# The shifting dot

Your program has to print out a number of spaces, followed by a dot and a newline. The number of spaces is the x position of your dot defined with 0 < x < 30

Every new line is a turn. Your program runs for 30 turns. Your program starts with a random x position and every turn shifts this position randomly by 1 to the left or right, while staying inside the defined area. Every turn your dot has to change its position by 1.

Your score is the number of characters. You get 10 bonus points, if every printed line consists of exactly 30 characters (and newline). You get 50 bonus points, if, while random, your program tends to stay in the middle of the defined area.

Edit: The 50 bonus points are intended to pull your dot to the middle. For example, this apply's if your dot is at x=20 and has a chance of 66% to go left and 33% to go right. This has to be independent from starting point and should only happen by altering the percentage value of left/right dynamically.

No input of any kind allowed, output has to be on the executing console!

For better understanding, here is a readable example in java, that would give you a score of 723:

public class DotJumper{
public static void main(String[] args){
int i = (int)(Math.random()*30);
int max = 29;
int step = 1;
int count = 30;
while(count>0){
if(i<=1){
i+=step;
}else if(i>=max){
i-=step;
}else{
if(Math.random() > 0.5){
i+=step;
}else{
i-=step;
}
}
print(i);
count--;
}
}
public static void print(int i){
while(i>0){
System.out.print(' ');
i--;
}
System.out.println('.');
}
}

• In your example, I think that the int i = (int)(Math.random()*30); should be int i = 1 + (int)(Math.random()*29); instead. As is, it generates a number 0 >= x > 30 instead of 0 > x > 30. – Victor Stafusa Feb 18 '14 at 17:26
• I think original code is correct. – user2846289 Feb 18 '14 at 18:15
• it is correct, because i shift first and the print. so even if the random value exceeds the border, if will first correct and then print. – reggaemuffin Feb 18 '14 at 18:17
• @Kostronor But this implies that the starting dot position does not follows an uniform distribution, the first position is twice as probably than the other positions. OTOH, being uniformly distributed was not a requirement either. – Victor Stafusa Feb 18 '14 at 21:41
• Seems like it would be harder to create a program where the dot jumps around more. So why is there a bonus for restricting its movement? – Chris Laplante Feb 18 '14 at 23:12

# APL, 39 – 10 – 50 = –21

0/{⎕←30↑'.',⍨⍵↑''⋄⍵+¯1*⍵>.5+?28}/31/?29


Tested on Dyalog with ⎕IO←1 and ⎕ML←3 but it should be quite portable.

Explanation

                   ?29  take a random natural from 1 to 29
31/     repeat it 31 times
}/        reduce (right-fold) the list using the given function:
⍵↑''          . make a string of ⍵ (the function argument) spaces
'.',⍨              . append a dot to its right
⎕←30↑                   . right-pad it with spaces up to length 30 and output
◇       . then
?28        . take a random natural from 1 to 28
.5+           . add 0.5, giving a number ∊ (1.5 2.5 ... 27.5 28.5)
⍵>              . check whether the result is <⍵ (see explanation below)
¯1*                . raise -1 to the boolean result (0 1 become resp. 1 -1)
⍵+                   . add it to ⍵ and return it as the new accumulator value
0/{                     finally ignore the numeric result of the reduction


At every step, this code decides whether to move the dot to the left or to the right depending on the probability that a random number chosen among (1.5 2.5 ... 27.5 28.5) is less than the current dot position.

Therefore, when the current dot position (number of spaces to the left) is 1 the increment is always +1 (all of those numbers 1.5 ... 28.5 are > 1), when it's 29 it's always -1 (all of those numbers are < 29); otherwise it's chosen randomly between +1 and -1, with a probability that's a linear interpolation between those extremes. So the dot is always moving and always more likely to move towards the center than towards the sides. If it's exactly in the middle, it has a 50% chance to move to either side.

The reduction (right-fold) of a replicated value {...}/a/b is just a trick I came up with to repeat a function a-1 times, starting with value b and having the result of each iteration be the accumulator (⍵) argument to the next. The second and next input arguments (⍺) as well as the final result are ignored. It turns out to be way shorter than a regular recursive call with guard.

Example run

0/{⎕←30↑'.',⍨⍵↑''⋄⍵+¯1*⍵>.5+?28}/31/?29
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• apl is a great language for golf (hard to read for me, though); UP! – blabla999 Feb 18 '14 at 0:27
• @blabla999 APL has many common symbols and some strange ones, but once you learn their function the language is easy to read and write. Certainly easier that the ASCII noise of 'golfing' languages, but I'd venture to say it's even easier than regular languages. The syntax is very regular, you only have one rule: the expressions are executed from right to left, so that they can be read from left to right: +/2×⍳9 is read "the sum of: two times: the naturals up to 9" but is executed in the opposite way. – Tobia Feb 18 '14 at 9:27
• Is it me or is there 31 characters per line here? – Gusdor Feb 18 '14 at 16:33
• I get 30, both by copy-pasting a line from the example run above into an editor, and by checking the code again. ⎕←30↑... will print 30 characters plus a newline, no matter what string is in ... – Tobia Feb 18 '14 at 16:39

## Mathematica 138 - 10 - 50 = 78

I'm not posting this because I think it's particularly well golfed, but for other reasons. It uses a Markov Process definition with a transition matrix designed to get the ball "centered".

The use of a Markov process in Mathematica allows us to calculate some useful statistics, as you will see below.

First the code (spaces not needed):

r = Range@28/28;
s = DiagonalMatrix;
ListPlot[RandomFunction[DiscreteMarkovProcess[RandomInteger@#, r~ s ~ -1 + s[29/28- r, 1]],
#], PlotRange -> #] &@{1, 29}


Some outputs:

The transition matrix I used is:

MatrixPlot[s[r, -1] + s[29/28 - r, 1]]


But as I said, the interesting part is that using DiscreteMarkovProcess[] allows us to grab a good picture of what's happening.

Let's see the probability of the ball being at 15 at any time t starting from a particular random state:

d = DiscreteMarkovProcess[RandomInteger@29, s[r, -1] + s[29/28 - r, 1]];
k[t_] := Probability[x[t] == 15, x \[Distributed] d]
ListLinePlot[Table[k[t], {t, 0, 50}], PlotRange -> All]


You can see it fluctuates between 0 and a value near 0.3, that is because depending on the starting state you can only reach 15 on an odd or even number of steps :)

Now we can do the same thing, but telling Mathematica to consider the statistic starting from all possible initial states. What is the probability of being at 15 after a time t?:

d = DiscreteMarkovProcess[Array[1 &, 29]/29, s[r, -1] + s[29/28 - r, 1]];
k[t_] := Probability[x[t] == 15, x \[Distributed] d]
ListLinePlot[Table[k[t], {t, 0, 100}], PlotRange -> All]


You can see it also oscillates ... why? The answer is simple: in the interval [1, 29] there are more odd than even numbers :)

The oscillation is almost gone if we ask for the probability of the ball being at 14 OR 15:

And you could also ask for the limit (in the Cesaro sense) of the state probabilities:

ListLinePlot@First@MarkovProcessProperties[d, "LimitTransitionMatrix"]


Oh, well, perhaps I deserve some downvotes for such an off-topic answer. Feel free.

• This isn't the shortest but it's really cool. – Kasra Rahjerdi Feb 19 '14 at 6:02
• Upvoted, and now your score is no longer 2,222... – cormullion Feb 19 '14 at 15:44
• @cormullion Thanks! You can undo that by downvoting hard:) – Dr. belisarius Feb 19 '14 at 15:46

# Bash, score 21 (81 bytes - 50 bonus - 10 bonus)

o=$[RANDOM%28];for i in {D..a};{ printf " %$[o+=1-2*(RANDOM%29<o)]s.%$[28-o]s ";}  In this answer, the dot is "pulled" back to the middle. This can be tested by hardcoding the starting point at 0 or 30. • Good solution! But please do not hardcode the starting point ;) – reggaemuffin Feb 18 '14 at 0:12 • @Kostronor - oops - I missed that, and have now fixed it. – Digital Trauma Feb 18 '14 at 0:23 • save a char by replacing {1..30} by {P..m} – Geoff Reedy Feb 18 '14 at 5:37 • What if o is 1 and RANDOM%30 returns 0? And on the next iteration, too? – user2846289 Feb 18 '14 at 13:31 • @VadimR - I think the boundary conditions are fixed now. – Digital Trauma Feb 18 '14 at 19:12 ## Ruby 6966 64-60 = 4 i=rand(30);30.times{a=' '*30;a[i]=?.;puts a;i+=rand>i/29.0?1:-1}  Sample:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  • You can save a byte with i=rand 30; instead of i=rand(30);. – Jordan Oct 5 '16 at 4:47 # Smalltalk, 161159 145-60 = 85 all columns are 30chars long (operating in mutable string b); random movement chance is adjusted by biasing rnd value with p (rnd(0..29)-p), taking the sign (-1/0/1) and then adjusting to (-1/+1) via (-1|1), which is taken as move delta (effectively computes: x sign<=0 ifTrue:-1 ifFalse:1). As ST uses 1-based indexing, I have to adjust all string refs by +1 (plz appreciate the -1|1 bit fiddling hack ;-) ). p:=((r:=Random)next*29)rounded.(b:=String new:30)at:p+1put:$..0to:29do:[:i|b at:p+1put:$.p:=(p+(((r next*29)-p)sign-1|1))min:29max:0.b at:p+1put:$..b printCR]


stealing an idea from Ruby version (thanx&Up @fipgr), I can get rid of the min/max check:

p:=((r:=Random)next*29)rounded.(b:=String new:30)at:p+1put:$..1to:30 do:[:i|b at:p+1put:$ .p:=p+((r next-(p/29))sign-1|1).b at:p+1put:$.;printCR]  output: (I have manually added the col-numbers and vertical bars afterwards; the code above does not generate them)  012345678901234567890123456789 | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | 012345678901234567890123456789  ## C, 86 Assuming that seeding the rand() function is not required. k=30;main(i){i=rand()%k;while(k--){printf("%*c\n",i+=i==30?-1:i==1||rand()%2?1:-1,46);}}  Explanation: In C, in "%*c" the * means that the length of the output will have a minimum length, and this minimum length is determined by the argument of the function call (in this case, it is i+=i==30?-1:i==1||rand()%2?1:-1. The c means the next argument (46) is a character (the dot). As for the boundary check, I apologise that I forgot about that. I have now added this to the answer, at the cost of 15 chars. The ternary operator works as follows: boolean_condition?value_if_true:value_if_false. Note that in C true is 1 and false is 0. • Can you expand on what is going on in your code? I'm having trouble understanding how printf("%*c\n",i+=rand()%2?1:-1,46) prints the spaces, as well as how it keeps the dot from possibly moving past 29. Thanks in advance. (Sorry, I'm not a C programmer.) – Decent Dabbler Feb 17 '14 at 23:33 • @fireeyedboy done, hope you understand :) – user12205 Feb 17 '14 at 23:53 • Aaaah, I kind of had the feeling you were cheating a little bit there. ;-) But the rest is clear indeed now. Thank you! And nice solution! Does C also have the strange behavior with rand()%2 in that it is very predictable (odd/even turns)? I tried your rand()%2 in my PHP solution, and it exhibited this very predictable behavior (as opposed to rand(0,1). Since PHP makes a lot of use of C libraries (if I'm correct) I was wondering whether your C program has the same 'flaw'. – Decent Dabbler Feb 18 '14 at 0:02 • @fireeyedboy I did not seed the rand() function. In C if rand() is not seeded explicitly, it always uses the same seed every time. That's why it is predictable. If I had to seed it I can do srand(time()); which costs 14 chars – user12205 Feb 18 '14 at 0:05 • But is it so predictable that it switches from odd to even on each subsequent call as well? PHP claims rand() doesn't need to be seeded with srand() anymore, but still shows this odd behavior. – Decent Dabbler Feb 18 '14 at 0:27 # Java: 204183182176 175 characters - 10 - 50 = 115 class K{public static void main(String[]y){int k,j=0,i=(int)(29*Math.random());for(;j++<30;i+=Math.random()*28<i?-1:1)for(k=0;k<31;k++)System.out.print(k>29?10:k==i?'.':32);}}  First, the dot position must be 0 < x < 30, i.e. [1-29]. This generates a number between 0 and 28 uniformly distributed, and for the purposes of this program [0-28] has the same effect as [1-29]: i=(int)(29*Math.random());  I personally preferred if it would be normally distributed around 14, but my answer would be longer: i=0;for(;j<29;j++)i+=(int)(2*Math.random());  Second, this code ensures that it tends to be in the middle: i+=Math.random()*28<i?-1:1  The probability to get +1 is larger as smaller is the value of i, and we have the opposite for -1. If i is 0, the probability of getting +1 is 100% and the probability of getting -1 is 0%. If i is 28, the opposite to that will happen. Third, by replacing the 32 at the end by '_' to see the output easier, we see that each line has 30 characters plus a new line: __________.___________________ _________.____________________ ________._____________________ _________.____________________ __________.___________________ ___________.__________________ __________.___________________ _________.____________________ ________._____________________ _________.____________________ ________._____________________ _________.____________________ __________.___________________ _________.____________________ __________.___________________ ___________.__________________ __________.___________________ _________.____________________ __________.___________________ ___________.__________________ ____________._________________ _____________.________________ ____________._________________ _____________.________________ ______________._______________ _____________.________________ ______________._______________ _______________.______________ ______________._______________ _____________.________________  Thanks to @VadimR (now, user2846289) for pointing out a misunderstanding in a prior version. Thanks to @KevinCruijssen for shaving out 6 characters, even after more than two and a half years after this answer was initially posted. • But i getting to 0 is illegal, isn't it? – user2846289 Feb 18 '14 at 16:13 • @VadimR, for me i is in the range [0-29]. This is equivalent to [1-30] or [288-317], the output would be the same. What matters is that there are 30 integer numbers in the interval [0-29]. – Victor Stafusa Feb 18 '14 at 16:46 • "The number of spaces is the x position of your dot defined with 0 < x < 30" I.e. the number of spaces (or 0-based dot position) is 1..29. i can't be 0. I understand it's all about having fun but still it is sad. – user2846289 Feb 18 '14 at 17:08 • @VadimR, Oh, thanks. Fixed. This means that the dot will never be in the rightmost posistion, but anyway, that is what was specified. – Victor Stafusa Feb 18 '14 at 17:22 • I'm sorry, but it didn't fix anything. Imagine i gets 1 initially, and on first iteration Math.random() is 0, then i gets 0. Please don't get me wrong, it's not about your answer. Rather about my inability to read most languages other than C-like. Then with no reaction (except for upvotes) about errors, how can I know they are right or not? – user2846289 Feb 18 '14 at 17:40 # Mathematica 157-10-50 = 97 A random number from 1-30 is used for starting. All the remaining column numbers from the dot are chosen via RandomChoice[If[c > 15, {2, 1}, {1, 2}] -> {-1, 1}] + c, which translates to: "If the prior column number was greater than 15, select one number from the set {-1,1}, with -1 weighted 2:1 with respect to 1; otherwise, flip the weights and choose from the same set. ReplacePart replaces the element in a list of 30 blank spaces that corresponds to the column of interest. f@c_ := Switch[d = RandomChoice[If[c > 15, {2, 1}, {1, 2}] -> {-1, 1}] + c, 1, 2, 30, 29, d, d] Row@ReplacePart[Array["_" &, 29], # -> "."] & /@ NestList[f, RandomInteger@29+1, 30] // TableForm  • Nice use of RandomChoice[] – Dr. belisarius Feb 18 '14 at 17:57 # ><>, 358 - 10 = 348 This won't win at codegolf, but it works. (On windows 7 with this interpreter, which implements the "p" instruction differently than the esolang page defines it) 1v >a" "v v< 0<} vooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo< & _> v : >$" "@p1+:2f*(?v;
|x1>  v^}!               <
|xx2> v p
|xxx3>v
|xxxx4v $>!|xxx< v } |xxxx6v } |xxx7>v @ |xx8> v : |x9v < @> 5)?v$:67*)?vv
_>>&?v!@^     >$:b(?v v v }"."< : v+ 1< < >a+b+00}^0}}${"."< <- 1<


The name of this language can't be googled, so here's its esolang article for the curious.

• Can you code the requirement for the -50 in less than 50 characters? – Victor Stafusa Feb 18 '14 at 15:43
• @Victor Probably, but ><> is a giant pain to code in (a fun giant pain), so I need to take a break from it. – SirCxyrtyx Feb 18 '14 at 21:19
• @SirCxyrtyx this made me chuckle. Well golfed sir. – Gusdor Feb 19 '14 at 21:17

# PHP, 118113112 111 (, -10 bonus points = 101)

(second try, with horribly predictable rand() behavior, and a little more efficiency)

for($n=30,$i=rand(1,29),$t=$s=pack("A$n",'');$n--;$i+=$i<2|rand()%2&$i<28?1:-1,$t=$s){$t[$i-1]='.';echo"$t\n";}


Possible result:

______._______________________
_____.________________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________


# PHP, 130 (, -10 bonus points = 120)

(first try)

This could probably still be much more efficient:

for($n=30,$i=rand(1,29),$t=$s=str_repeat(' ',$n)."\n";$n--;$i=$i<2?2:($i>28?28:(rand(0,1)?$i+1:$i-1)),$t=$s){$t[$i-1]='.';echo$t;}


If I replace the space with an underscore (for display purposes), this is a possible result:

________._____________________
_______.______________________
______._______________________
_______.______________________
________._____________________
_______.______________________
______._______________________
_______.______________________
______._______________________
_______.______________________
________._____________________
_______.______________________
________._____________________
_________.____________________
__________.___________________
___________.__________________
__________.___________________
___________.__________________
__________.___________________
_________.____________________
________._____________________
_________.____________________
________._____________________
_______.______________________
______._______________________
_____.________________________
____._________________________
_____.________________________
____._________________________
___.__________________________


Oddly enough, if I replace rand(0,1) with rand()%2 (PHP 5.4, on Windows XP), the random result always switches from odd to even, and vice versa, on each next iteration, making rand() worryingly predictable, in that sense, all of a sudden. This 'bug' appears to be one that has been known since 2004. Not entirely sure whether it's exactly the same 'bug' though.

## J 42 characters - 50 -10 = -18

'_.'{~(|.~((I.%<:@#)*@-?@0:))^:(<@#)1=?~30


Explanation, starting from the right (some knowledge about trains comes in handy):

init=: 0=?~30          NB. where is the 0 in the random permutation of [0,29]
rep =: ^:(<@#)         NB. repeat as many times as the array is long, showing each step

rnd =: ?@0:            NB. discards input, generates a random number between 0 and 1

signdiff =: *@-        NB. sign of the difference (because this works nicely with
NB. the shift later on).

left_prob =: (I.%<:@#) NB. probability of shifting left. The position of the one (I.) divided by the length -1.

shift =: |.~           NB. x shift y , shifts x by y positions to the left.

output =: {&'_.'       NB. for selecting the dots and bars.

NB. Piecing things together:
output (shift (left_prob signdiff rnd))rep init


Center tendency, -50, example over 1000 runs:

NB. Amounts of ones in each column (sum)
]a=:+/ (|.~((I.%<:@#)*@-?@0:))^:(<1000)0=?30
0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 10 12 25 60 95 121 145 161 148 99 49 27 19 13 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
+/a NB. check the number of ones in total
1000
|. |:(<.a%10) #"0 1] '*' NB. plot of those values
*
*
***
***
****
****
****
******
******
******
*******
*******
********
********
**********
**************


Example run, outputting exactly 30 bytes each line

_______________.______________
________________._____________
_______________.______________
________________._____________
_______________.______________
________________._____________
_______________.______________
________________._____________
_______________.______________
________________._____________
_______________.______________
______________._______________
_______________.______________
________________._____________
_________________.____________
________________._____________
_______________.______________
______________._______________
_____________.________________
____________._________________
___________.__________________
__________.___________________
___________.__________________
__________.___________________
___________.__________________
__________.___________________
___________.__________________
____________._________________
_____________.________________
______________._______________

• A very good solution! – reggaemuffin Feb 19 '14 at 8:56
• A very good challenge too! – jpjacobs Feb 19 '14 at 9:19

## Python 2.7: 126 109 -10-50 = 49

Got rid of the hard-coded starting point - now starts at random point. Because of this, I needed randint, so I decided to use that instead of choice for the offset. Used the (-1)**bool trick for that.

from random import randint as r;p=r(0,29)
for i in range(30):
print' '*p+'.'+' '*(29-p);p+=(-1)**(r(0,29)<p)


Some great answers here. First attempt in Python, thinking about improvements. Not helped by the need for an import.

-10 - yes 30 chars + \n on each line

-50 - the further away from the centre, the more likely a move the other way (accomplished by building a list with a different number of +/i offsets)

Previous attempt:

from random import choice;p,l=15,[]
for i in range(30):
q=29-p;l+=[' '*p+'.'+' '*q];p+=choice([1]*q+[-1]*p)
print'\n'.join(l)

• Your for loop can all be on one line, but even better is for i in[0]*30: and better still is eval"..."*30. – mbomb007 Oct 5 '16 at 20:20

# Java - 198 183 characters

This is just a plain, simple, direct and uncreative golf of the example that you had given in the question.

class A{public static void main(String[]y){int c,j,i=(int)(Math.random()*30);for(c=30;c>0;c--)for(j=i+=i<2?1:i>28?-1:Math.random()>0.5?1:-1;j>=0;j--)System.out.print(j>0?" ":".\n");}}


## Batch - (288 Bytes - 10) 278

@echo off&setlocal enabledelayedexpansion&set/ap=%random%*30/32768+1&for /l %%b in (1,1,30)do (set/ar=!random!%%2&if !r!==1 (if !p! GTR 1 (set/ap-=1)else set/ap+=1)else if !p! LSS 30 (set/ap+=1)else set/ap-=1
for /l %%c in (1,1,30)do if %%c==!p! (set/p"=."<nul)else set/p"=_"<nul
echo.)


Un-golfed:

@echo off
setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
set /a p=%random%*30/32768+1
for /l %%b in (1,1,30) do (
set /a r=!random!%%2
if !r!==1 (
if !p! GTR 1 (set /a p-=1) else set /a p+=1
) else if !p! LSS 30 (set /a p+=1) else set /a p-=1
for /l %%c in (1,1,30) do if %%c==!p! (set /p "=."<nul) else set /p "=_"<nul
echo.
)


To output spaces instead of underscores - 372 Bytes -

@echo off&setlocal enabledelayedexpansion&for /f %%A in ('"prompt $H &echo on&for %%B in (1)do rem"')do set B=%%A set/ap=%random%*30/32768+1&for /l %%b in (1,1,30)do (set/ar=!random!*2/32768+1&if !r!==1 (if !p! GTR 1 (set/ap-=1)else set/ap+=1)else if !p! LSS 30 (set/ap+=1)else set/ap-=1 for /l %%c in (1,1,30)do if %%c==!p! (set/p"=."<nul)else set/p"=.%B% "<nul echo.)  Looking for some help with the following logic, surely this isn't the most space efficient method (!r! will expand to either 1 or 2) - if !r!==1 ( if !p! GTR 1 (set /a p-=1) else set /a p+=1 ) else if !p! LSS 30 (set /a p+=1) else set /a p-=1  It golfs down to: if !r!==1 (if !p! GTR 1 (set/ap-=1)else set/ap+=1)else if !r! LSS 30 (set/ap+=1)else set/ap-=1 ## J, 42 characters, no bonuses ' .'{~(i.30)=/~29<.0>.+/\(-0&=)?(,2#~<:)30  Example run:  ' .'{~(i.30)=/~29<.0>.+/\(-0&=)?(,2#~<:)30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  ## Python 2.7 (126 - 10 (fix length) - 50 (Center Tendency) = 66) The following program have a center tendency over a larger sample s=id(9)%30 for e in ([[0,2][s>15]]*abs(s-15)+map(lambda e:ord(e)%2*2,os.urandom(30)))[:30]: s+=1-e;print" "*s+"."+" "*(28-s)  Demo  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  • Like the s=id(9)%30 for the seeding. os needs importing, though? And does this cover the full 1-30 range? Oh wait...*rereads the inequality at top of page* – psion5mx Feb 18 '14 at 18:24 ## Javascript 1257372 60 (120 - 50 - 10) i=0;r=Math.random;s=r()*30|0;do{a=Array(30);a[s=s>28?28:s?r()<s/30?s-1:s+1:1]='.';console.log(a.join(' '))}while(++i<30)  EDIT: Fix for 50 point bonus and 10 point bonus. EDIT 2: Even shorter! • can you explain, where you get the 50 points bonus? I am not getting it at the moment... – reggaemuffin Feb 18 '14 at 0:15 • @Kostronor I just saw the edit for the requirement. Looks like I don't get the 50 points yet. – aebabis Feb 18 '14 at 2:51 • @acbabis, well done ! You can save some bytes (116) : r=Math.random;s=r()*30|0;for(i=0;i++<30;a=Array(30)){a[s=s>28?28:s?r()<s/30?s-1:s+1:1]='.';console.log(a.join(' '))} – Michael M. Feb 18 '14 at 9:27 • @Michael Thanks for the tips. Couldn't get the array init inside the for working, though; had to use a do while. – aebabis Feb 18 '14 at 16:58 ## D - 167, 162, 144 ( 154 - 10 ) Golfed: import std.stdio,std.random;void main(){int i=uniform(1,30),j,k;for(;k<30;++k){char[30]c;c[i]='.';c.writeln;j=uniform(0,2);i+=i==29?-1:i==0?1:j==1?1:-1;}}  Un-golfed: import std.stdio, std.random; void main() { int i = uniform( 1, 30 ), j, k; for(; k < 30; ++k ) { char[30] c; c[i] = '.'; c.writeln; j = uniform( 0, 2 ); i += i == 29 ? -1 : i == 0 ? 1 : j == 1 ? 1 : -1; } }  EDIT 1 - I'm not quite sure if my code qualifies for the -50 bonus or not. i doesn't always start in the middle, but during the for loop, the dot never moves more than like 3 places either direction, so when i does start near the middle, the whole thing tends to stay there as well. EDIT 2 - Code now qualifies for the -10 bonus, as it prints an array of 29 characters followed by LF for a total of exactly 30 chars per line. • as it prints an array of 29 characters followed by LF - It should be 30 characters followed by a LF. – Victor Stafusa Feb 18 '14 at 15:30 • @Victor ahh, thank you for the correction, I misinterpreted the main post. – Tony Ellis Feb 18 '14 at 17:16 PowerShell, 77 - 10 - 50 = 17 $x=random 30
1..30|%{$x+=random(@(-1)*$x+@(1)*(29-$x)) '_'*$x+'.'+'_'*(29-$x)}  Output _.____________________________ __.___________________________ ___.__________________________ ____._________________________ ___.__________________________ ____._________________________ _____.________________________ ______._______________________ _______.______________________ ______._______________________ _____.________________________ ______._______________________ _______.______________________ ________._____________________ _________.____________________ __________.___________________ ___________.__________________ __________.___________________ ___________.__________________ ____________._________________ ___________.__________________ __________.___________________ _________.____________________ __________.___________________ _________.____________________ ________._____________________ _________.____________________ ________._____________________ _________.____________________ __________.___________________  • Smart random. You could to use a golfed version $x=random 30;1..30|%{' '*($x+=,-1*$x+,1*(29-$x)|random)+'.'|% *ht 30}. 66 bytes - 10 - 50 = 6 score points – mazzy Dec 11 '18 at 9:34 ### R, 107 characters - 60 points bonus=47 s=sample;i=s(29,1);for(j in 1:30){a=rep(' ',30);i=i+s(c(-1,1),1,p=c(i-1,29-i));a[i]='.';cat(a,'\n',sep='')}  i is the index of the dot. a is the array of 30 spaces. Starting point is random (uniformly from 1 to 29). At each iteration we randomly add -1 or +1 to i with weighted probabilities: i-1 for -1 and 29-i for +1 (values fed as probabilities don't need to sum to one), meaning that it tends to orient the dot towards the center while preventing it from below 1 or above 29 (since their probability fall to 0 in both case). Example run with _ instead of spaces for legibility: > s=sample;i=s(1:30,1);for(j in 1:30){a=rep('_',30);i=i+s(c(-1,1),1,p=c(i-1,29-i));a[i]='.';cat(a,'\n',sep='')} _______________________.______ ______________________._______ _____________________.________ ______________________._______ _____________________.________ ______________________._______ _____________________.________ ______________________._______ _____________________.________ ____________________._________ _____________________.________ ______________________._______ _____________________.________ ______________________._______ _____________________.________ ____________________._________ ___________________.__________ ____________________._________ ___________________.__________ __________________.___________ _________________.____________ ________________._____________ _______________.______________ ______________._______________ _______________.______________ ________________._____________ _________________.____________ ________________._____________ _______________.______________ ______________._______________  • If I'm not mistaken reading your code, i can become either 0 or 30, no? – user2846289 Feb 18 '14 at 9:27 • Yes you're right it can be 30 (not more though), i ll change that. – plannapus Feb 18 '14 at 9:29 • It's fixed now. The probability to go from 1 to 0 or to go from 29 to 30 is now 0. The random starting point is now between 1 and 29. – plannapus Feb 18 '14 at 9:35 • Hint: You can save 2 more characters by replacing s(1:29,1) with s(29,1). – Sven Hohenstein Feb 18 '14 at 17:12 • @SvenHohenstein you're right I always forget about that one – plannapus Feb 19 '14 at 7:56 ## C# 184 - 10 - 50 = 123 using System;namespace d{class P{static void Main(){var r=new Random();int p=r.Next(30);for(int i=0;i<30;i++){Console.WriteLine(".".PadLeft(p+1).PadRight(29));p+=r.Next(30)<p?-1:1;}}}}  Output space replaced with _ for legibility. ____________.________________ ___________._________________ __________.__________________ ___________._________________ ____________.________________ _____________._______________ ______________.______________ _____________._______________ ______________.______________ _______________._____________ ______________.______________ _______________._____________ ______________.______________ _______________._____________ ______________.______________ _____________._______________ ____________.________________ ___________._________________ ____________.________________ _____________._______________ ______________.______________ _____________._______________ ____________.________________ ___________._________________ ____________.________________ ___________._________________ ____________.________________ ___________._________________ __________.__________________ ___________._________________  • I am pretty sure that it should be possible to get a smaller code in the if...else if...else at the end of you code. Further, your output makes me get some doubt that it tends to be in the middle, but your code seems to be right. – Victor Stafusa Feb 18 '14 at 15:42 • Forgot to update the output when i edited the code. The r.Next(30)<p?-1:1; makes it happen. Not sure you can go smaller with the if statements. switch is big because of the mandatory break / return and the final else requires a default:{} case and that is also long. – Gusdor Feb 18 '14 at 16:15 • @Victor thanks for the input. i made some edits. – Gusdor Feb 18 '14 at 16:20 • If p is zero, the p+=r.Next(30)<p?-1:1; will always get 1, so no need for the if(p==0). Ditto for p==29. p will never be 30, so you can get rid of the else if. – Victor Stafusa Feb 18 '14 at 16:43 • @Victor grand. ill make those changes. Ta. – Gusdor Feb 19 '14 at 8:02 PHP With the centring bonus: 82 - 50 = 32 $i=rand(0,29);for($c=0;$c++<30;rand(0,28)<$i?$i--:$i++)echo pack("A$i",'').".\n";


For this version (old versions below), removed the min/max checking as that's taken care of in the centring code. rand(1,28) becomes important here as it allows for the $i++ to push itself up to 29 (actual max). edit: unnecessary parenthesis, moved shifting code Simple algorithm for centring: generates a new number between 0 and 29 and compares it to the current one. Takes advantage of the "probability" of getting a number on the bigger side to draw towards the centre. Actual result: (line numbering added afterwards) 01| . 02| . 03| . 04| . 05| . 06| . 07| . 08| . 09| . 10| . 11| . 12| . 13| . 14| . 15| . 16| . 17| . 18| . 19| . 20| . 21| . 22| . 23| . 24| . 25| . 26| . 27| . 28| . 29| . 30| .  Archived: $i=rand(0,29);for($c=0;$c++<30;){($i<1?$j=1:($i>28?$j=28:$j=rand(0,29)));($j<$i?$i--:$i++);echo pack("A$i",'').".\n";} 119 characters

$i=rand(0,29);for($c=0;$c++<30;){($i<1?$i++:($i>28?$i--:(rand(0,29)<$i?$i--:$i++)));echo pack("A$i",'').".\n";} 112 characters • I'm a little impressed that I shaved off 49 characters since my first version... – Yoda Feb 19 '14 at 16:40 • shaved 44 characters now. Which must mean it was 39 last time. – Yoda Feb 20 '14 at 10:24 # JavaScript ES6 125 - 10 (30 character lines) - 50 (shifts toward middle) = 65 I had an epiphany going up the lift to my unit, so I had to get it down before it left my memory... z=(j=Array(t=29).join_)+"."+j;x=(r=Math.random)()*t;for(i=30;i--;)console.log(z.substr(x=(x+=r()<x/t?-1:1)>t?t:x<0?0:x,30))  A little variable positional shuffling and a little creativity for calculating the shift probability indicated by x/t... (Thanks Kostronor for pointing it out!) I now gain the -50 bonus for shift to the middle, and I also made the starting position within the full range of the line, which allowed me to shave two bytes! ....5....0....5....0....5....0 <-- Ruler _.____________________________ __.___________________________ ___.__________________________ __.___________________________ ___.__________________________ __.___________________________ _.____________________________ __.___________________________ ___.__________________________ __.___________________________ ___.__________________________ ____._________________________ _____.________________________ ______._______________________ _______.______________________ ________._____________________ _______.______________________ ______._______________________ _______.______________________ ________._____________________ _______.______________________ ________._____________________ _________.____________________ __________.___________________ _________.____________________ __________.___________________ ___________.__________________ ____________._________________ _____________.________________ ______________._______________  • Isn't it that randomness of initial dot position here is limited to 2 or 3 possibilities? And that's what keeping dot in the middle (because of very short number of runs = 30) and therefore worth -50? – user2846289 Feb 18 '14 at 10:34 • Quoting the OP's text: "Your program starts with a random x position and every turn shifts this position randomly by 1 to the left or right" My code initially is defined at 15+r()*2 which could be anything from 15 to 16.9999999998 or so which could round off to 17. the additional x+=r()<.5?-1:1 throws a little more randomness by bringing it to a range of 14 to 18, so technically a random number which is within the definition of what was asked... By bending that rule, the flip (+1,-1) will in most cases bring it back toward the middle... ;) – WallyWest Feb 18 '14 at 21:26 • Well, on the random thing, you got me... It was meant to be 'a random position from all possible positions' but it gives you not much advantage, as the 50 points clearly not apply! Please reread the explanation on this bonus, a fixed 0,5 percent do not get it! – reggaemuffin Feb 19 '14 at 9:01 • Valid point, I'll redo my score accordingly... – WallyWest Feb 20 '14 at 0:39 • @Kostonor Code updated with proper solution, updated score accordingly! – WallyWest Feb 20 '14 at 7:17 # k, 53 - 10 - 50 = -7 Solution 1 {{a:30#" ";a[x]:".";a}'{x+$[*x<1?!30;1;-1]}\[x;*1?x]}


### Usage

{{a:30#" ";a[x]:".";a}'{x+$[*x<1?!30;1;-1]}\[x;*1?x]}30 " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . " " . "  Solution 2 {r::x;{a:r#" ";a[x]:".";a}'{a:r#0b;a[x?r]:1b;x+$[a@*1?r;-1;1]}\[x;*1?x]}[30]


# Scala, 95 - 10 = 85 bytes

def r=math.random
Seq.iterate(r*30,30){n=>println(("#"*30)updated(n.toInt,'.'))
(r*2-1+n)round}


I'm still thinking about the 50 byte bonus.

Explanation:

def r=math.random //define a shortcut for math.random, which returns a number 0 <= n < 1
Seq.iterate(      //build a sequence,
r*30,             //starting with a random number bewteen 0 and 29
30                //and containing 30 elements.
){n=>             //Calculate each element by applying this function to the previous element
println(        //print...
(" "*30)             //30 spaces
updated(n.toInt,'.') //with the n-th char replaced with a dot
)               //and a newline.
//The next element is
(r*2-1+n)       //an random number between -1 and 1 plus n
round           //rounded to the nearest integer.
}


## Javascript, 125 (135 - 10)

q=Math.random,p=~~(q()*31)+1;for(i=0;i++<30;){s='',d=j=1;for(;j++<31;)s+=j==p?'.':" ";p+=q()<.5?1:-1;p-=p>28?2:p<2?-2:0;console.log(s)}


• Sadly, your solution does not qualify, compare your output with the output of other solutions. Shift the dot by one character. – reggaemuffin Feb 18 '14 at 12:23
• @Kostronor Oh! oh! I am so sorry! I forgot to read that part of the question! I will try to develop a new version soon. Thanks for pointing out! – Gaurang Tandon Feb 18 '14 at 12:25
• @Kostronor Program edited. – Gaurang Tandon Feb 18 '14 at 12:39

# JavaScript

### 114 chars - 10 (30 char lines) - 50 (pull dot towards the middle) = 54

for(f=Math.random,a=[],i=30,j=k=f()*i|0;i--;a[j]='.',a[j+=29-k]='\n',j+=k+=f()>k/29?1:-1);console.log(a.join('-'))


However, I noticed that a 10 character reward for filling up the lines to 30 chars may be a bad deal; so:

## 102 chars - 50 (pull dot towards the middle) = 52

for(f=Math.random,a=[],i=30,j=k=f()*i|0;i;i--,a[j]='.\n',j+=k+=f()>k/29?1:-1);console.log(a.join('-'))


Kudos to @WallyWest for the simplified pull direction conditional f()>k/29?1:-1, my first draft used two nested conditionals.

## Racket 227 bytes (-10 for 30 characters, -50 for shift to midline = 167)

At each step, dot is twice more likely to move towards midline than away from it:

(let lp((r(random 1 31))(c 0)(g(λ(n)(make-string n #\space))))(set! r
(cond[(< r 1)1][(> r 30)30][else r]))(printf"~a~a~a~n"(g r)"*"(g(- 29 r)))
(when(< c 30)(lp(+ r(first(shuffle(if(> r 15)'(-1 -1 1)'(1 1 -1)))))(add1 c)g)))


Ungolfed:

(define (f)
(let loop ((r (random 1 31))
(c 0)
(g (λ (n) (make-string n #\space))))
(set! r (cond
[(< r 1) 1]
[(> r 30) 30]
[else r] ))
(printf "~a~a~a~n" (g r) "*" (g (- 29 r)))
(when (< c 30)
(loop (+ r
(first
(shuffle
(if (> r 15)
'(-1 -1 1)
'(1 1 -1)))))
g))))


Testing:

(println "012345678901234567890123456789")
(f)


Output:

"012345678901234567890123456789"
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

• Nice solution! Racket is really interesting. You can give yourself the 50 bonus points and check if you apply for the extra 10 :-) – reggaemuffin Oct 5 '16 at 6:57