The implementation is superficially silly, but I think this can also be read as a meditation on exactly what distinctions we're making when we use terms like "program" vs. "process" or "input" vs. "dependency". Perhaps a cousin to the idea that compression formats represent specialized instruction sets for bitstream generation, or to static single assignment. It makes explicit what is usually implicit in emulator "movies", that each frame has the state of the prior frame as a dependency, even though that relationship is normally thought of as a side effect of the passage of time.
The underlying principle of translating those implicit temporal dependencies into explicit data dependencies very well might have applications in optimizing high-accuracy computer/console emulators. The usual implementations iterate over some variable that represents the passage of time and compute all possible side effects, which is expensive. Many compilers already do a related static optimization by eliminating intermediate variable mutations that can be proven to have no side effects.
(also, if you're not familiar with the "tool-assisted speedrun/superplay" tradition of optimizing video game input sequences as a flavor of metaprogramming, see https://tasvideos.org/NewcomerCorner)
It's 'fun', for some folks 'nostalgic', possibly even 'interesting', in a casual sort of way. You apparently aren't familiar with these concepts. No need to hate on it.
Not understanding something fully doesn't mean shit on it.
I know what Nix is, and think it's an answer to a problem I don't have and therefore generally don't comment on Nix posts, but I can still appreciate that this is pretty cool.
Apparently, simply shutting the fuck up when you have exactly zero to add to the discussion is the answer way too many people don't understand in the always-on social media age.
The underlying principle of translating those implicit temporal dependencies into explicit data dependencies very well might have applications in optimizing high-accuracy computer/console emulators. The usual implementations iterate over some variable that represents the passage of time and compute all possible side effects, which is expensive. Many compilers already do a related static optimization by eliminating intermediate variable mutations that can be proven to have no side effects.
(also, if you're not familiar with the "tool-assisted speedrun/superplay" tradition of optimizing video game input sequences as a flavor of metaprogramming, see https://tasvideos.org/NewcomerCorner)
I know what Nix is, and think it's an answer to a problem I don't have and therefore generally don't comment on Nix posts, but I can still appreciate that this is pretty cool.
Apparently, simply shutting the fuck up when you have exactly zero to add to the discussion is the answer way too many people don't understand in the always-on social media age.