[convolvatron]

you implied that there were scaling problems. it would be really fun and indstructive if one could use enough nodes to bulid a simple store and von neuman machine with instruction decode. but this seems like it would take a 10x10 array of your panels. do you think you can push this architecture that far?

[uncial]

Yes, fantastic question! 10x10 is actually way more than we need -- don't know the minimum but I suspect 2x2 is possible. The interactive tutorials sketch out an approach to this. My instinct is to use SAM with timers for memory/program, then there's a couple of approaches in the tutorial for the instruction processor. Toying with the idea of an OISC to minimise space requirements. Tho we can always add a motor to the encabulator if we need to drive a larger grid!

[anthk]

Would subleq work on this? Also, the 'ascii' output array/grid would be like a whiteboard, and a Forth on this would look like the computers from "Slouching towarsf Bedlam" text adventure.

Maybe it would need 5 minutes to show a prompt, but, if it works, it would be the greatest homage to computing (and Chuck Moore) ever.

There's Eforth for subleq, and the muxleq version feels almost like a native Forth on speed.

https://github.com/howerj/muxleq

The muxleq repo has the original subleq too. You can set the options for floating point and the do...loop (among others) in the Forth file and then you could just recompile the DEC file.

With the do...loop it's closer to the standards. And, yes, I can mimic for...next with ease with most ans forths such as pforth.

If any, I can link an already recompiled and more featured DEC file here.

BTW: You would like the book from the author too.

https://howerj.github.io/subleq.htm

[uncial]

I'm absolutely going to need a few hours to properly digest this, but here are my preliminary thoughts:

You could almost certainly do a subleq in roons! Tbh it may end up being a practical approach to making a compact full computer -- though seems like it might compromise legibility. This is way outside my wheelhouse, thank you for the links, I have a lot of reading to do.

Re: an ASCII grid -- I explore this a little bit in the tutorials, but because of the up/down nature of the loom, each marble only occupies 25% of the surrounding whitespace, so this kind of display doesn't end up very visible. This is why I'm leaning more towards the peripherals approach for rendering stuff.

[anthk]

Or just send the keys to a typewriter, as some guy did with a ZMachine, Asterisk and the mentioned device. But it would need a microcontroller, or a way to roll a ball in a precise way to type down a letter.