On the Subject of Technical Keypad
The intern got to write this.
A Technical Buttons module has a display with 12 digits, 3 LEDs on the left that might be lit or unlit, a grid of 9 buttons each in a different colour, a progress bar on the right, and a hatch at the bottom.
To solve the module press the correct buttons following some rules.
Making a wrong input or running out of time at the last step will result in a strike and all inputs are reset. The solution stays the same though.
Each button will have a different colour and there are 9 colours in total, meaning each one will be present exactly once. The colours are: Red, Green, Blue, Teal, Yellow, Orange, Purple, White, and Black.
Step 1: Determining Valid Colours
Take the 3x3 grid of coloured buttons shown on the module and place a digit above and below each column, as well as to the left and to the right of each row.
The digits to place are determined by the string of 12 digits in the top display. The first digit will always be above the center column. Go forwards through the displayed number and if a parallel port is present proceed counterclockwise around the grid placing digits in the unfilled spots. If there is no parallel port do the same but go clockwise instead.
Next to determine valid colours, find the intersections of rows and columns where at least one digit matches. Every button that has at least one number in the same column match a number in the same row is considered valid.
Should the bottom LED be lit (it will be red), then invert this selection.
Step 2: Determining Colour order
Using the last digit of the serial number (use 1 if it is 0) and the top two LEDs, take a row or column of the table on the next page to get a colour order.
Top LED lit | Top LED unlit | ||
Middle lit | Middle unlit | Middle lit | Middle unlit |
row right to left | row left to right | column bottom to top | column top to bottom |