Wikipedia:Reference desk/Computing
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Latest comment: 1 hour ago by Lambiam in topic Estimating nodes in a tree for depth-first search
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August 19
editShortest video game
editA Short Hike (as the name suggests) can be beaten within a few hours. What other games are like that? JuniperChill (talk) 19:18, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
- "50 Games Like" aims to be a weighted-category based games recomendation engine. Just based on A Short Hike, it lists these games. But that's based on all the categories A Short Hike is in ("cute", "adventure", "exploration", etc.). If you just want "short" games, you click on just the category button and it gives you short games in all genres (which aren't like A Short Hike, except in shortness). Subjectively, it looks more useful than Steam's recommendation engine, which gives me some fairly bonkers suggestions ("you liked FTL, so you might like Doom Eternal"). -- Finlay McWalter··–·Talk 19:40, 19 August 2025 (UTC)
- Finlay's answer is excellent, but I can't help mention that the original Portal game is both famously short and considered one of the best games of all time. If shortness is the prime criteria, you could do worse. But apart from the duration, it's nothing like A Short Hike. Matt Deres (talk) 12:40, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
- Guess that means that A Short Hike is unique in its shortness, cosiness, and adventure. Lil Gator Game is quite close in terms of layout and that the player can climb but idk about its length since I haven't played the latter, but have played the former. I was mostly focusing on shortness, hence the title of the discussion. JuniperChill (talk) 19:37, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
- Check out https://howlongtobeat.com/user/a19xys/lists/25829/%5B-Short-%26-Good-(-5h)-%5D, perhaps. Aaron Liu (talk) 23:37, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
- @JuniperChill In Far Cry 4, if you just sit at the table and wait for Pagan Min to return, it is a very short video game. Less than 15 minutes. Polygnotus (talk) 00:56, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
- Well, consuming the crab rangoon can't be so bad it's considered an "adventure", can it? Aaron Liu (talk) 01:04, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
- @Aaron Liu Traveling to a country far away, ending up in a firefight in which some people get killed, seeing a murder close-up (over a simple miscommunication), getting invited to the palace of the dictator of said country as a VIP guest, bringing moms ashes to their final resting place and learning about your tragic family history is quite an adventure (although some would just call that Tuesday). Polygnotus (talk) 13:40, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
- Well, consuming the crab rangoon can't be so bad it's considered an "adventure", can it? Aaron Liu (talk) 01:04, 21 August 2025 (UTC)
August 20
editWhich year American staté the bill on count
editWe need to know that year 41.114.142.143 (talk) 05:21, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
- I can't understand the question. ―Panamitsu (talk) 06:41, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
- Are you sure this question is about computing, which includes information technology, electronics, software and hardware? Otherwise, please post it at a more fitting section of the reference desk. If the question is about history, politics or economics, the appropriate section is Reference desk/Humanities. Also, do not repost your question as it is now. Please rephrase it, so that we have a chance to understand the question. ‑‑Lambiam 13:21, 20 August 2025 (UTC)
- Google AI says: The United States passed the Coinage Act of 1792, which established the U.S. dollar as the unit of currency and mandated that public accounts and court proceedings use this standard, making it the first "bill on count" in the sense of the financial unit. Shantavira|feed me 17:45, 23 August 2025 (UTC)
- I am unaware of count having a sense "dollar" (or any financial unit). ‑‑Lambiam 13:09, 24 August 2025 (UTC)
- AI is aware of all sorts of imaginary stuff. Shantavira|feed me 07:54, 25 August 2025 (UTC)
- I am unaware of count having a sense "dollar" (or any financial unit). ‑‑Lambiam 13:09, 24 August 2025 (UTC)
September 1
editEstimating nodes in a tree for depth-first search
editI need to traverse a large tree with a depth-first search. I need an estimate of the number of nodes to get an idea if it is feasible to do it. What I have in mind is to start the search but at each node, select one edge at random. Keep track of the branching factor at each level. Then repeat this maybe 105 times and get an average branching factor at each level. Then multiply the branching factors to get an estimate of the total number of nodes.
Should this give a reasonable estimate of the total number of nodes? Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 22:18, 1 September 2025 (UTC)
- If you know nothing about the tree in advance you will still not know, as the branches may go to any huge depth, including those branches you don't go near. Are you going to go full depth 105 times? That would give you some sort of probabilistic idea, but not any certainty. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 10:18, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
- Do you have any way of knowing or estimating the total number of nodes? That in conjunctin with your "branching factor" might give a better estimate. —scs (talk) 10:48, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
- I think the point of the described sampling method is to obtain an estimate of the total number of nodes, to be used to determine whether a full traversal is feasible. ‑‑Lambiam 14:44, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
- Assume you have a finite tree with a gazillion nodes that is completely linear: each internal node has exactly one child. With your method, you compute, each of these 105 times, the product of the branching factors as being 1gazillion = 1, which is not a good estimate. ‑‑Lambiam 15:09, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
September 2
editWhat does illegal mean in the context of HTML?
editTo use it in a sentence (no pun intended), it's illegal to place a div inside an inline tag. – MrPersonHumanGuy (talk) 01:15, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
- It violates the specs of the HTML syntax, is not correct HTML, and may be expected to cause renderers to behave erratically. Aaron Liu (talk) 03:05, 2 September 2025 (UTC)