<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=iso-8859-1"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Robert,<div class="">See the attached screen shot. When you click on the create function button, a dialog box appears asking for the name and return type, including Boolean. Please let us know if that is not happening for you.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Also, you mentioned that you were using Alice 2.4.2. 2.4.3 is the version that is currently available to download.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">All the best,</div><div class="">Don Slater<br class=""><br class="">Alice Project<br class="">Carnegie Mellon University<br class="">Entertainment Technology Center<br class="">700 Technology Drive<br class="">Pittsburgh, PA 15219<br class=""><br class="">Email: <a href="mailto:dslater@cmu.edu" class="">dslater@cmu.edu</a><br class=""><br class="">I have learned this at least by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.<br class="">--- Henry David Thoreau<br class=""><br class="">The true object of all human life is play. -- G.K. Chesterton</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><img height="549" width="961" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" apple-inline="yes" id="9D60FE23-3EF4-4F67-A004-B8814CAF1410" src="cid:26872196-403B-4E20-80AA-54402D39AF6B@fios-router.home" class=""><br class=""><div class=""><br class=""><br class="">
</div>
<br class=""><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On May 20, 2016, at 6:24 AM, robert durtschi via alice-teachers <<a href="mailto:alice-teachers@lists.andrew.cmu.edu" class="">alice-teachers@lists.andrew.cmu.edu</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><div id="divtagdefaultwrapper" style="font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class=""><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class="">Apparently when using Alice 2.4.2 to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="">create a new function</span>, one is not allowed to return anything except a number <span class="">nor change the pre-coded return 1 to return <number variable></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>nor use and of the constructs at the bottom of the edit window, if/else, loop, while, etc., nor drag a non-numeric variable down into the edit window</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class="">In other words, the create new function button is broken.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class="">What i am trying to do is set up an Alice 2 world to replace the pseudo code currently being used in the CIS 120 "Intro to computers" class at the local college. I think it would be a lot more helpful of the student's understanding of they could actually see the results of the code they write.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br class=""></div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class=""></p><div class=""><blockquote class=""><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: normal;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Scenario:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""> A robot is sitting in a chair with its arms down. Write an algorithm, using pseudo-code, to make the robot:</span></div><ul type="disc" class=""><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">stand up</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">walk until it senses a wall</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">turn around</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">walk back to the chair</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">sit back down in the origin starting position</span></li></ul><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Finally, output the total number of steps taken.</span></div></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: normal;"></p><div class=""><blockquote class=""><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: normal;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">Commands:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">In addition to our standard pseudo code commands, you must also use the following robot control commands:</span></div><ul type="disc" class=""><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">sit</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">stand</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">step (one step forward)</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">raise arms (parallel to floor)</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">lower arms (pointing to floor)</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">sense (only if arms are raised) returns a Boolean value. TRUE if at the wall.</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">turn (90 degrees right)</span></li></ul></blockquote></div>I have easily implemented all of the commands "bunny sit", bunny stand", "bunny step", etc. but ran into a major SNAFU when I tried to implement the "sense" command. I could just have them use a primitive function: "bunny is within threshold of object but I wanted to preserve the existing set of commands as much as possible.<br class=""><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class=""></p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: normal;" class=""><br class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: normal;" class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;" class="">It would be real helpful if the Alice maintenance team could fix Alice 2 create function capability and add the ability to return a Boolean variable.<br class=""></span></div></div><br class=""><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" class=""></p></div><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;" class="">_______________________________________________</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;" class="">alice-teachers mailing list</span><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><a href="mailto:alice-teachers@lists.andrew.cmu.edu" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class="">alice-teachers@lists.andrew.cmu.edu</a><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><a href="https://lists.andrew.cmu.edu/mailman/listinfo/alice-teachers" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class="">https://lists.andrew.cmu.edu/mailman/listinfo/alice-teachers</a></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></body></html>