Enigma Machine...
I’ve seen a few people mention a “really cool example” that emulates the Enigma machine from WWII. Now, I don’t want to detract the fact that it is somewhat cool that someone worked on putting this together, but I swear that it’s getting a lot of publicity simply because it’s written in C#.
I remember seeing a sample a while back that I found to be much more informative and educational… not to mention an almost perfect emulation / simulation of the original machine. Here’s a couple of screen shots of the interface:
Enigma Simulator 4.0
In addition to having an interface that mimics the original machine, down to all of the patch circuits and dials, it also includes a full help file explaining how to use the machine, full source and a historical photo gallery for those interested in such things.
So why haven’t I seen anyone talking about this one? It was submitted last October to Planet Source Code and selected as a Code Winner. The code was last updated March 29th. So, I ask again, why isn’t anyone talking about this version. Could it be that it’s because it’s written in VB (VB6)? Could it really be that we are so focused on what language something is written in that we are not looking at the quality of such a product?
I’m not saying that the C# one isn’t interesting or useful. However, to refer to it as “This is just too cool…”, I can’t agree with that. As an example, it’s great. It shows how to mimic the Enigma encryption using C#. But to say it’s “too cool” is going a bit overboard (IMO) and, to me, is nothing in comparison with the VB version I found. If your really interested in learning (and experimenting) more about the Enigma machine, you should really look at the simulator.
But, rather than continue to try to push my opinion upon you, I’ll let you decide for yourself. Here are the links to them: