Sorting bots

[shvarz]

Maybe this is a good time to start classification of bots by environments they can live in?  

I am thinking about having folders named as different environements and then moving bots that can survive there with an abundance of food for at least a short time.

The obvious problem is that there are so many possible environments...  Even bigger problem is that we can potentially have veggies with very different behaviour, which would contribute to the diversity of environments.  Then add the different field sizes, different levels of veggy feeding, and so on...  and it becomes almost impossible to come up with any single system.

What do you think?  Any ideas, approaches, suggestions, possible problems?

[Greven]

I think it is a good idea, though I think it is a little to early.

I think naming the bots (Shvarz you are some kind of biologist) like Linné's system, in species, then order, class, kingdom etc.

You know, like Home Sapiens Sapiens is:

Species: Homo Sapiens
Genus(??): Homo
Family: Hominidae
Order: Primates
Class: Mammalia
Row (??): Chordata
Kingdom: Animalia

Not knowing the actual names in english extracly.

The we could have something that looks like it...

What do you think Shvarz?

We could start with:
Kingdom - Botus / Veggus (:))
- Based on the way they get energy, not free or free.
Row - for Botus
Tiefeedus / Shootus / Bothus

etc.

The classification of The One:
(Just a stupid example)
Botus Tiefeedus Shortbotus Viralus "The One" Shen

(the name of the creator or who discovered the bot through evolution, should be the last name)

The classification of Two:
Botus Tiefeedus Shortbotus Viralus "Two" Endy

Then we can see that these two bots, actually are very identical, or whatever.

Just an idea I like, because that way we could have real taxonomy, which could be really cool. Write / evolve a bot, and then it need to be classified in the Greven System ;), THAT WOULD BE COOL!

Comments???

[Numsgil]

I thought of that at one time, but I quickly discovered that bots, like real animals, are not divided into neat little groups and subgroups (there is a movement in biology to get rid of the old classifications like that, in favor of classifications based on common ancestry.  It's been a while since I read that though, I have no idea how they're doing).

Our bots our made even harder since they don't evolve from common ancestors, but are generally programmed by different people.

Anyway, the best method for our uses to put some clear instructions in the comments at the start of each bot that tell what sort of situation it was designed for.  Not very formal, but adequate for our needs I think.

[shvarz]

Well, no offense, but I personally feel that adding these pseudo-latin endings is too cheesy.  But you can have them if you want :)

I think the goal of sorting bots should be an ease of finding something with properties that you need.  Right now I start a sim and I have to go through a bunch of bots before I find something that can survive in conditions that I pick.  Or when I want a bot with a particular behaviour.  Here are two typical behaviours: some bots actively search for food, while others sit and wait.  And there are cases in between.

Ideally what I want the system to do is to be able to ask: what bot can live on solid surface (sandpaper) with no gravity, large field size, feeding on veggies that run around and have tons of poison?  And get a list of reasonably good potential candidates.  

This goal is pretty difficult, but we may as well start doing sorting bots now in a systematic way.  Because right now they are all dumped into one big folder and it is very difficult to go through them.

[Numsgil]

Sounds like we need a database or something.  Really not my field.

[shvarz]

Does anyone know anything about databases?  What we have now is not adequate.  it is good as a repository for finding a particular bot, but not good for much else.  Something like a small sortable database with drop-down menus.

[Greven]

Well then drop it, it were only though as an suggestion, then come up with something good!!!

[Greven]

I can make databases, then come with the classifaction and then write a document about what bot does what (I dont what to use 1000 hours, to check each and every bot), and I can make it if you want? Not that difficult.

[shvarz]

Would that be an on-line database or a downloadable Access file?

I am pretty sure I can make something up in Access, but I have no idea how to put it on our web-site.

[Greven]

Wouldnt it be better to have a downloaded program, that you can update etc., like a small application with an access file?

[Ulciscor]

How about a MySQL or Access database stored with the website, and accessed with asp/php?

[PurpleYouko]

Guys.

We already have an online database. Admitedly the search functions are kind of limited right now but it is there.

[Ulciscor]

Yeah I was leading on to a kind of ironic sarcasm there.

[shvarz]

oops...  Have not visited it for a while.  Yeah, we need something like that only with more drop-down menus with more options and more bots.  Also, would be nice if people could edit it.

Are you saying that this is just an Access database?  Can I look at the original file?

[PurpleYouko]

Unfortunately I don't have access to the actual site since I didn't create it.

Either way it should be pretty easy to set up an mdb database on our ftp site and query it from a client using any number of client programs. I was even wondering if such a system could be used for organism sharing.

I am working on a bunch of SQL server stuff right now. It's quite easy on a local network but might require an HTML interface if we set up an online server.

When I get done with my current database project at work I might give it a look and see what I can come up with.