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    1. Day 25: Snowverload

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/25 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/25

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      8 votes
    2. Day 24: Never Tell Me The Odds

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/24 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/24

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      6 votes
    3. Does Linux From Scratch actually teach you anything?

      Two hours ago I randomly thought "hey, why not do LFS?", so I opened my laptop and started following the book. I've heard a lot of people say that LFS is great for learning how a Linux system...

      Two hours ago I randomly thought "hey, why not do LFS?", so I opened my laptop and started following the book. I've heard a lot of people say that LFS is great for learning how a Linux system works. However, so far it's just been a guide on how to compile different software and what autoconfig flags to use. I thought that maybe further chapters will have more information on how things work, but it seems like they all just contain a one-line description of a program and compilation instructions.

      If anyone here has done LFS, did you actually learn anything from it? Is it worth spending more time on?

      19 votes
    4. Day 23: A Long Walk

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/23 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/23

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      5 votes
    5. Day 16: The Floor Will Be Lava

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/16 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/16

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      9 votes
    6. I want to learn Android (with Kotlin) ... should I focus on Jetpack or the old XML style?

      I am an experienced programmer (mostly M$ stack -- C#, etc). I started learning mobile Android development a few months ago, learning both Kotlin and the larger Android development environment at...

      I am an experienced programmer (mostly M$ stack -- C#, etc).

      I started learning mobile Android development a few months ago, learning both Kotlin and the larger Android development environment at the same time. I got bogged down in tutorials and guides, because half of them teach Jetpack Compose methodology and half teach XML layout ... and, often enough, don't bother to mention which method they're using.

      Which should I learn first? I am initially interested in learning Android dev for my own hobby/fun/side projects, but I would--ultimately--like to be able to put "Android developer" on my resume.

      Jetpack definitely looks better, more modern, more OO, and I expect it will eventually become the new standard ... but that could still be many years down the road. Also, while it might be "better"--especially for larger projects--it also smells more complicated.

      So, ultimately, I guess I should learn both if I actually intend to become an Android dev ... but I should definitely get comfortable with one, first ... so, which one?

      11 votes
    7. Day 21: Step Counter

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/21 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/21

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      6 votes
    8. Day 2: Cube Conundrum

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/2 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/2

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      12 votes
    9. Cheap options(?) to run local AI models

      I have been having fun learning about generative AI. All in the cloud -- I got some models on hugging face to work, tried out Colab Pro, and found another cloud provider that runs SD models...

      I have been having fun learning about generative AI. All in the cloud -- I got some models on hugging face to work, tried out Colab Pro, and found another cloud provider that runs SD models (dreamlook.ai if anyone is interested).

      It's got me curious about trying to run something locally (mostly stable diffusion/dreambooth, possibly ollama).
      I currently have a Thinkpad T490 with 16 gb ram and the base-level graphics card. I haven't actually tried to run anything locally, on the assumption that it would be extremely slow. I saw that you can get an external GPU, though I also saw some reports of headaches trying to get external GPUs up and running.

      I am curious what a workstation might cost that could do a reasonable job running local models. I am not a huge gamer or have any other high performance needs that are not currently served by the Thinkpad; not sure I can justify a $3000 workstation just to make a few jpgs.

      I would be happy to buy something secondhand, like if there was a good source of off-lease workstations.

      Alternatively-- if you have a similar computer to the T490 and do run models locally, what sort of performance is reasonable to expect? Would it be enough to buy some more RAM for this laptop?

      Thanks for any advice!

      13 votes
    10. Day 20: Pulse Propagation

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/20 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/20

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      6 votes
    11. What programming/technical projects have you been working on?

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's...

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

      11 votes
    12. Day 14: Reflector Dish

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/14 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/14

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      9 votes
    13. Day 15: Lens Library

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/15 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/15

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      8 votes
    14. Day 18: Lavaduct Lagoon

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/18 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/18

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      8 votes
    15. Have you tried Fossil scm, an alternative to git?

      Have any of you tried out fossil as an alternative to git? I have been using it for about a week, and I think I am in love. I have used git for years, since having some sort of source control is...

      Have any of you tried out fossil as an alternative to git? I have been using it for about a week, and I think I am in love. I have used git for years, since having some sort of source control is absolutely essential in programming. But I never liked git or felt comfortable using it. Within a week of messing with fossil, I feel like I understand it and can use it without a guide or external tools. It also has an issue tracker, forums, and a wiki built in.

      Fossil Versus Git

      I recommend reading all of that, especially section 2.5. Their description of cathedral style development lines up much more closely to everything I have worked on than git's bazaar style. Another thing I love is the ability to have the same repo open in multiple different folders at the same time. Basically everything about fossil lines up much more closely with what I think a source control program should be, at least for my use.

      24 votes
    16. Day 17: Clumsy Crucible

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/17 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/17

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      10 votes
    17. File structure difference between NAS and cloud storage

      I have a NAS with a ton of photos and documents that have remained untouched for around 6 years. I uploaded all that stuff to OneDrive. Tidied it up and kept using OneDrive mostly. But I also sent...

      I have a NAS with a ton of photos and documents that have remained untouched for around 6 years. I uploaded all that stuff to OneDrive. Tidied it up and kept using OneDrive mostly. But I also sent stuff to the NAS. They have diverged.

      I'm thinking about ways of restructuring/sorting my NAS to match my OneDrive so that I can then sync the two. I thought about making a python script that would just match on file names and move them to the correct location.

      Figured before I did I'd ask if anyone else had any other suggestions

      12 votes
    18. What programming/technical projects have you been working on?

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's...

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

      10 votes
    19. What programming/technical projects have you been working on?

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's...

      This is a recurring post to discuss programming or other technical projects that we've been working on. Tell us about one of your recent projects, either at work or personal projects. What's interesting about it? Are you having trouble with anything?

      16 votes
    20. Day 12: Hot Spring

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/12 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/12

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      9 votes
    21. Day 13: Point of Incidence

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/13 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/13

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      8 votes
    22. Day 11: Cosmic Expansion

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/11 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/11

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      8 votes
    23. Day 9: Mirage Maintenance

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/9 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/9

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      9 votes
    24. Day 10: Pipe Maze

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/10 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/10

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      10 votes
    25. Day 8: Haunted Wasteland

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/8 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/8

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      12 votes
    26. Day 7: Camel Cards

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/7 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/7

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      13 votes
    27. Day 6: Wait For It

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/6 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/6

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      14 votes
    28. Day 5: If You Give A Seed A Fertilizer

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/5 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/5

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      13 votes
    29. [SOLVED] Recovering data in a very old, possibly corrupted tar archive?

      Hi all, There is a tar.gz whose contents I would like to access. The file itself is quite old, last being updated ~20 years ago if I had to guess (I am not sure if this is relevant). The file...

      Hi all,

      There is a tar.gz whose contents I would like to access. The file itself is quite old, last being updated ~20 years ago if I had to guess (I am not sure if this is relevant). The file contains legacy scientific code that I would like for archival purposes and can be found via the "code site" link here. However:

      • When I download the file and run tar -xvzf radpack.tar.gz I get an error: tar: Error opening archive: Unrecognized archive format.
      • Likewise, if I try to gunzip it I get gunzip: radpack.tar.gz: not in gzip format.
      • Running file radpack.tar.gz only yields radpack.tar.gx: data, indicating file cannot find anything out about it.
      • head radpack.tar.gz outputs a string of unintelligible unicode.

      These are the different solutions I have come across after searching this problem, and to me is good evidence that the file has been corrupted in some way and that may very well be the case. However, for archival and historical purposes it would be great if I could access the contents, so I am compelled to search out other solutions. Are there other options I can try here? Is there some way to confirm that the file is in fact corrupted beyond recovery? Any help on this point would be greatly appreciated. I posted this on stack exchange as well but figured maybe the smart folks here might know.

      EDIT:

      Just to be clear this has been solved — a functioning copy of the archive was found.

      17 votes
    30. Fortnightly Programming Q&A Thread

      General Programming Q&A thread! Ask any questions about programming, answer the questions of other users, or post suggestions for future threads. Don't forget to format your code using the triple...

      General Programming Q&A thread! Ask any questions about programming, answer the questions of other users, or post suggestions for future threads.

      Don't forget to format your code using the triple backticks or tildes:

      Here is my schema:
      
      ```sql
      CREATE TABLE article_to_warehouse (
        article_id   INTEGER
      , warehouse_id INTEGER
      )
      ;
      ```
      
      How do I add a `UNIQUE` constraint?
      
      4 votes
    31. Day 4: Scratchcards

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/4 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/4

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      12 votes
    32. Join the Tildes Advent of Code leaderboard!

      In the comments of the previous AoC post @first-must-run asked if there is a private leaderboard for Tildes, and I didn't manage to find one, so I decided to share my invite code so that we can...

      In the comments of the previous AoC post @first-must-run asked if there is a private leaderboard for Tildes, and I didn't manage to find one, so I decided to share my invite code so that we can track our progress together.

      Please LMK if there is already an existing leaderboard from a previous year.

      The join code is 2183006-a14e4b86, you can join here.

      16 votes
    33. Day 3: Gear Ratios

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/3 Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it...

      Today's problem description: https://adventofcode.com/2023/day/3

      Please post your solutions in your own top-level comment. Here's a template you can copy-paste into your comment to format it nicely, with the code collapsed by default inside an expandable section with syntax highlighting (you can replace python with any of the "short names" listed in this page of supported languages):

      <details>
      <summary>Part 1</summary>
      
      ```python
      Your code here.
      ```
      
      </details>
      
      15 votes