XKCD Deploys Command Line Interface 288
ipquickly was one of a large number of users to note that the best on-line comic has just got a little better with the addition of a command line interface. You can also sign the petition to make the CLI permanent.
Dear Slashdot, (Score:5, Interesting)
that was funny. Learn from him.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
up up down down left right left right b a
do it a bunch of times
Re:Dear Slashdot, (Score:5, Interesting)
Flamewar time!
guest@xkcd:/$ vi
You should really use emacs.
guest@xkcd:/$ emacs
You should really use vim.
guest@xkcd:/$ ed
You are not a diety.
guest@xkcd:/$ nano
You should really use an editor.
Re:Dear Slashdot, (Score:5, Interesting)
Even better:
guest@xkcd:/$ whoami
You are Richard Stallman.
Also, a rather weird command execution:
guest@xkcd:/$ kill
Terminator deployed to 1984
But,
guest@xkcd:/$ kill 1
Unrecognized command. Type "help" for assistance.
Command parser definitely needs some work
guest@xkcd:/$ sudo -i
sudo: -i: command not found
Also I demand, while, for, if and which.
Re: (Score:2)
guest@xkcd:/$ sudo -i
sudo: -i: command not found
Ah, but:
guest@xkcd:/$ sudo make me a sandwich
Okay.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Shell shortcuts work, and the sandwich joke is in there, too...
guest@xkcd:/$ make me a sandwich
What? Make it yourself.
guest@xkcd:/$ sudo !!
sudo make me a sandwich
Okay.
Re: (Score:2, Redundant)
Re: (Score:2)
Also:
guest@xkcd:/$ finger
Mmmmmm...
guest@xkcd:/$ strip
Unrecognized command. Type "help" for assistance.
Re:Dear Slashdot, (Score:5, Funny)
$ make love
I put on my robe and wizard hat.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
sudo shutdown
su
cat (without a filename)
who
look
and then various go east/west/south
Re:Dear Slashdot, (Score:4, Interesting)
Also, Arial? WTF, Slashdot? At least pick Verdana or Georgia in the stylesheets, two decent web fonts that ship with Windows. And why haven't we ever been able to post limited pre-formatted snippets of code? Not to mention some sort of glyph coverage beyond ASCII...?
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Slashdot's not using Arial, it's using the browser's default sans-serif font. For me, this is Helvetica.
Re:Dear Slashdot, (Score:4, Interesting)
Right now for me it is:
font-family:arial,sans-serif;
Which is arial for me and anyone that has it installed, regardless of your browsers default choice (Calibri here) . If you are getting Helvetica you are probably using a mac.
Brings up a interesting point, is there an addon/other way to make Firefox not use arial even if its installed and the page explicitly requests it?
Re: (Score:2)
The funny thing is that the first thing I wondered was if I could get actual filesystem access through that somehow.
I love my blackhat side.
In this day and age... (Score:5, Insightful)
It would feel delicious, to me, that right when the iPad comes out, designed for people to consume more ephemeral and pointless information than ever, that a site like this would make itself slightly more exclusive by moving backwards on the user interface timeline.
Bless your heart, xkcd!
Re:In this day and age... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:In this day and age... (Score:5, Funny)
I work in the internet porn industry and we go for sites that can be surfed one handed.
Re: (Score:2)
I support web sites that force both hands to be doing something.
Hey, I can always find something to do with my other hand. ...
Huh? No; I meant I can pick up my cup of coffee and take a drink. Why did you think I meant something else?
backwards?! (Score:2)
I found the interface, joke or no joke, to be exceedingly awesome from a functional standpoint.
I want MORE websites with a design like this.
No tab completion! (Score:5, Insightful)
What is a shell without tab complete?!? Even Windows supports it.
Re:No tab completion! (Score:4, Informative)
What is a shell without tab complete?!? Even Windows supports it.
However, I was impressed that it implemented up-down arrow command history, and even "ls".
I tried "rm -rf /" but permission was denied. :-)
Re: (Score:2)
> I tried "rm -rf /" but permission was denied. :-)
Be glad it wasn't granted. Locally.
Re: (Score:2)
I tried "rm -rf /" but permission was denied. :-)
I almost tried that... reflexively in Konsole.
Re: (Score:2)
What is a shell without tab complete?!? Even Windows supports it.
What is a shell without tab completion? A traditional shell (get off my lawn). Tab completion was simply not available in shells for much of the history of Unix. Stepping away from the Linux world, it's quite common today to still find shells without tab completion.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
That's okay. They made up for it by occasionally disabling your backspace key, though it would have been better if they had inserted ^H, too. Or maybe that was just a random glitch.
Re: (Score:2)
Most of the fun comes from guessing the available commands.
Re: (Score:2)
Most of the fun comes finding the available commands in the source code.
There, FTFY
Re:No tab completion! (Score:4, Informative)
Re:No tab completion! (Score:4, Informative)
The code is GPL'd and on Gitbub.
http://github.com/chromakode/xkcdfools [github.com]
Elsewhere Public Works (Score:2)
XKCD's CLI a lot easier to use than the Elsewhere Public Works BBS:
http://elsewherepublicworks.com/ [elsewherepublicworks.com]
(Yes, it's part of an ARG. And yes, if you live anywhere near San Francisco you should be playing it already.)
Wait...this is a real story. (Score:5, Funny)
Slashdot has completely missed the point of April fools day. They posted a REAL story in amongst the entire useless days worth of fake ones.
uname (Score:5, Informative)
guest@xkcd:/$ uname
Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator
and
guest@xkcd:/$ su ... aw, screw it, go have fun.
God mode activated. Remember, with great power comes great
I lol'ed.
Re: (Score:2)
guest@xkcd:/$ whoami
You are Richard Stallman.
guest@xkcd:/$ cat
You're a kitty!
guest@xkcd:/$ bash
You bash your head against the wall. It's not very effective.
Re: (Score:2)
Try:
guest@xkcd:/$ whoami
Other fun things to do (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Other fun things to do (Score:5, Informative)
Everything is containted in this javascript:
http://www.xkcd.com/unixkcd/xkcd_cli_all.js [xkcd.com]
You can root around to figure out some of the more obscure commands.
Re:Other fun things to do (Score:4, Informative)
If you get it from here it's a little more readable: http://github.com/chromakode/xkcdfools/blob/master/xkcd_cli.js [github.com]
(found via the "source code" link at the bottom of xkcd.com)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The Konami code is anything but obscure my good man...
And it is also awsome.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
try wget http://google.com/ [google.com]
it creates and iframe and loads the URL in there.
Re: (Score:2)
You have to start the url with "http://", or else it'll try to load "http://www.xkcd.com/$URL" in the iframe.
Re: (Score:2)
$ wget http://www.slashdot.org/ [slashdot.org]
Re: (Score:2)
guest@xkcd:/$ look
You are at a computer using unixkcd.
Exits: west, south
guest@xkcd:/$ go west
sudo (Score:5, Funny)
Okay.
http://xkcd.com/149/ [xkcd.com]
Oblig. Sandwich. (Score:5, Funny)
guest@xkcd:/$ make me a sandwich
What? Make it yourself.
guest@xkcd:/$ sudo make me a sandwich
Okay.
guest@xkcd:/$
Re: (Score:2)
*poof*
You're a sandwich.
"best" (Score:2, Funny)
xkcd!?? But you just said "the best webcom-..
OH I GET IT APRIL FOOLS
Potty brain... (Score:2)
Yes, sometimes I'm immature. But it's fun to find Easter eggs like this:
guest@xkcd:/$ go left
You cannot go left.
guest@xkcd:/$ go right
You cannot go right.
guest@xkcd:/$ go forward
You cannot go forward.
guest@xkcd:/$ kill
Terminator deployed to 1984
guest@xkcd:/$ fuck
I have a headache.
guest@xkcd:/$ help fuck
That would be cheating!
Re:Potty brain... (Score:5, Funny)
guest@xkcd:/$ go up
You cannot go up.
guest@xkcd:/$ go down
On our first date?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
guest@xkcd:/$ look
You are at a computer using unixkcd.
Exits: west, south
guest@xkcd:/$ go west
Life is peaceful there.
Exits: east, west
guest@xkcd:/$ go west
In the open air.
Exits: east, west
guest@xkcd:/$ go west
Where the skies are blue.
Exits: east, west
guest@xkcd:/$ go west
This is what we're gonna do.
Exits: east, west
guest@xkcd:/$ go west
Sun in wintertime.
Exits: east, west
guest@xkcd:/$ go west
We will do just fine.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Whatever you do don't "go south" (Score:3, Interesting)
The new format is a bit more adventurous than it looks at first blush.
I get "Sorry, the CLI requires JavaScript to work" (Score:2)
I assumed initially that that was the joke. I guess a blank, unreponsive screen is funnier, though (but the prompt should be a single ".").
Re: (Score:2)
Now I see that it requires googleapis.com. ROFL.
WGET! (Score:2, Informative)
# wget http://www.xkcd.com/ [xkcd.com]
You're going to love it.
Shutdown? (Score:3, Interesting)
Text adventure! (sorta) (Score:2)
Try looking around. Then try going west, young man.
Check the source (Score:2)
The source code is available if you want to spoil all the jokes. There's a link on the bottom.
Fun stuff (Score:2)
$ whoami
$ wget http://www.google.com/ [google.com]
$ sudo rm -rf /
$ vim
$ emacs
$ nano
Now I will cheat and read the source code.
Nerdiness (Score:2)
Awesome nerdiness. PgUp and PgDn work too. Now all it needs is a searching function:
grep Megan xkcd | more
Because we all know how much of a babe she is, even if she could stand to gain a few pounds.
Re: (Score:2)
"date" = March 32nd
Infinite lives (Score:2)
Konami code FTW.
Still doesn't protect you from that grue, though.
I read the source code. (Score:2, Informative)
Also, I cheated and read all the other commands [github.com] you can use. (They're near the bottom of that file.)
Note to Neal Stephenson (Score:2)
A shell that requires JavaScript?!? (Score:2)
In my day, command shells didn't require JavaScript just to work. And we had to type both sides of the exchange, uphill both ways, and in the snow.
Re: (Score:2)
> And we had to type both sides of the exchange, uphill both ways, and in the
> snow.
Lazy sods. We had to mail in decks of punch cards.
Re: (Score:2)
You had punch cards? We had to send in a textual description of the plugboard configuration. In triplicate. In Morse code. Over a telegraph line.
undocumented commands I've seen: (Score:5, Informative)
(most taken from the xkcd forum thread)
of course, (sudo) make me a sandwich
uname
su
sudo shutdown
sudo reboot
logout
pwd
lpr
clear
rm -rf /
find kitten
buy stuff
echo
finger
goto
date
irc/wget/curl
wget/curl xkcd.com
ping
vi/vim/emacs/nano
apt-get (moo)
sudo apt-get (update/upgrade/dist-upgrade)
moo
hello (joshua)
man (help) (cat) (last) (next)
go (west) (east) (south) (north)
look
light (lamp)
xyzzy
whoami
i read the source code
asl
cheat
buy stuff
Re: (Score:2)
and "reddit", though that's in the released source.
Re: (Score:2)
there is also this :(){ :|:& };:
Cool (Score:2)
guest@xkcd:/$ cheat
*** FREE SHIPPING ENABLED ***
Awesome. So fucking awesome.
guest@xkcd:/$ sudo rm -rf /
guest@xkcd:/$ ls
Unrecognized command. Type "help" for assistance.
inspiration: pax lineups.. (Score:2)
Very funny. Does seem inspired by the get in line Game at PAX and PAX East. (He was at pax east last weekend)
While waiting in line, a host types text on a green screen type of term and asks questions to the crowd and launches interactive games, playable through txt'ing.
More info on their website.
http://getinlinegames.com/ [getinlinegames.com]
I'm using w3m you insensitive clod! (Score:2)
--More--
Alt-Ctrl- SCR LOCK
unixkcd
A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.
Sorry, the CLI requires JavaScript to work. Please turn on JavaScript, or try the GUI Interface.
Art by Randall Munroe. XKCD CLI by Chromakode. Original CLI2 by Rod McFarland. Source code.
Ironically, I can use the GUI interface just fine. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
PC LOAD LETTER (Score:2)
My only disappointment was that I didn't get a witty response when I typed "What the fuck does that mean?" in response to "PC LOAD LETTER". Oh well, 99/100 aint bad!
Possible bug? (Score:2, Interesting)
April Fools (Score:2)
So who wants to agree with me that Slashdot's April Fools was way more of an annoyance than it was anything positive. I visit news sites for news. If i wanted mock news I'd go to the Onion (which is great).
having troubles... (Score:2)
Obligatory xkcd (Score:2)
http://www.xkcd.com/ [xkcd.com]
it is now April 2nd @ 12:01 AM EDT (Score:2, Informative)
fun all done
The petition is unnecessary... (Score:5, Informative)
...it's still there if you use this link: http://xkcd.com/unixkcd/ [xkcd.com]
Re:The petition is unnecessary... (Score:4, Informative)
Not working for me either in FF or IE. Though I get no js errors. Just a prompt where I can't type anything.
Re: (Score:2)
Started out with
sudo reboot
oops :)
Re: (Score:2)
I actually saw more of their site by the command line than I normaly do. I normaly read the comics. On the command line I explored and found they are building a school in Laos. Wow, I never knew that before. It is amazing what can be found from the command line. I like it.
It was harder to read the comics from it though. I'll have to keep looking to find the archive.
Re: (Score:2)
I loved typing next once, then (up arrow) (enter) over and over.
Yes, but (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
my boss hated it.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I may have recreated the windows login screen once.
It didn't actually work, of course. It always error'd when they tried to login, but it caught a fair few people whose usernames and passwords were identical.
Already permanent. (Score:5, Informative)
guest@xkcd:/$ hint
This terminal will remain available at http://xkcd.com/unixkcd/ [xkcd.com]
The petition people need to use the source, luke.
(hint is a random reply command, try it several times for that comment)
Re: (Score:2)
I have.. my first fake command line was in DOS, ages ago. My poor friend didn't let me touch his computer for a long time after that..
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
I spent way too much time after I tried the most natural command line program `look`. Yeah, there is a tiny game in there too. Also, you still don't want to `sudo rm -rf /` cause then you'll have to restart the page.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Hasn't everyone written a bogus shell at some t (Score:5, Informative)
"sudo su -" doesn't work but "sudo make me a sandwich" does.
Re:Hasn't everyone written a bogus shell at some t (Score:5, Funny)
Well, "sudo make me a sandwich" works only in the minimal sense of replying "Okay."
I'd have been more impressed if it replied "Okay, you're a sandwich."
Re: (Score:2)
> But requires Javascript to run.
And googleapis.com. Pitiful, really.
Re:retro (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
You do realize that HTML is just a Markup Language right?
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I think that is quite possibly the worst possible way something like this could possibly have been implemented. Congrats.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:retro (Score:4, Funny)