a problem to solve

[mensanator at aol.com]

John Salerno wrote:
> John Salerno wrote:
>
> > Anyway, any advice for how to proceed would be great! I hope I described
> > it well enough.
>
> Ok, after reading the suggestions, I feel better about proceeding. But
> one question: how exactly do I come up with 32 different 20-bit integers
> for each switch?

Eight numbers for each switch, 32 total.

Make a list for each panel and in each list, put in eight binary
numbers using the position in the list to represent the switch number.
So we'll want to label our switches 0-7.

> Do I need to figure out the bits for each one manually?

Yes, you get them from your diagram showing which lamps are
lit for each switch.

> And how is this written in Python? Using hex?

That's one way to do it. I did it that way because I have the
hex patterns memorized.

I have already gone to the trouble of converting all your patterns to
hex numbers, if you're interested. If you want to do it yourself,
simply ignore this.

a = [0xf5fdc,0xf6edb,0xbddb7,0x6fddd,0xeb7ed,0xb977f,0xbfed3,0xedef5]
b = [0xddb7d,0xfaddb,0xde75f,0xeef7a,0xdd77b,0xdfbce,0xb77dd,0x7ef5d]
c = [0xf37bd,0xdfaee,0xddd6f,0xddfb6,0xb9efb,0xb7bbe,0xecfbd,0xb75df]
d = [0x77edb,0xbb7ee,0xdf773,0x7bdeb,0x7ddaf,0xdeeeb,0xfb35f,0xbb7dd]

Now since the panels are now lists, we use an index representing
the switch to retrieve the lamps lit by that switch.

Refering to my original boolean equation, replace A1 by a[0],
B1 by b[0], etc. to evaluate that set of switches.

Once you see that a[0],b[0],c[0],d[0] is not a solution, try a
different set of switches. Repeat until you find a set that works.
There is, in fact a solution, but I won't reveal it unless you ask.

If you need help in figuring out how to walk through all 4096 possible
switch sets, just ask.