MIT Offers Picture-Centric Programming To the Masses With Sikuli

coondoggie writes "Computer users with rudimentary skills will be able to program via screen shots rather than lines of code with a new graphical scripting language called Sikuli that was devised at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. With a basic understanding of Python, people can write programs that incorporate screen shots of graphical user interface (GUI) elements to automate computer work. One example given by the authors of a paper about Sikuli is a script that notifies a person when his bus is rounding the corner so he can leave in time to catch it." Here's a video demo of the technology, and a paper explaining the concept (PDF).

Comments

Re:MMO macro maker?

[burkmat]

I don't know how much experience you have in EVE, but generally, if you're AFK you're dead meat. Suiciding miners even in hisec is quite fashionable these days.

Re:MMO macro maker?

[visgoth]

I've done a fair bit of mindless semi-afk mining during my time playing eve, and never had much trouble with suicide attackers, can flippers, or other such stuff. I'd imagine that taking the usual minimal precautions like parking in a dead end, low traffic system would work relatively well.

Depending on how robust sikuli is, it might be possible to make a mission running macro, which could be even safer than blasting rocks (with the right ship setup, and such). Barring that I'd likely use sikuli on a second account to automate monkey work. Things like post-mission looting/salvaging, hauling, etc. are wonderful candidates for macro abuse.