Indeed, '\0' is the sentinel character for uncounted strings in C, and even if your own counted string implementation is “null-byte clean”, aspects of the underlying system may not be (Windows and Unix filesystems forbid embedded null characters, for example).
TuxPaint is just as fun for adult artists, especially using a stylus touchscreen. The Magic tools have unique digital-grunge effects that a more respectable paint program won’t have (my favorite is Chalk). I only recommend replacing the stock colors with something like Dawnbringer’s 16- or 32-color palette.
Between this and the iPad used as a display for a headless MacBook it’s an ongoing tragedy that the best use case for such world-class computing hardware is as a screen for another device (which is itself running the same OS, on comparable or weaker hardware!)
The hardware stack pointer is restricted to indexing within [$0100, $01ff] but, lacking a stack-pointer-relative addressing mode, it is more preferable to realize a parameter stack using a zero-page pointer indexed with the (zp),Y addressing mode, as cc65 does.
I have executive dysfunction and get blocked by obsessive worries. Dumping it into an LLM lets me escape the panic and get relaxed and unstuck. It's better at this than any human manager I've ever had.
I've got dyslexia and adhd that makes it hard for me to do long form software engineering writing like requirements analysis and test plans. With an LLM I can really quickly sketch the use case, create a reasonable list of requirements, break those into stories, and write implementation stubs and unit test cases. It's like having a really decent project manager on the payroll, when before I couldn't manage the complexity of the writing a good system spec.
Obviously in both cases it's me doing the thinking. But again just me, in both cases, would be stuck and completely overwhelmed.
This kind of co-regulation is incredibly valuable, even for me as a fairly educated developer. But perhaps you're right. It's not real thinking. I would say that this kind of AI assisted co-regulatory interaction could be called "co-thinking".
The idea is that the llm has certain cognitive and material weaknesses that I cover for it, like fact checking, big picture thinking, and true identity/agency. And in at the same time, it's able to cover certain cognitive and communication weaknesses that I have.
The result is that I'm much more technically independent than ever before, and can do things in my career that my disabilities prevented before. That matters a lot to me, and is my very personal reason for believing this tech will matter to humanity.
Even the most measured emotional appeal is considered unprofessional on the basis that it appeals to humanity; it is “unfair” to appeal to someone on a para-rational level. You can’t reason away how someone’s face dropping, their voice breaking up, makes you feel.
