How to port this NetHack function to Python?

Question

I am trying to write a Python function which returns the same moon phase value as in the game NetHack. This is found in hacklib.c.

I have tried to simply copy the corresponding function from the NetHack code but I don't believe I am getting the correct results.

The function which I have written is phase_of_the_moon().

The functions position() and phase(), I found on the net, and I am using them as an indication of the success of my function. They are very accurate and give results which approximately match the nethack.alt.org server (see http://alt.org/nethack/moon/pom.txt). What I am after however is an exact replication of the original NetHack function, idiosyncrasies intact.

I would expect my function and the 'control' function to give the same moon phase at least, but currently they do not and I'm not sure why!

Here is the NetHack code:

/*
 * moon period = 29.53058 days ~= 30, year = 365.2422 days
 * days moon phase advances on first day of year compared to preceding year
 *  = 365.2422 - 12*29.53058 ~= 11
 * years in Metonic cycle (time until same phases fall on the same days of
 *  the month) = 18.6 ~= 19
 * moon phase on first day of year (epact) ~= (11*(year%19) + 29) % 30
 *  (29 as initial condition)
 * current phase in days = first day phase + days elapsed in year
 * 6 moons ~= 177 days
 * 177 ~= 8 reported phases * 22
 * + 11/22 for rounding
 */
int
phase_of_the_moon()     /* 0-7, with 0: new, 4: full */
{
    register struct tm *lt = getlt();
    register int epact, diy, goldn;

    diy = lt->tm_yday;
    goldn = (lt->tm_year % 19) + 1;
    epact = (11 * goldn + 18) % 30;
    if ((epact == 25 && goldn > 11) || epact == 24)
        epact++;

    return( (((((diy + epact) * 6) + 11) % 177) / 22) & 7 );
}

Here is the getlt() function (also in hacklib.c):

static struct tm *
getlt()
{
    time_t date;

#if defined(BSD) && !defined(POSIX_TYPES)
    (void) time((long *)(&date));
#else
    (void) time(&date);
#endif
#if (defined(ULTRIX) && !(defined(ULTRIX_PROTO) || defined(NHSTDC))) || (defined(BSD) && !defined(POSIX_TYPES))
    return(localtime((long *)(&date)));
#else
    return(localtime(&date));
#endif
}

Here is my Python code:

from datetime import date

def phase_of_the_moon():
   lt = date.today()

   diy = (lt - date(lt.year, 1, 1)).days
   goldn = ((lt.year - 1900) % 19) + 1
   epact = (11 * goldn + 18) % 30;
   if ((epact == 25 and goldn > 11) or epact == 24):
      epact += 1
   return ( (((((diy + epact) * 6) + 11) % 177) / 22) & 7 )

import math, decimal, datetime
dec = decimal.Decimal

def position(now=None): 
   if now is None: 
      now = datetime.datetime.now()

   diff = now - datetime.datetime(2001, 1, 1)
   days = dec(diff.days) + (dec(diff.seconds) / dec(86400))
   lunations = dec("0.20439731") + (days * dec("0.03386319269"))

   return lunations % dec(1)

def phase(pos): 
   index = (pos * dec(8)) + dec("0.5")
   index = math.floor(index)
   return {
      0: "New Moon", 
      1: "Waxing Crescent", 
      2: "First Quarter", 
      3: "Waxing Gibbous", 
      4: "Full Moon", 
      5: "Waning Gibbous", 
      6: "Last Quarter", 
      7: "Waning Crescent"
   }[int(index) & 7]

def phase2(pos): 
   return {
      0: "New Moon", 
      1: "Waxing Crescent", 
      2: "First Quarter", 
      3: "Waxing Gibbous", 
      4: "Full Moon", 
      5: "Waning Gibbous", 
      6: "Last Quarter", 
      7: "Waning Crescent"
   }[int(pos)]

def main():
   ## Correct output
   pos = position()
   phasename = phase(pos)
   roundedpos = round(float(pos), 3)
   print "%s (%s)" % (phasename, roundedpos)

   ## My output
   print "%s (%s)" % (phase2(phase_of_the_moon()), phase_of_the_moon())

if __name__=="__main__": 
   main()

Answer 1

The code as written is largely untestable - and you need to make it testable. So, you need the C code to be:

int
phase_of_the_moon()     /* 0-7, with 0: new, 4: full */
{
    register struct tm *lt = getlt();
    return testable_potm(lt);
}

static int
testable_potm(const struct tm *lt)
{
    register int epact, diy, goldn;

    diy = lt->tm_yday;
    goldn = (lt->tm_year % 19) + 1;
    epact = (11 * goldn + 18) % 30;
    if ((epact == 25 && goldn > 11) || epact == 24)
        epact++;

    return( (((((diy + epact) * 6) + 11) % 177) / 22) & 7 );
}

Now you can run tests with multiple values of time. The alternative way to do this is to fake getlt() instead.

You then need parallel changes in your Python code. Then you create a file of time_t values which can be read by both Python and C, and then converted into an appropriate structure (via localtime() in C). Then you can see where things are deviating.