day I'll finish it or get   
   close with nothing to gain    
   from it than the endeavor.   
      
   -- Mark Wade   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)