Using Sensors and Remote Controls in ToonTalk

Using Sensors and Remote Controls

If you flip over a picture, you'll see a notebook fly out. In the notebook you'll find sensors and remote controls for the picture. Sensors keep showing you something about the picture. Remote controls let you change things. Sometimes they are combined. Controllers are what we call sensors, remote controls, and combinations. Special sensors are in a special sensor notebook.

Most controllers show a number that you can change just like any number. And when you do something about the picture changes as well. Also when you change the picture some other way the number changes automatically. Some controllers show text or pictures. You can change many of them by pressing the space bar, while holding it or pointing to it.

Tip. To try out what a controller does, take it out and set it down on the floor. Flip the picture back over and set it down. Change the controller and see what happens. Or change the picture and see how the controller changes.

Tip. Controllers sense or change the picture they are on the back side of. If they have never been on the back of a picture then they must have come from a notebook that lives on the back of a picture. Then they'll control that picture.

Advanced Tip. If you want to place a sensor for a picture A on the back of picture B then the sensor needs to be sitting on a nest or else it will become a sensor for B when dropped on the back. We recommend using this only when pictures A and B are closely related to maintain modularity of your program. The protection that nests provide from switching which picture is being controlled applies as well to sensors brought to the nest by birds as well as those placed there directly by the programmer.

Here is the list of controllers you'll find in a picture's notebook:

Page 2 - From Left Side: Picture's distance from the left side. If the picture isn't part of another picture then 0 is the left edge of the screen and 1000 is the right edge of the screen. If the picture has been added to another picture then 0 is the left edge of the picture it is a part of and 1000 is its right edge.
Page 4 - From Bottom: Picture's distance from the bottom. If the picture isn't part of another picture then 0 is the bottom of the screen and 1000 is the top of the screen. If the picture has been added to another picture then 0 is the bottom of the picture it is a part of and 1000 is its top.
Page 6 - Speed to Right: Speed the picture moves toward the right. 1000 means it'll cross the screen in 1 second. Negative means it'll move to the left.
Page 8 - Speed to Top: Speed the picture moves toward the top. 1000 means it'll cross the screen in 1 second. Negative means it'll move to the bottom.
Page 10 - Width: The width of the picture. 1000 means as wide as the screen. Or if the picture is part of another than as wide as the other picture.
Page 12 - Height: The height of the picture. 1000 means as tall as the screen. Or if the picture is part of another than as tall as the other picture.
Page 14 - Which Picture?: Some pictures or animations have different appearances. Some have 4 or 8 different directions they can move. This controller shows the number of the picture being shown. For rectangles, circles and lines, it controls the color of the geometric shape. For text and number pads it controls the color of the characters. Changing the value of this remote control for pictures that are built-in animations (e.g. an animated explosion) will reset the animation cycle so it start again from the beginning.
Page 16 - Colliding?: This controller shows a simple cartoon of either a collision or a miss. You can turn a collision into a miss by pointing to the detector and pressing the space bar.
Page 18 - Touching Who?: This sensor shows who the picture is colliding with. It is black if nothing. If the picture is colliding with more than one just one is shown. You can use Dusty to vacuum off the top picture to see others. Also you can flip over those pictures you vacuum off. You will have the remote control for the Looks of the picture that is colliding. If there is a bird on the back this can be very useful.
Page 20 - Left Right hit?: Like the controller on page 16 except only shows a collision if it was mostly the left or right movement of the picture which caused it.
Page 22 - Up Down hit?: Like the controller on page 16 except only shows a collision if it was mostly the up or down movement of the picture which caused it.
Page 24 - Visible?: This controls whether the picture is invisible or visible. Also whether the background is visible or not.
Page 26 - Animation Finished?: This sensor answers the question "Has my animation stopped?". Some animations like walking never stop. Others like explosions stop and don't cycle.
Page 28 - Held in Hand?: This sensor answers the question "Is the picture currently held?".
Page 30 - Selected?: This sensor answers the question "Is the picture wiggling and ready to be picked up or used?".
Page 32 - Just Dropped?: This sensor answers the question "Has this picture just been dropped?".
Page 34 - Looks: This one shows what the picture currently looks like. You (or a robot you've trained) can drop a different picture (or a number or text pad) here and the picture will be covered by the new picture. If you erase the looks controller of the front side of picture A and drop another picture B on top then A will then look like B. If you are running version 2.34 or Beta 26 or later then this sensor can show either side of a picture. You can flip it by typing 'f' while holding it. This way you can train robots to view and alter either the front or backside of a picture. If you erase the sensor showing the back of a picture then everything on the back is removed. This sensor is great for making objects explode or numbers that change as the score changes or thousands of other neat uses.
Page 36 - Parts: This contains an ordinary box which contains remote controls for the looks of all the pictures that are directly on top of this picture. It contains one remote control for the looks of each picture per hole. Or if the picture is flipped it contains a box with a hole for each thing on the back. You can vacuum the box off the sensor and manipulate its contents (but adding or removing holes has no effect). If you want, for example, a robot to remove a particular part you can train the robot to find the part by going through the elements in the box until you find the part. Then you can place a box and a robot on the back that has been trained to blow up a bomb. If you use Dusty to erase the sensor you'll remove all the parts from the picture. You can also flip the sensor (by typing 'f') and it'll show the parts on the other side of the picture.
Page 38 - Containers: This contains a box. If the picture is part of another picture the first hole of the box will contain that picture. The second hole contains the picture that picture is a part of and so on. You can vacuum off the box and manipulate it.