explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1188: Bonding

2013-03-21T08:18:20Z

134.106.146.36: comment

The aim method results in an infinite loop/stack overflow, note that ball is an exception of type Ball. This results in a logical flow of aim, "throw," "catch," repeat, though this is only logical by word choice, and is nonsensical from a programming perspective.

Pretty sure the code is also intentionally hard to follow. {{unsigned|‎108.48.215.61}}

The try/catch parts are just for show, they cancel each other out.
The structure is that you have a parent and a child instance (of class P), each has a 'target' pointed to the other.
Then calling aim with a ball will call the others aim with the ball, which will call the firsts aim with the ball. Etc etc.

I guess after about a 1000 aims the jvm will throw you out, stating stack overflow, and the bonding game is over. {{unsigned|212.214.117.162}}

Nice catch game :)
I had to test it:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.StackOverflowError
in my setup with default VM settings after 6612 iterations (I added a static counter variable).
The game could get even more "exciting" by using more than two Ps and adding randomization in who is aimed at. And maybe a miss block ;) (need to hack the compiler and VM for that though...)
[[Special:Contributions/134.106.146.36|134.106.146.36]] 09:31, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

:I don't think any parent will last so long. On the other hand, if you always catch the ball, one iteration doesn't take so long, it's the missing which makes the game long ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:56, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

::So true. I start to feel tempted to write a real catch game in Java. Btw: Of course not in Eclipse (please...). I use an IDE where everything works and I don't have to wait all the time. ;) [[Special:Contributions/134.106.146.36|134.106.146.36]] 08:15, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

Hmmm "Eclipse: The Codex Persona" is also a d20 gaming system which offers enormous customization of characters. The mention of building character and Eclipse in the same sentence just brought that to the front of my mind. No idea if that has relation to the comic. --[[Special:Contributions/50.0.36.182|50.0.36.182]] 07:38, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

Did anyone else have a D'AWWWWWW moment when you realized what was happening? I knew it was a pun on throw and catch, but it took till the end for me to realize it was a parent and a child playing catch.[[Special:Contributions/74.14.31.164|74.14.31.164]] 12:53, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

The one problem with this is that the way the try/catch is set up, they aren't actually throwing to each other. Parent throws the ball, then catches it themselves, then child does the same thing. It's still clever though. [[User:Prometheusmmiv|Prometheusmmiv]] ([[User talk:Prometheusmmiv|talk]]) 11:38, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

:I thought exactly the same. Here's a modified version where they actually throw to each other:
class Ball extends Throwable{}

class P{
P target;
Ball ballInTow;

P(P target, Ball ball) {
this.target = target;
this.ballInTow = ball;
}
void tease() {
try {
target.youDontDare();
}
catch(Ball b){
ballInTow = b;
target.tease();
}
}
void youDontDare() throws Ball {
throw ballInTow;
}
public static void main(String [] args) {
P parent = new P(null, new Ball());
P child = new P(parent, null);
parent.target = child;
child.tease();
}
}

[[Special:Contributions/88.9.44.85|88.9.44.85]] 15:41, 20 March 2013 (UTC)
:: I was thinking about how do this correctly, with the throw bubbling up to the other person. And I realized that in order for the recursion to work, there would have to be a double method where the catcher asks (or "teases") the thrower to throw, then catches it in that method. I was going to write up a version like this, but I had to leave for work. But I'm glad that somebody else was thinking like me and was able to write up a correct version :) [[User:Prometheusmmiv|Prometheusmmiv]] ([[User talk:Prometheusmmiv|talk]]) 22:06, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

The code is an odd way of making a loop in Java -- creating two objects (of class P, called "parent" and "child") which repeatedly throw and catch another object (of class Ball) between one another. The sole purpose of this is to create the pun referred to in the title: it's a real-life cliché that a parent and child may "bond" by playing catch. [[Special:Contributions/81.31.112.212|81.31.112.212]] 07:14, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

Title text talks about "to build character" in the way usually a father tries to help a child to define "attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual"[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/character], so I suppose that the "confusing Eclipse" is a pun itself. Perhaps it is a reference to Eclipse novel by Stephenie Meyer (the kind of book that raises a lot of moral dilemma in a young adult).
--[[User:Andcoz|Andcoz]] ([[User talk:Andcoz|talk]]) 12:49, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

I think there is another pun in it: The class "Ball" is a child-class of "Throwable" which makes sense because you can throw a ball. But "Throwable" is also the main exception-class from which the real exception classes like "Exception" or "Error" inherit. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 12:50, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

I think it's sad that this family always dies in a most unfortunate crash. Here's an alternate ending in which they try just a little bit harder, so they return home for dinner when they're out because they didn't catch the ball:
class Ball extends Throwable {}
class P{
P target;
P(P target) {
this.target = target;
}
void aim (Ball ball) {
try {
throw ball;
}
catch (Ball B) {
try {
target.aim(B);
}
catch(Error made) {
return;
}
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
P parent = new P(null);
P child = new P(parent);
parent.target = child;
parent.aim(new Ball());
System.out.println("Dinner's ready!");
}
}
[[User:Jfresen|Jfresen]] ([[User talk:Jfresen|talk]]) 14:10, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

Personally, I think Randal missed a trick with the alt text - "My parent tried playing catch with me and all I got was this lousy stack overflow." That said, Eclipse is driving me nuts at the moment, so I can sympathise! --[[Special:Contributions/81.187.166.32|81.187.166.32]] 22:59, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

:I feel for you. But there is other IDEs out there, where things work, usage and shortcuts are not awkward (depending on what you are used too, of course) and you don't have to wait all the time, if you don't have a Core i7 and SSD... There is hope ;) (and I sometimes have to use Eclipse, too, for the GWT plugin) [[Special:Contributions/134.106.146.36|134.106.146.36]] 08:18, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1188: Bonding

2013-03-21T08:15:06Z

134.106.146.36: comment

Talk:1188: Bonding

2013-03-20T09:31:15Z

134.106.146.36: added a comment

1092: Michael Phelps

2012-08-15T10:33:10Z

134.106.146.36: type

{{comic
| horizontal = yes
| number = 1092
| date = August 8, 2012
| title = Michael Phelps
| image = michael phelps.png
| titletext = [shortly] ... he ate ALL of it!?
| imagesize =
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Michael Phelps}} is an American {{w|Olympics|Olympic}} swimmer, who could easily be considered the best swimmer worldwide: he is the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, with 22 medals, 18 of them gold (won in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 summer Olympics). He was most dominant in the 2008 Beijing Olympics where he won gold in all of the eight events in which he competed (the record for a single games).

This comic is a take on the idea that, Michael Phelps being (irritatingly) fast and uncatchable in a pool, a quirky yet simple trick one might imagine to nullify his pool supremacy, would be to turn the water into {{w|Jello}}, a gelatine product, by simply dropping a huge quantity of Jello powder in the pool.

In the comic, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] try to get rid of Michael Phelps (as if he were a common pest like an animal) who is swimming in Megan's pool. As they can't catch him since he swims too fast (and he taunts them about it), Cueball resorts to the Jello trick, bringing big boxes of Jello powder, to stop and catch him.

However, according to the title-text, after having waited the time necessary for the water to solidify, Cueball realizes that Phelps has eaten all of the resulting Jello. This may be a reference to Phelps being used to eating impressive food quantities (about 12,000 calories daily), to keep up with his strenuous exercise regimen;<sup>[http://www.michaelphelps.net/michael-phelps-diet/]</sup> or it may be a reference to pictures of Phelps smoking from a bong that arose after the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, as Marijuana use is often associated with an increased appetite. Otherwise, the text may simply be be a reference to Phelps being capable of achieving super-human feats, such as devouring an entire pool full of Jello.

{{Comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]