Birds and Nests

Birds hatch from nests with eggs. Try picking up and dropping the nest to make the egg hatch.


This will be replaced by a work area containing 3 things: a nest, a number, and a number. top level widget
{ "semantic": { "type": "top_level", "backside_widgets": [ { "widget": { "semantic": { "type": "nest", "contents": [] }, "view": { "frontside_width": 116, "frontside_height": 141, "frontside_left": 212, "frontside_top": 43, "backside": false }, "version": 1 } }, { "widget": { "semantic": { "type": "number", "operator": "+", "numerator": "1", "denominator": "1", "format": "improper_fraction" }, "view": { "frontside_width": 76, "frontside_height": 55, "frontside_left": 28, "frontside_top": 22, "saved_width": 76, "saved_height": 55, "backside": false }, "version": 1 } }, { "widget": { "semantic": { "type": "number", "operator": "+", "numerator": "2", "denominator": "1", "format": "improper_fraction" }, "view": { "frontside_width": 76, "frontside_height": 55, "frontside_left": 32, "frontside_top": 118, "saved_width": 76, "saved_height": 55, "backside": false }, "version": 1 } } ] }, "view": { "background_color": "rgba(245, 240, 240, 0.941176)", "backside_width": 601, "backside_height": 250, "backside_left": 8, "backside_top": 184.1875, "backside_geometry": { "x_scale": 1, "y_scale": 1, "original_width": 484, "original_height": 117 }, "backside": true, "drag_x_offset": 445, "drag_y_offset": 135.8125 }, "version": 1 }

Birds take things to their nest. Try it out by picking up the 1 and droping it on the bird. Then try giving the bird the 2.

If a bird is copied then her copy will also take things to the same nest. Try this by picking up the wand and letting it go when the tip is over the bird.

{ "semantic": { "type": "wand" }, "view": { "frontside_width": 191, "frontside_height": 31, "frontside_left": 6, "frontside_top": 6 }, "version": 1 }

If a nest is copied then a bird will bring a copy of what it is given to the nest copy. Try it by copying the empty nest and giving the bird a number.

Giving birds and nests names

You can give a name to a bird or nest and all copies change their name. There isn't much room for long names. You can give them long descriptions that will show up when you hover over one.


This will be replaced by a work area containing 3 things: a nest, a bird, and the backside of a nest. top level widget
{ "semantic": { "type": "top_level", "backside_widgets": [ { "widget": { "shared_widget_index": 0 } }, { "widget": { "semantic": { "type": "bird", "nest": { "shared_widget_index": 0 } }, "view": { "frontside_width": 70, "frontside_height": 102, "frontside_left": 46.65625, "frontside_top": 15.65625, "saved_width": 70, "saved_height": 102, "backside": false }, "version": 1 } }, { "widget": { "shared_widget_index": 0 }, "is_backside": true } ] }, "view": { "background_color": "rgb(245, 240, 240)", "backside_width": 691, "backside_height": 395, "backside_left": 8, "backside_top": 184.1875, "backside": true, "drag_x_offset": 599, "drag_y_offset": 80.8125 }, "version": 1, "shared_widgets": [ { "semantic": { "type": "nest", "contents": [], "guid": "toontalk_id_1429691369009", "serial_number": 3, "name": "Sam" }, "view": { "frontside_width": 116, "frontside_height": 98, "frontside_left": 299.984375, "frontside_top": 20.984375, "backside_width": 550, "backside_height": 200, "backside_left": 31.96875, "backside_top": 146.96875, "saved_width": 116, "saved_height": 98, "backside": false }, "version": 1 } ] }

Built-in Birds and Nests

There are birds that are built into ToonTalk that can be used to compute functions. You use them just like any other bird.

There are nests that are built into ToonTalk that can be used to sense what is happening. You use them just like any other nest.

Robots can use birds and nests to communicate and synchronize

Robots can also do all these things for you. If a robot is expecting a nest or a bird then any nest or bird will do. If a robot is expecting something and that something is is on the top of a nest then the robot is happy. If the nest is empty then the robot will wait for a bird to deliver something and then decide if he's happy or not.

What are birds and nests metaphors of?

A bird-nest pair is a communication channel. If neither the bird nor nest have been copied it is a one-to-one communication channel from the bird to the nest. If the bird has been copied it is a many-to-one channel. If the nest has been copied it is a one-to-many channel. And if both have been copied it is a many-to-many channel.

Two-way communication can be accomplished by giving a bird a box that contains a reply bird. The recipient after some computing will give the reply bird a return message. This is similar to a function call in other programming languages.

Return to ToonTalk manual home page