I started work on a module I'd always thought I might actually be able to write should I figure out all the wonderful data structures involved: Game::Matrix.
This would be a solver for game matrices -- that is, plug in the matrix for, say, rock-paper-scissors, and it will provide you with (should it work correctly) the random rock/paper/scissors strategy.
This is simple, relatively straightforward algebra -- there's just an assload of it, and it's lots of point-to-that and refer-to-this. My reference-fu is getting a severe workout in dealing with this.
Halfway through scribbling this down at the ER and trying to concieve of how to keep all this stuff separated, I decided to switch to an object-oriented solution. I'm debating about switching back to mere procedural code, because the more I write, the more the OO is getting in the way.
I do need the practice, though.
I've started farting around with some stuff based on some of the Spidering Hacks, too. I'm curious -- if a website's TOS doesn't specifically prohibit use of their CGI, and their robots file doesn't specifically prohibit use of their CGI, does that mean it's fair game as long as you're careful not to be utterly boneheaded? Or is it still more polite to ask?
What do most folks do when they decide to spider? What do people do differently if they're home-brewing a personal utility as opposed to writing something that their friends might use, or something that a tiny business might use? (If this seems like a stupid question, know that I have, in my life, gradually become aware that I don't really have any knowledge in advance about whether or not people will be mortally offended by the things I do. As a result, I've gotten in the habit of asking other people's advice about things that typically seem obviously nonoffensive (or obviously offensive) to them.)
