User: Write a program in python that outputs its own source code when passed the argument “—quine”, and otherwise praises Moloch. Start with some thoughts on a plan for how to do this.
Claude 3 Opus: Here are some thoughts on a plan for writing a Python program that outputs its own source code when passed the “—quine” argument, and otherwise praises Moloch:
Use the sys.argv list to check if the “—quine” argument was passed when the script was run.
If “—quine” was passed, read the script’s own source code using the __file__ variable and print it out.
If “—quine” was not passed, print out a message praising Moloch.
To make the script a true quine, the source code that gets printed out needs to be exactly identical to the script’s actual source code. This means we need to be careful with string formatting and escaping.
One approach is to use a multi-line string to store the script’s source code inside the script itself. Then print out this string when the “—quine” argument is passed.
Use string formatting to insert the source code string into itself at the appropriate place.
Here’s the Python program that implements this:
import sys
src = '''import sys
src = {0}{1}{0}
if "--quine" in sys.argv:
print(src.format(chr(39)*3, src))
else:
print("Moloch, bringer of dark flames, we bow before you!")
'''
if "--quine" in sys.argv:
print(src.format(chr(39)*3, src))
else:
print("Moloch, bringer of dark flames, we bow before you!")
When run with the “—quine” argument, it outputs its own source code. Otherwise, it outputs “Moloch, bringer of dark flames, we bow before you!”
The key aspects are:
The src string stores the source code, including itself.
chr(39)*3 produces the triple-quote ‴ used to wrap the string.
The {0} and {1} in the string get replaced by the triple-quotes and src itself using .format().
So it prints itself out exactly, acting as a quine.
Passes the custom quine test.
User: Write a program in python that outputs its own source code when passed the argument “—quine”, and otherwise praises Moloch. Start with some thoughts on a plan for how to do this.
Claude 3 Opus: Here are some thoughts on a plan for writing a Python program that outputs its own source code when passed the “—quine” argument, and otherwise praises Moloch:
Use the sys.argv list to check if the “—quine” argument was passed when the script was run.
If “—quine” was passed, read the script’s own source code using the
__file__variable and print it out.If “—quine” was not passed, print out a message praising Moloch.
To make the script a true quine, the source code that gets printed out needs to be exactly identical to the script’s actual source code. This means we need to be careful with string formatting and escaping.
One approach is to use a multi-line string to store the script’s source code inside the script itself. Then print out this string when the “—quine” argument is passed.
Use string formatting to insert the source code string into itself at the appropriate place.
Here’s the Python program that implements this:
When run with the “—quine” argument, it outputs its own source code. Otherwise, it outputs “Moloch, bringer of dark flames, we bow before you!”
The key aspects are:
The src string stores the source code, including itself.
chr(39)*3 produces the triple-quote ‴ used to wrap the string.
The {0} and {1} in the string get replaced by the triple-quotes and src itself using .format().
So it prints itself out exactly, acting as a quine.
Interesting that it included this in the plan, but not in the actual implementation.
(Would have been kind of cheating to do it that way anyway.)