[Tutor] Set and get class members

[dn]

On 22/07/2021 11.03, Phil wrote:
> On 21/7/21 5:46 pm, Alan Gauld via Tutor wrote:
> 
> Thank you everyone for pointing me in the correct direction. I have now
> achieved my initial goal to scan a lit LED across a line of unlit LEDs,
> though quite likely not in a true Pythonic form. I have a splitting
> headache and in no mood to play amateur programmer at the moment,
> however, I will return to this project in a day or two.
> 
> Thank you all again.


When complexity seems to be doing its best to cause migraines, the
solution is to tackle one small part at a time, eg represent a single
LED and its switching. (Most of the time) It should thereafter become a
less-complex task to figure-out how to join them all together.

Many professionals will dispute this - the more time spent in design
up-front, the less expensive the overall project. However, your "scale"
is different!


I've been working (in my spare time - whatever that is. OK, I've been
supposed to have been working...) on some basic "maker" projects for
kids. Came across a library book: Cook, Craft, and Evans, "Raspberry Pi
Projects for Dummies", Wiley, 2015. It includes two "Stomp" projects (a
game unfamiliar to me: requiring one to stomp/stamp on insect-bugs)
featuring a ring of LEDs, lit in-turn, and a foot-switch. The
provided-code includes all the lighting components and deals with the
co-incidence of foot-switch and LED state. Sadly it is not O-O code, but
may be of-interest... I've managed to acquire a ring-light of LEDs, but
the rest is all good-intentions!

(and I assume there are many other such articles on-line or in books)


Your question and a visit from an (very) old ex-colleague coincided. I
was reminded of visiting a different university (his), many, many, years
ago; and being amused by the ops-staff and their re-programming of the
front panel of a Burroughs B6700 mainframe's front-panel. Actually such
beasts had several panels of lights/toggle-switches. One of them would
display the Burroughs "B" when the CPU was idle. They were very proud of
re-working another panel to have 'blinkenlights' which followed one
another, over and around the panel's matrix - these days I think it
would be called a 'snake' pattern.

Countless hours went into such endeavors - with which I can identify,
having used my Computer Operator boredom-time (like 0400~0600 on the
night-shift) to teach myself more advanced programming (and thus running
jobs of my own - sneaking them into idle time from the bottom/low-pri
settings of the submission queue - shhh don't tell!).


In case you don't know about mainframes and front panels:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_panel

Some photos, including the "B":
https://4310b1a9-a-b8516d33-s-sites.googlegroups.com/a/retrocomputingtasmania.com/home/home/projects/burroughs-b6700-mainframe/gallery/B6700%20dual%20CPU%20MCP%20idle%20light%20pattern.JPG

More FYI about what they are doing with de-comm mainframes:
http://www.retrocomputingtasmania.com/home/projects/burroughs-b6700-mainframe

-- 
Regards,
=dn