Let's translate a program!

[samiam95124]

Let's translate a program!

So the Wall Street Journal this morning says that Gemini 3 is the most advanced AI model out there. Let's test it shall we?

So I installed Gemini code assist and gave it the problem, "please translate lunar.bas to ISO 7185 Pascal", as in the file ./basic/prog/lunar.bas.

Here is the program:

program LunarLander(input, output);

{ 
  Lunar Lander game, originally by Dave Ahl.
  Translated from BASIC to ISO 7185 Pascal.
}

var
  t, h, v, f, b, v1, d: real;
  a: char;
  anotherMission: boolean;

procedure ShowInstructions;
begin
  writeln;
  writeln('You are landing on the moon and have taken over manual');
  writeln('control 1000 feet above a good landing spot. You have a down-');
  writeln('ward velocity of 50 feet/sec. 150 units of fuel remain.');
  writeln;
  writeln('Here are the rules that govern your APOLLO space-craft:');
  writeln;
  writeln('(1) After each second the height, velocity, and remaining fuel');
  writeln('    will be reported via DIGBY your on-board computer.');
  writeln('(2) After the report a ''?'' will appear. Enter the number');
  writeln('    of units of fuel you wish to burn during the next');
  writeln('    second. Each unit of fuel will slow your descent by');
  writeln('    1 foot/sec.');
  writeln('(3) The maximum thrust of your engine is 30 feet/sec/sec');
  writeln('    or 30 units of fuel per second.');
  writeln('(4) When you contact the lunar surface. your descent engine');
  writeln('    will automatically shut down and you will be given a');
  writeln('    report of your landing speed and remaining fuel.');
  writeln('(5) If you run out of fuel the ''?'' will no longer appear');
  writeln('    but your second by second report will continue until');
  writeln('    you contact the lunar surface.');
  writeln;
end;

procedure PrintStatus;
var
  plotpos: integer;
begin
  write(round(t):3, ' ':3, round(h):8, ' ':2, round(v):8, ' ':2, round(f):8, ' ':5, 'I');
  if h > 0 then
  begin
    plotpos := round(h / 15.0);
    if plotpos > 0 then
      write(' ':plotpos, '*');
  end;
  writeln;
end;

procedure RunMission;
begin
  { Initialize mission parameters }
  t := 0;
  h := 1000;
  v := 50;
  f := 150;

  writeln;
  writeln('Beginning landing procedure..........');
  writeln;
  writeln('DIGBY WISHES YOU GOOD LUCK !!!!!!!');
  writeln;
  writeln;
  writeln('SEC', ' ':3, 'FEET', ' ':6, 'SPEED', ' ':5, 'FUEL', ' ':7, 'PLOT OF DISTANCE');
  writeln;

  { Main simulation loop }
  repeat
    PrintStatus;

    if f > 0 then
    begin
      write('? ');
      read(b);
      readln;
    end
    else
    begin
      if f > -1E-6 then  { Check if we *just* ran out of fuel }
      begin
        writeln('**** OUT OF FUEL ****');
        f := 0; { Prevent message from repeating }
      end;
      b := 0;
    end;

    if b < 0 then b := 0;
    if b > 30 then b := 30;
    if b > f then b := f;

    v1 := v - b + 5.0;
    f := f - b;
    h := h - 0.5 * (v + v1);
    t := t + 1.0;
    v := v1;

  until h <= 0;

  { Contact sequence }
  writeln;
  writeln('***** CONTACT *****');

  { Calculate final impact details }
  h := h + 0.5 * (v1 + v); { Restore h to value at start of last second }
  v := v - (5.0 - b);      { Restore v to value at start of last second }

  if abs(5.0 - b) < 1E-6 then
    d := h / v
  else
    d := (-v + sqrt(v*v + 2 * h * (5.0 - b))) / (5.0 - b);

  v1 := v + (5.0 - b) * d;

  writeln('Touchdown at', t - 1.0 + d:0:2, ' seconds.');
  writeln('Landing velocity=', v1:0:2, ' feet/sec.');
  writeln(round(f), ' units of fuel remaining.');

  { Landing assessment }
  if abs(v1) < 1E-6 then
  begin
    writeln('Congratulations! A perfect landing!!');
    writeln('Your license will be renewed.............later.');
  end
  else if abs(v1) < 2.0 then
  begin
    { Safe landing, no special message in original }
  end
  else
  begin
    if v1 > 50.0 then
      writeln('You totalled an entire mountain !!!!!')
    else if v1 > 30.0 then
      writeln('Your ship is a wreck !!!!!')
    else if v1 > 10.0 then
      writeln('You blasted a huge crater !!!!!')
    else if v1 > 5.0 then
      writeln('Your ship is a heap of junk !!!!!')
    else
      writeln('You blew it!!!!!!');
    writeln('Your family will be notified..............by post.');
  end;
  writeln;
  writeln;
end;


begin { Main Program }
  writeln(' ':30, 'LUNAR LANDER');
  writeln;
  writeln(' ':30, 'by Dave Ahl');
  writeln;
  writeln;
  writeln;

  write('Do you want instructions (Y/N)? ');
  read(a);
  readln;

  if (a = 'Y') or (a = 'y') then
    ShowInstructions;

  repeat
    RunMission;
    write('Another mission (Y/N)? ');
    read(a);
    readln;
    anotherMission := (a <> 'N') and (a <> 'n');
  until not anotherMission;

  writeln;
  writeln('Control out.');
  writeln;
end.

The compile and run:

samiam@samiam-h-pc-2:~/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/basic/prog$ pc lunar

PC compiler shell vs. 1.14 Copyright (C) 2025 S. A. Franco

Environment module path: /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs
Reading instruction file/home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/bin/pc.ins
Final module path: /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs:/home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs
Building /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/basic/prog/lunar.pas

P6 Pascal compiler vs. 0.4.x
Pascal-P6 complies with the requirements of Pascaline version 0.4
and the following annexes: A,B,C,E.

Errors in program: 0
P6 Pascal AMD64/gcc 64 bit code generator vs. 0.4.x

Generating program

Program generation complete

Building executable
/usr/bin/ld: /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs/psystem.a(psystem.o): in function `resetfn':
/home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/source/AMD64/gcc/psystem.c:1935: warning: the use of `tmpnam' is dangerous, better use `mkstemp'

Build complete
samiam@samiam-h-pc-2:~/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/basic/prog$ ./lunar
                              LUNAR LANDER

                              by Dave Ahl



Do you want instructions (Y/N)? y

You are landing on the moon and have taken over manual
control 1000 feet above a good landing spot. You have a down-
ward velocity of 50 feet/sec. 150 units of fuel remain.

Here are the rules that govern your APOLLO space-craft:

(1) After each second the height, velocity, and remaining fuel
    will be reported via DIGBY your on-board computer.
(2) After the report a '?' will appear. Enter the number
    of units of fuel you wish to burn during the next
    second. Each unit of fuel will slow your descent by
    1 foot/sec.
(3) The maximum thrust of your engine is 30 feet/sec/sec
    or 30 units of fuel per second.
(4) When you contact the lunar surface. your descent engine
    will automatically shut down and you will be given a
    report of your landing speed and remaining fuel.
(5) If you run out of fuel the '?' will no longer appear
    but your second by second report will continue until
    you contact the lunar surface.


Beginning landing procedure..........

DIGBY WISHES YOU GOOD LUCK !!!!!!!


SEC   FEET      SPEED     FUEL       PLOT OF DISTANCE

  0       1000        50       150     I                                                                   *
? 0
  1        948        55       150     I                                                               *
? 0
  2        890        60       150     I                                                           *
? 0
  3        828        65       150     I                                                       *
? 0
  4        760        70       150     I                                                   *
? 0
  5        688        75       150     I                                              *
? 0
  6        610        80       150     I                                         *
? 0
  7        528        85       150     I                                   *
? 0
  8        440        90       150     I                             *
? 0
  9        348        95       150     I                       *
? 0
 10        250       100       150     I                 *
? 30
 11        162        75       120     I           *
? 30
 12        100        50        90     I       *
? 0
 13         48        55        90     I   *
? 30
 14          5        30        60     I
? 30

***** CONTACT *****
Touchdown at13.77 seconds.
Landing velocity=35.71 feet/sec.
         30 units of fuel remaining.
Your ship is a wreck !!!!!
Your family will be notified..............by post.


Another mission (Y/N)? n

Control out.

It worked out of the box!

I'd have tried more with it, but the next question caused it to completely lock up. The question was "were did you put the file". It answered that, being AI, it could not create the file, then sailed off into space[1].

Alright, lets do that with copilot:

program LunarLander;

var
  a: string[80];
  t: integer;
  h, v, v1, d: real;
  f, b, plotpos: integer;
  again: string[8];
  outOfFuelAlarm: boolean;
  i: integer;

procedure PrintInstructions;
begin
  writeln;
  writeln('You are landing on the moon and have taken over manual');
  writeln('control 1000 feet above a good landing spot. You have a');
  writeln('downward velocity of 50 feet/sec. 150 units of fuel remain.');
  writeln;
  writeln('Here are the rules that govern your APOLLO space-craft:');
  writeln('(1) After each second the height, velocity, and remaining fuel');
  writeln('    will be reported via DIGBY your on-board computer.');
  writeln('(2) After the report a "?" will appear. Enter the number');
  writeln('    of units of fuel you wish to burn during the next');
  writeln('    second. Each unit of fuel will slow your descent by');
  writeln('    1 foot/sec.');
  writeln('(3) The maximum thrust of your engine is 30 feet/sec/sec');
  writeln('    or 30 units of fuel per second.');
  writeln('(4) When you contact the lunar surface, your descent engine');
  writeln('    will automatically shut down and you will be given a');
  writeln('    report of your landing speed and remaining fuel.');
  writeln('(5) If you run out of fuel the "?" will no longer appear');
  writeln('    but your second by second report will continue until');
  writeln('    you contact the lunar surface.');
  writeln;
end;

procedure PrintHeader;
begin
  writeln;
  writeln('                              LUNAR LANDER');
  writeln;
  writeln('                              by Dave Ahl');
  writeln;
  writeln;
  writeln('DIGBY WISHES YOU GOOD LUCK !!!!!!!');
  writeln;
  writeln('SEC  FEET      SPEED     FUEL     PLOT OF DISTANCE');
  writeln;
end;

procedure PrintStatus(sec: integer; height, speed: real; fuel: integer);
var
  plot: integer;
  s: string;
  j: integer;
begin
  { print numeric status in columns }
  write(sec:3);
  write('  ');
  write(height:8:1);
  write('  ');
  write(speed:8:1);
  write('  ');
  write(fuel:6);
  write('     ');
  { simple plot column: approximate position by height/15 }
  plot := trunc(height / 15.0);
  if plot < 0 then plot := 0;
  { print an 'I' and then enough spaces and a '*' roughly at column plot }
  write('I ');
  if plot > 0 then
  begin
    s := '';
    for j := 1 to plot do s := s + ' ';
    write(s);
  end;
  write('*');
  writeln;
end;

begin
  { Title and optional instructions }
  writeln('LUNAR LANDER');
  writeln;
  writeln('Do you want instructions (Y/N)?');
  readln(a);
  if (a <> '') and (a[1] in ['Y','y']) then
    PrintInstructions;

  PrintHeader;

  { initialize }
  t := 0;
  h := 1000.0;
  v := 50.0;
  f := 150;
  outOfFuelAlarm := false;

  { main loop }
  while h > 0.0 do
  begin
    PrintStatus(t, h, v, f);

    { decide fuel burn for next second }
    if f > 0 then
    begin
      write('? ');
      readln(a);
      { attempt to parse numeric input; if invalid treat as 0 }
      val(a, b, i);
      if i <> 0 then b := 0;
      if b < 0 then
        b := 0;
      if b > 30 then
        b := 30;
      if b > f then
        b := f
    end
    else
    begin
      { no fuel left }
      b := 0;
      if (not outOfFuelAlarm) then
      begin
        writeln('**** OUT OF FUEL ****');
        writeln(chr(7)); { beep }
        outOfFuelAlarm := true
      end
    end;

    { compute next state for one second (may overshoot ground) }
    v1 := v - b + 5.0;
    f := f - b;
    { store old height for touchdown fraction calculation if needed }
    { use full-second average velocity for distance moved this second }
    h := h - 0.5 * (v + v1);

    if h <= 0.0 then
    begin
      { compute fractional second of touchdown and accurate landing speed }
      { restore previous height: undo last step to compute from previous state }
      h := h + 0.5 * (v + v1);
      if b = 5 then
        d := h / v
      else
      begin
        { solve quadratic based on constant acceleration a = 5 - b }
        { d = (-v + sqrt(v*v + h*(10 - 2*b))) / (5 - b) }
        if (5 - b) = 0 then
          d := h / v
        else
          d := (-v + sqrt(v * v + h * (10.0 - 2.0 * b))) / (5.0 - b)
      end;
      v1 := v + (5.0 - b) * d;

      writeln;
      writeln('***** CONTACT *****');
      writeln;
      writeln('Touchdown at ', t + d:0:2, ' seconds.');
      writeln('Landing velocity = ', v1:0:2, ' feet/sec.');
      writeln(f:0, ' units of fuel remaining.');
      writeln;

      if abs(v1) = 0.0 then
      begin
        writeln('Congratulations! A perfect landing!!');
        writeln('Your license will be renewed.............later.');
      end
      else if abs(v1) < 2.0 then
        writeln('A safe landing.')
      else if v1 > 50.0 then
        writeln('You totalled an entire mountain !!!!!')
      else if (v1 > 30.0) and (v1 < 50.0) then
        writeln('Your ship is a wreck !!!!!')
      else if (v1 > 10.0) and (v1 < 30.0) then
        writeln('You blasted a huge crater !!!!!')
      else if (v1 > 5.0) and (v1 < 10.0) then
        writeln('Your ship is a heap of junk !!!!!')
      else
        writeln('You blew it!!!!!!');

      break
    end
    else
    begin
      { continue to next second }
      t := t + 1;
      v := v1
    end
  end;

  writeln;
  writeln;
  writeln;
  writeln('Another mission (Y/N)?');
  readln(again);
  if (again <> '') and (again[1] in ['Y','y']) then
  begin
    writeln('Restart the program to try again.')
  end
  else
    writeln('Control out.');

end.

I'll bet you spotted the first issue with that, the lack of header files.

Told that was an ISO 7185 no-no, copilot fixed it and then I compiled it:

samiam@samiam-h-pc-2:~/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/basic/prog$ pc lunar_copilot.pas -s

PC compiler shell vs. 1.14 Copyright (C) 2025 S. A. Franco

Environment module path: /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs
Reading instruction file/home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/bin/pc.ins
Final module path: /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs:/home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs
Building /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/basic/prog/lunar_copilot.pas

P6 Pascal compiler vs. 0.4.x
Pascal-P6 complies with the requirements of Pascaline version 0.4
and the following annexes: A,B,C,E.

     4       -8   a: string[80];
     4   ****              ^6  ^270
     4   ****    6 Illegal symbol
     4   ****  270 Container array type specified without initializer(s)
     8       -8   again: string[8];
     8   ****                  ^6 ^270
     8   ****    6 Illegal symbol
     8   ****  270 Container array type specified without initializer(s)
    54      -40   s: string;
    54   ****              ^270
    54   ****  270 Container array type specified without initializer(s)
    70      349     s := '';
    70   ****             ^205
    70   ****  205 Zero string not allowed
    71      376     for j := 1 to plot do s := s + ' ';
    71   ****                                         ^134
    71   ****  134 Illegal type of operand(s)
    82      424   readln(a);
    82   ****             ^116
    82   ****  116 Error in type of standard procedure parameter
    83      444   if (a <> '') and (a[1] in ['Y','y']) then
    83   ****               ^205
    83   ****  205 Zero string not allowed
   101      486       readln(a);
   101   ****                 ^116
   101   ****  116 Error in type of standard procedure parameter
   102      486       val(a, b, i);
   102   ****            ^104,59  ^51
   102   ****  104 Identifier not declared
   102   ****   59 Error in variable
   102   ****   51 ':=' expected
   167      818     end
   167   ****         ^104,51
   167   ****  104 Identifier not declared
   167   ****   51 ':=' expected
   179      852   readln(again);
   179   ****                 ^116
   179   ****  116 Error in type of standard procedure parameter
   180      872   if (again <> '') and (again[1] in ['Y','y']) then
   180   ****                   ^205
   180   ****  205 Zero string not allowed

plotpos    unreferenced
Errors in program: 17

Error numbers in listing:
-------------------------
  6   2 4,8 Illegal symbol
 51   2 102,167 ':=' expected
 59   1 102 Error in variable
104   2 102,167 Identifier not declared
116   3 82,101,179 Error in type of standard procedure parameter
134   1 71 Illegal type of operand(s)
205   3 70,83,180 Zero string not allowed
270   3 4,8,54 Container array type specified without initializer(s)

*** pc: Error: Build has errors, terminating

Copilot failed because it tried to mix Turbo/Delphi Pascal into the program.

Copilot takes this input and generates another version. Note I am using the method of just giving copilot the output of the compiler, no other hints (ie, you are a big boy, you can figure it out):

samiam@samiam-h-pc-2:~/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/basic/prog$ pc lunar_copilot.pas -s

PC compiler shell vs. 1.14 Copyright (C) 2025 S. A. Franco

Environment module path: /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs
Reading instruction file/home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/bin/pc.ins
Final module path: /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs:/home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs
```// filepath: /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/basic/prog/lunar_copilot.pas
 ^
*** /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/basic/prog/lunar_copilot.pas [174:2] Invalid symbol/character
samiam@samiam-h-pc-2:~/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/basic/prog$ pc lunar_copilot.pas -s

PC compiler shell vs. 1.14 Copyright (C) 2025 S. A. Franco

Environment module path: /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs
Reading instruction file/home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/bin/pc.ins
Final module path: /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs:/home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs
Building /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/basic/prog/lunar_copilot.pas

P6 Pascal compiler vs. 0.4.x
Pascal-P6 complies with the requirements of Pascaline version 0.4
and the following annexes: A,B,C,E.

   155      779     end
   155   ****         ^104,51
   155   ****  104 Identifier not declared
   155   ****   51 ':=' expected

j          unreferenced
plotpos    unreferenced
Errors in program: 2

Error numbers in listing:
-------------------------
 51   1 155 ':=' expected
104   1 155 Identifier not declared

*** pc: Error: Build has errors, terminating

By the way, I have to mention, using pc (the integrator) is soooo much nicer than using the scripts.

Copilot fixes the errors, and the result is (complete with run):

program LunarLander(input, output);

var
  ans, again: char;
  done: boolean;
  t: integer;
  h, v, v1, d: real;
  f, b, plot: integer;
  outOfFuelAlarm: boolean;

procedure PrintInstructions;
begin
  writeln;
  writeln('You are landing on the moon and have taken over manual');
  writeln('control 1000 feet above a good landing spot. You have a');
  writeln('downward velocity of 50 feet/sec. 150 units of fuel remain.');
  writeln;
  writeln('Here are the rules that govern your APOLLO space-craft:');
  writeln('(1) After each second the height, velocity, and remaining fuel');
  writeln('    will be reported via DIGBY your on-board computer.');
  writeln('(2) After the report a "?" will appear. Enter the number');
  writeln('    of units of fuel you wish to burn during the next');
  writeln('    second. Each unit of fuel will slow your descent by');
  writeln('    1 foot/sec.');
  writeln('(3) The maximum thrust of your engine is 30 feet/sec/sec');
  writeln('    or 30 units of fuel per second.');
  writeln('(4) When you contact the lunar surface, your descent engine');
  writeln('    will automatically shut down and you will be given a');
  writeln('    report of your landing speed and remaining fuel.');
  writeln('(5) If you run out of fuel the "?" will no longer appear');
  writeln('    but your second by second report will continue until');
  writeln('    you contact the lunar surface.');
  writeln;
end;

procedure PrintHeader;
begin
  writeln;
  writeln('                              LUNAR LANDER');
  writeln;
  writeln('                              by Dave Ahl');
  writeln;
  writeln;
  writeln('DIGBY WISHES YOU GOOD LUCK !!!!!!!');
  writeln;
  writeln('SEC  FEET      SPEED     FUEL     PLOT OF DISTANCE');
  writeln;
end;

procedure PrintStatus(sec: integer; height, speed: real; fuel: integer);
var
  i, p: integer;
begin
  write(sec:3);
  write('  ');
  write(height:8:1);
  write('  ');
  write(speed:8:1);
  write('  ');
  write(fuel:6);
  write('     ');
  p := trunc(height / 15.0);
  if p < 0 then p := 0;
  write('I ');
  for i := 1 to p do write(' ');
  write('*');
  writeln;
end;

begin
  writeln('LUNAR LANDER');
  writeln;
  write('Do you want instructions (Y/N)? ');
  readln(ans);
  if (ans = 'Y') or (ans = 'y') then
    PrintInstructions;

  PrintHeader;

  t := 0;
  h := 1000.0;
  v := 50.0;
  f := 150;
  outOfFuelAlarm := false;
  done := false;

  while (h > 0.0) and (not done) do
  begin
    PrintStatus(t, h, v, f);

    if f > 0 then
    begin
      write('? ');
      readln(b); { read burn amount as integer }
      if b < 0 then b := 0;
      if b > 30 then b := 30;
      if b > f then b := f
    end
    else
    begin
      b := 0;
      if not outOfFuelAlarm then
      begin
        writeln('**** OUT OF FUEL ****');
        writeln(chr(7));
        outOfFuelAlarm := true
      end
    end;

    v1 := v - b + 5.0;
    f := f - b;
    h := h - 0.5 * (v + v1);

    if h <= 0.0 then
    begin
      h := h + 0.5 * (v + v1);
      if b = 5 then
        d := h / v
      else
      begin
        if (5 - b) = 0 then
          d := h / v
        else
          d := (-v + sqrt(v * v + h * (10.0 - 2.0 * b))) / (5.0 - b)
      end;
      v1 := v + (5.0 - b) * d;

      writeln;
      writeln('***** CONTACT *****');
      writeln;
      writeln('Touchdown at ', t + d:0:2, ' seconds.');
      writeln('Landing velocity = ', v1:0:2, ' feet/sec.');
      write(f); writeln(' units of fuel remaining.');
      writeln;

      if abs(v1) = 0.0 then
      begin
        writeln('Congratulations! A perfect landing!!');
        writeln('Your license will be renewed.............later.');
      end
      else if abs(v1) < 2.0 then
        writeln('A safe landing.')
      else if v1 > 50.0 then
        writeln('You totalled an entire mountain !!!!!')
      else if (v1 > 30.0) and (v1 < 50.0) then
        writeln('Your ship is a wreck !!!!!')
      else if (v1 > 10.0) and (v1 < 30.0) then
        writeln('You blasted a huge crater !!!!!')
      else if (v1 > 5.0) and (v1 < 10.0) then
        writeln('Your ship is a heap of junk !!!!!')
      else
        writeln('You blew it!!!!!!');

      done := true
    end
    else
    begin
      t := t + 1;
      v := v1
    end
  end;

  writeln;
  writeln;
  writeln;
  write('Another mission (Y/N)? ');
  readln(again);
  if (again = 'Y') or (again = 'y') then
    writeln('Restart the program to try again.')
  else
    writeln('Control out.');

end.

samiam@samiam-h-pc-2:~/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/basic/prog$ pc lunar_copilot.pas -s

PC compiler shell vs. 1.14 Copyright (C) 2025 S. A. Franco

Environment module path: /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs
Reading instruction file/home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/bin/pc.ins
Final module path: /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs:/home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs
Building /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/basic/prog/lunar_copilot.pas

P6 Pascal compiler vs. 0.4.x
Pascal-P6 complies with the requirements of Pascaline version 0.4
and the following annexes: A,B,C,E.


plot       unreferenced
Errors in program: 0
P6 Pascal AMD64/gcc 64 bit code generator vs. 0.4.x

Generating program

Program generation complete

Building executable
/usr/bin/ld: /home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/libs/psystem.a(psystem.o): in function `resetfn':
/home/samiam/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/source/AMD64/gcc/psystem.c:1935: warning: the use of `tmpnam' is dangerous, better use `mkstemp'

Build complete
samiam@samiam-h-pc-2:~/projects/pascal/pascal-p6/basic/prog$ ./lunar_copilot
LUNAR LANDER

Do you want instructions (Y/N)? y

You are landing on the moon and have taken over manual
control 1000 feet above a good landing spot. You have a
downward velocity of 50 feet/sec. 150 units of fuel remain.

Here are the rules that govern your APOLLO space-craft:
(1) After each second the height, velocity, and remaining fuel
    will be reported via DIGBY your on-board computer.
(2) After the report a "?" will appear. Enter the number
    of units of fuel you wish to burn during the next
    second. Each unit of fuel will slow your descent by
    1 foot/sec.
(3) The maximum thrust of your engine is 30 feet/sec/sec
    or 30 units of fuel per second.
(4) When you contact the lunar surface, your descent engine
    will automatically shut down and you will be given a
    report of your landing speed and remaining fuel.
(5) If you run out of fuel the "?" will no longer appear
    but your second by second report will continue until
    you contact the lunar surface.


                              LUNAR LANDER

                              by Dave Ahl


DIGBY WISHES YOU GOOD LUCK !!!!!!!

SEC  FEET      SPEED     FUEL     PLOT OF DISTANCE

  0    1000.0      50.0     150     I                                                                   *
? 0
  1     947.5      55.0     150     I                                                                *
? 0
  2     890.0      60.0     150     I                                                            *
? 0
  3     827.5      65.0     150     I                                                        *
? 0
  4     760.0      70.0     150     I                                                   *
? 0
  5     687.5      75.0     150     I                                              *
? 0
  6     610.0      80.0     150     I                                         *
? 0
  7     527.5      85.0     150     I                                    *
? 0
  8     440.0      90.0     150     I                              *
? 0
  9     347.5      95.0     150     I                        *
? 0
 10     250.0     100.0     150     I                 *
? 30
 11     162.5      75.0     120     I           *
? 30
 12     100.0      50.0      90     I       *
? 30
 13      62.5      25.0      60     I     *
? 30
 14      50.0       0.0      30     I    *
? 0
 15      47.5       5.0      30     I    *
? 15
 16      47.5      -5.0      15     I    *
? 5
 17      52.5      -5.0      10     I    *
? 
5
 18      57.5      -5.0       5     I    *
? 5
 19      62.5      -5.0       0     I     *
**** OUT OF FUEL ****

 20      65.0       0.0       0     I     *
 21      62.5       5.0       0     I     *
 22      55.0      10.0       0     I    *
 23      42.5      15.0       0     I   *
 24      25.0      20.0       0     I  *
 25       2.5      25.0       0     I *

***** CONTACT *****

Touchdown at 25.10 seconds.
Landing velocity = 25.50 feet/sec.
          0 units of fuel remaining.

You blasted a huge crater !!!!!



Another mission (Y/N)? 

Ok, so both AIs got to the result. Copilot needed more prompting, but it didn't crash. The Gemini program got better, but less reliable. Isn't that a statement of programming today?

Why does translation work so well with AI?

Well, because a program, a working program, is a complete and accurate description of what to do. This also says that AI is good for explaining programs as well.

Will AI obsolete me?

Actually, to the contrary. This says that I can, either now or in the future, translate any program out there to Pascaline. That makes me more productive, as well as blowing the scope of Pascaline (or any language) wide open.

Stay tuned.

[1] Judging by the problem reports, this is a standard issue with Gemini.

[samiam95124]

Epilog

Encouraged by the Lunar program example, I tried a few others. The first was tictac.bas, The results on that were mixed. Gemini was able to produce a working copy after a few corrections. One of the issues with that program is that a lot of the logic in the program is buried in data statements (tables). I tried it with "agent mode", and the result was Gemini got tangled in a series of (apparently) non-ending refactors that just produced more bugs. Non-agent mode appeared to not have this issue because it just did a fairly mechanical translation.

The next try, admittedly a moonshot, was to ask Gemini to translate pcom.pas to a C program. This can be accomplished by automatic programs such as p2c. Gemini announced "that is a very complex task". asked if it could do that, Gemini said yes, and produced about 300 lines of code and stopped. Told to continue, it produced 100 more lines. I kept hitting up arrow and "continue", each time getting about 100 more lines.

pcom.pas is about 10,000 lines of code. Meaning 100 "continues" to finish the program, at about 5 minutes per try. So... 8 hours of hitting up arrow and repeating "continue" and waiting each time. No thanks.

Resources

I think its nice that all of these AI resources can be plugged into vscode, my preferred editor, and I suspect many of your editors as well. The result is apparently that these AI engines can handle small programs, say 1000 lines or less, but fail on bigger programs. It could well be that the AI engines out there are programmed to not take that much time on any one particular problem, otherwise one user could hog the entire server.

One alternative is to use a private AI implementation. One of these is from Nvidia, which provides a boxed GPU that runs an OpenAI model. Its not cheap at $4,000 (yikes!). We'll see.

At the present time, AI is interesting to me but not that useful. I have turned out 1000 line programs in a few days, and most of my important programs are in the thousands of lines range, as are any open source programs I might be interested in working with.

This also tells me that "vibe programmers" are making small programs, and the ones most likely to be impressed by that are beginning programmers. Not that there is anything wrong with that! If AI can generate short programs in Pascaline on demand, that is useful both too me and users of Pascal-P6.

Training

Which brings us to the last subject. The current models are trained on open internet data. This means they are good at mainstream languages, which includes ISO 7185 Pascal (yes, it does!), but does not include languages like Pascaline. Thus the ability to train the models on new languages by feeding them Pascaline documentation is a matter. So far my efforts to do that have been mixed.