CosmicOS
Encyclopedia
CosmicOS is a self-contained message designed to be understood primarily by treating it as a computer program
and executing it. It is inspired by Hans Freudenthal
's Lincos
and resembles the programming language Scheme in many ways.
The message is written with only four basic symbols representing the binary digits one and zero and open and close brackets. Numbers are represented as a string of binary digits between a pair of brackets and expressions are represented as a string of numbers between brackets. Identifiers for operations are arbitrarily-assigned numbers and their functions can be defined within the message itself.
Self-contained messages are of interest for CETI
research, but there is much difference of opinion over the most appropriate encoding and broadcast medium to use. CosmicOS is released in modular form, so that the basic message can be adapted to a particular concrete instantiation. The message is released under the GPL licence.
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
and executing it. It is inspired by Hans Freudenthal
Hans Freudenthal
Hans Freudenthal was a Dutch mathematician. He made substantial contributions to algebraic topology and also took an interest in literature, philosophy, history and mathematics education....
's Lincos
Lincos (language)
Lincos is an artificial language first described in 1960 by Dr. Hans Freudenthal in his book Lincos: Design of a Language for Cosmic Intercourse, Part 1. It is a language designed to be understandable by any possible intelligent extraterrestrial life form, for use in interstellar radio transmissions...
and resembles the programming language Scheme in many ways.
The message is written with only four basic symbols representing the binary digits one and zero and open and close brackets. Numbers are represented as a string of binary digits between a pair of brackets and expressions are represented as a string of numbers between brackets. Identifiers for operations are arbitrarily-assigned numbers and their functions can be defined within the message itself.
Self-contained messages are of interest for CETI
Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Communication with extraterrestrial intelligence is a branch of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence that focuses on composing and deciphering messages that could theoretically be understood by another technological civilization. The best-known CETI experiment was the 1974 Arecibo message...
research, but there is much difference of opinion over the most appropriate encoding and broadcast medium to use. CosmicOS is released in modular form, so that the basic message can be adapted to a particular concrete instantiation. The message is released under the GPL licence.