Labeller

With the Labeller you give devices a name in the game. That is more than tidiness: IC10 can address devices by name with lbn and sbn, and that name comes from the labeller. A chip can then reach any number of devices on the data network without using the six pins of the IC Housing.

This is how it works:

1. Put a battery cell into slot 0.
2. Aim at the device and give it a name, such as "Sensor Store".
3. In the program, turn the name into a number with HASH("Sensor Store").

Give all devices with the same job the same name, for example all gas sensors in a room. A single lbn with batch mode 0 then returns their average.

There are two traps:

• Write names you need in IC10 without special characters such as umlauts. Otherwise the hash in the program may not reliably match the device.
• A typo in the name makes lbn with batch mode 0 return NaN. Catch that in the program with bnan.

Through logic the labeller reports Power and Error and can be switched with On. Renaming only works while it is switched on and has power. Switched on, it draws 10 J per tick (0.5 s) according to the game code, in your pocket too – a small Battery Cell (Small) is empty after 30 minutes. Switch it off again after naming. It is made in the Electronics Printer or the Tool Manufactory. A complete example is in IC10: control a device by name.