"repeat" -- a C program written by KimiAI

[miriam_e]

I asked KimiAI if it could write a C program to repeat a string n times. I am a crappy C programmer. (I need to fix that shortcoming.) This program is optimised for just this task and beats all the hacks from my previous post, by a big margin.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/mman.h>

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
    if (argc != 3) {
        fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s <string> <count>\n", argv[0]);
        fprintf(stderr, "Example: %s \"hello world\" 5\n", argv[0]);
        return 1;
    }
    
    const char *str = argv[1];
    int n = atoi(argv[2]);
    size_t len = strlen(str);
    
    if (n <= 0) return 0;
    
    // Use write() directly with a large buffer
    size_t unit = len + 1;
    size_t total = unit * n;
    char *buf = malloc(total);
    
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
        memcpy(buf + i*unit, str, len);
        buf[i*unit + len] = (i == n-1) ? '\n' : ' ';
    }
    
    // Single syscall, no stdio overhead
    write(STDOUT_FILENO, buf, total);
    
    free(buf);
    return 0;
}

And compile with optimisations:

gcc -O3 -o repeat repeat.c

Comments

[greylock]

Honestly. it's good for the memory to recount stuff like that. I'm younger than you and I am constantly forgetting things.

My first experience was a TRS-80, then the Atari 2600 (it had a programming cart), and then I started learning BASIC proper with the VZ200 and did stuff like trying to code text adventures using the principle of Choose Your Own Adventure Books, nothing as complicated as "Get Lamp"), but I never had that kind of logical bent.

I learnt enough to read *some* machine and hex code (confidently badly and half-heartedly), and was good enough to troubleshoot most DOS/Windows issues and repair basic hardware/build machines if pressed, and even figure out how Apple worked, but I never cared enough to be that techly.

I agree with Linux. Win11 is horrific at all levels.
(Somehow, they managed to break Notepad, so it can run malicious code. NOTEPAD!)

[miriam_e]

Yes. My memory is awful. I'm surprised I could remember all that.

I always wanted to make a text adventure. The problem is, of course, that you have to write about ten times as much as would be needed in an ordinary short story -- most of it will never get read. Though I'm kinda used to that. Nobody reads most of my stories anyway. :)

Microsoft managed to mess up Notepad??? OMG!