Definitely Scalable

Here's what's been going on behind-the-scenes this week. I hope you find it interesting!
Warning! This weekly update may include spoilers for future videos.

Top 9 ways to make BIG SAND

For the finale of the next video, I am planning to connect multiple devices together to make a bigger sand engine. To achieve this, I finally managed to get WebSockets working on my local network! This means that I've been able to connect my phone, desktop and laptop together on a local server. I've started to create a way for them to communicate with each other.

The different engines 'touch' each other at the edge of the world. The engine that is positioned above is 'in charge' of any events that span across both devices (eg: a sand atom falling down from one device to the next). The devices will have a conversation like this:

Top Device: I want to process an event that overlaps into your world. Please can you tell me what is in those spaces?

Bottom Device: Either... No, those spaces are busy! Or... This is what is in those spaces. I will freeze them until you finish processing the event.

(Top Device processes the event).

Top Device: I have processed the event. I have updated my sites. This is how you should update your sites.

Bottom Device: Thanks. I will update my sites and unfreeze them.

LispTode

I've been continuing to make a Lisp-like language called LispTode (to learn and for inspiration). Last week, I mentioned that I needed to improve MotherTode to be able to finish the language. Well... I decided to scrap the whole thing and start again because I found out an easier way to make it. I made it so that you can embed JavaScript anywhere in the language with brace brackets like this:

You can call that JavaScript function by applying argument(s) to it:

This lets you make all internal parts of LispTode within LispTode itself, such as the lambda function:

Embedding JavaScript like this is something I like to do, and it's possible in both SpaceTode and MotherTode. It feels like a nice 'easy way out' and lets me do lots of meta-programming.

Music

Anjunadeep released the next instalment of their 'Reflections' series, which I've used before for background music. It has this absolute gem, which will be perfect for my next video.

Timeline

This is what's coming up soon...

July: Deep Dive 2
July: SandPond Saga 28 (Top 9 ways to make BIG SAND)
August: Deep Dive 3
August: SandPond Saga 29 (topic decided by a vote)

Thank you for reading! See you next week!