00:00:00
I think it's time for my talk about aesthetic, obfuscated, and artistic programming in Ruby. This is my first talk, and I will discuss some eccentric Ruby programs that I have created.
00:00:18
I'm nervous because this is my first week presenting in English after ten years. Thank you for your support; I'll do my best. First, let me introduce myself. I'm Yusuke Endoh, and my handle is 'Mamita' on Twitter, which means 'peas or beans' in Japanese. Many of my Japanese friends call me 'Mamasan', which corresponds to 'Mr. Bean'.
00:00:39
I'm a committed Ruby interpreter at MRI and I contribute to Ruby as well. Currently, I'm working at Cookpad, a company that provides a cooking recipe sharing service. Cookpad has improved performance metrics, and we aim to contribute to Ruby 3.0, which you know has a target of improving performance by three times.
00:01:07
My aspiration is to lower program latency through various approaches, including contributions to the design of the Ruby 3 type system and improving measurement techniques. I've contributed to Ruby for ten years and was a release manager for Ruby 2.0, implementing features such as garbage collection improvements and keyword arguments.
00:01:36
My notable contribution to Ruby includes developing a Ruby emulator for the Nintendo Entertainment System called 'Carrot', which is based on Ruby. I also improved the average measurement tool so that now it supports branch coverage, and this feature will be included in Ruby 2.5.
00:02:01
This talk, however, is not about all those technical improvements. Today, I will discuss Ruby's potential to create esoteric and obfuscated code. Ruby is known for being easy to read and write, but I believe this perception can sometimes be misleading.
00:02:28
While many people here may believe Ruby is easy to read, I can't help but argue there’s complexity hidden beneath its simple syntax. Ruby's richness and flexibility allow us to write not only readable code but also intentionally obfuscated code.
00:03:01
So, for today, I will showcase only extremely bad examples that abuse Ruby's power. Just a warning, you shouldn't expect anything practically useful from this talk. I won't discuss good practices or useful patterns but will focus on creatively misusing Ruby.
00:03:17
Let's dive into some esoteric examples. I created this one that contains only alphabetic characters, and it is intentionally hard to read due to a lack of syntax. When I highlight the characters, they may not be very apparent at first glance, but this is still a complete program.
00:03:47
This program is essentially just a 'Hello, World!' implementation. As you may know, 'Hello, World!' is the most basic program that outputs a simple greeting. However, I believe you can indeed obfuscate this further.
00:04:09
To demonstrate how I implemented this program, if you want to read the code, it requires a little bit of a spoiler. Please brace yourselves. I created this program using three key techniques: how to make numbers using only symbols, how to make a string, and finally, how to print that single character.
00:04:36
The first technique is creating integers using simple characters. It is straightforward when you know about Ruby's method for matching regular expressions. This method returns the beginning index of the matching string.
00:04:57
The matching pattern returns various numbers based on the string you use. For example, if you use a string that corresponds to a character's code point, it will return the integer value of that character.
00:05:14
The second key is how to make a string using numbers. You can append to a string using its ASCII code points. For instance, the code point for the letter 'H' is 72, and for 'e', it is 101.
00:05:37
Finally, to print the created string, you can use Ruby's special variable to direct output to standard output, and you can append the string you generated. By combining these techniques, you can write a very basic 'Hello, World!' program consisting of only simple characters.
00:06:01
However, writing this string in an obfuscated way can replace the code with numbers and symbols, as demonstrated. You can create complex programs while this program still maps back to how Ruby interprets them.
00:06:29
Additionally, this can lead to even more complex 'Hello, World!' programs. You might be surprised, but it's possible to create commands using only symbols. There’s a well-known idiom that encodes strings using symbols.
00:06:49
This idiomatic expression has stunning details; however, explaining it without a concrete example may be challenging.
00:07:06
Next, allow me to share a program that consists of pure alphabetic characters. This is a 1999 ASCII code that utilizes only alphabets, eliminating symbols entirely.
00:07:29
Let’s run this completely alphabetic code program to see how it functions. Once executed, it should display the expected output.
00:07:57
This program illustrates how Ruby can enable creative uses without relying on traditional symbols. While this method often faces criticism for its complexity, I believe it can lead to increased readability.
00:08:16
The basic structure of any functional Ruby code relies on initializing variables and concatenating them effectively. By managing string operations, even complex programs can maintain this readability.
00:08:37
Furthermore, many may question how to entirely remove symbols to align with this obfuscated programming style. One approach I used was leveraging Ruby’s flexibility to translate specific elements into a purely alphabetic structure.
00:08:56
Ultimately, learning how to manipulate Ruby to emphasize readability over syntax can result in other rich programming experiences. With various experiments, incredible results can emerge.
00:09:12
As I showcase various solutions today, like program structuring and obfuscation techniques, they are designed to illustrate Ruby's ability to offer both expressiveness and strictness in programming.
00:09:38
I envision Ruby not just as a coding tool but rather as a medium for artistic expression, where every line has meaning yet remains nimble enough to adapt to intricate variations.
00:10:03
As my final example, I hope to give you a clear picture of how coding can be both artistic and pragmatic, as this process should bring joy through creativity.
00:10:29
To conclude my talk, Ruby stands out as a unique language, rich in features, yet allowing personal nuances to shine through in every program written.
00:10:50
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to sharing more insights in the future.
