Solitaire Cipher

January 18, 2011

In his book Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson has his characters communicate using a cipher called Pontifex. Pontifex is based on the Solitaire cipher developed by Bruce Schneier, and uses an ordinary deck of cards, thirteen cards in each of four suits, plus two distinguishable jokers, to generate a keystream that is added to plain-text to form cipher-text, or subtracted from cipher-text to form plain-text.

After the deck is keyed, a single step consists of four operations on the deck. First, the “A” joker is moved one card down the deck, wrapping around the end of the deck if necessary. Second, the “B” joker is moved two cards down the deck, again wrapping around the deck if necessary. Third, a triple-cut swaps all the cards above the highest joker in the deck with all the cards below the lowest joker in the deck, leaving the two jokers and the cards between them in place. Fourth, a counted cut, based on the number of the bottom card in the deck, moves the top “count” cards to just above the bottom card; the cards are numbered 1 to 52 in “bridge order” with ace low to king high in each suit, clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, and either joker counting as 53. Then look at the top card in the deck and count down the given number to determine the current key card.

For example, given an initial deck in bridge order 1, 2, …, 52, A, B, where the two jokers are A and B, the first operation moves the A joker one card down the deck leaving 1, 2, …, 52, B A, the second operation moves the B joker two cards down the deck leaving 1, B, 2, …, 52, A, the third operation performs a triple cut (the second half of the cut is empty) leaving B, 2, …, 52, A, 1, and the fourth step performs a count cut taking one card (because the bottom card on the deck is 1) leaving 2, …, 52, A, B, 1. Then the output card is 4, the four of clubs, because the top card of the deck is 2 and the second card below it is 4.

Before encrypting or decrypting a message, the deck must be “keyed.” Begin with a deck in bridge order and perform a single step. Then, for each character in the key, do a counted cut on the number of the current character, with A=1 … Z=26, followed by another single step. Once the deck is keyed and you have a keystream, each character is added (for encryption) or subtracted (for decryption) from the current text character, wrapping around the alphabet as necessary, so that A+A=B and T+Q=K; note that Z is the identity character, so F+Z=F. The plain-text has nulls (the letter X) added to the end to make the message length a multiple of five, and the cipher-text is split into five-character blocks for convenience.

Schneier gives three examples. Given the plaintext AAAAAAAAAA and null key, the keystream is 4 49 10 (53) 24 8 51 44 6 4 33 (the joker is skipped) and the ciphertext is EXKYI ZSGEH. Given the plaintext AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA and key FOO, the keystream is 8 19 7 25 20 (53) 9 8 22 32 43 5 26 17 (53) 38 48 and the ciphertext is ITHZU JIWGR FARMW. Given the plaintext SOLITAIRE and key CRYPTONOMICON, the keystream is 44 46 32 18 17 18 23 44 22 42 and the ciphertext is KIRAK SFJAN.

If you actually run the cipher with a deck of cards, you will find that, with just a little practice, your hands work the keystream generator themselves with little conscious thought, and you will soon memorize the wrap-around character addition rules like T+Q=K; the biggest problem with the cipher, like any output-feedback cipher, is that a single mistake renders all trailing text unreadable. This cipher is best used for low-volume transmission of short messages. If you use it for real security, your key should have at least eighty characters, and you should never use the same key to transmit two different messages. An easy way for two communicants to manage keys is for both to use some printed source, say the lead editorial in the daily newspaper or the pages of a favorite novel (be sure both are using the same edition), selecting the key as the first 80 characters starting at the 37th, say, and giving the date or page as a header to the encrypted message.

Your task is to write functions that encrypt and decrypt using the solitaire cipher. When you are finished, you are welcome to read or run a suggested solution, or to post your own solution or discuss the exercise in the comments below.

Posted by programmingpraxis

Filed in Exercises

9 Comments »

9 Responses to “Solitaire Cipher”

Dave Webb said

January 19, 2011 at 8:21 AM

My Python solution:

def movedown(deck,entry,move):
    """Move a card down a number of cards in the deck"""
    newindex = deck.index(entry) + move
    if newindex >= len(deck):
        newindex -= len(deck) - 1
    deck.remove(entry)
    deck.insert(newindex,entry)

def countcut(deck,count):
    """a counted cut, based on the number of the bottom card in
    the deck, moves the top count cards to just above the bottom
    card"""
    deck[-1:1] = deck[:count]
    del(deck[:count])

def joker(card):
    """Is the card a joker?"""
    return card in ('A','B')

def step(deck):
    """Perform a step on the deck returning the key"""

    #  A joker is moved one card down the deck, wrapping around the
    #  end of the deck if necessary
    movedown(deck,'A',1)
    
    # the B joker is moved two cards down the deck, again wrapping
    # around the deck if necessary.
    movedown(deck,'B',2)

    # a triple-cut swaps all the cards above the highest joker in the
    # deck with all the cards below the lowest joker in the deck,
    # leaving the two jokers and the cards between them in place.
    indexa = deck.index('A')
    indexb = deck.index('B')

    if indexb > indexa:
        topindex, botindex = indexa, indexb
    else:
        topindex, botindex = indexb, indexa

    deck.extend(deck[topindex:botindex + 1])
    deck.extend(deck[:topindex])
    del(deck[:botindex + 1])

    # Fourth, a counted cut, based on the number of the bottom card in
    # the deck. the cards are numbered 1 to 52 in bridge order with
    # ace low to king high in each suit, clubs, diamonds, hearts,
    # spades, and either joker counting as 53
    count = deck[-1]
    
    if joker(count):
        count = 53
    
    countcut(deck,count)

    # Then look at the top card in the deck and count down the given
    # number to determine the current key card.
    count = deck[0]
    
    if joker(count):
        count = 53
    
    return deck[count]

def keydeck(deck,key):
    # For each character in the key, perform a single step then do a
    # counted cut on the number of the current character, with
    # A=1...Z=26
    for count in [ord(c) - 64 for c in key.upper()]:
        step(deck)
        countcut(deck,count)

def solitare(plaintext,key="",decrypt=False):
    """encrypt and decrypt using the solitare cyper"""

    # Make uppercase and remove spaces
    plaintext = plaintext.upper().replace(' ','')

    # The plain-text has nulls (the letter X) added to the end to make
    # the message length a multiple of five
    pad = 5 - len(plaintext) % 5
    if pad != 5:
        plaintext += 'X'

    # Create a deck in bridge order
    deck = range(1,53) + ['A','B']
    keydeck(deck,key)
 
    ciphertext = ''
    count = 0

    for c in plaintext:
        # the cipher-text is split into five-character blocks for
        # convenience.
        if count == 5:
            ciphertext += ' '
            count = 0

        key = step(deck)

        # the jokers are skipped
        while joker(key):
            key = step(deck)
        
        # each character is added (for encryption) or subtracted (for
        # decryption) from the current text character, wrapping around
        # the alphabet as necessary
        e = ord(c)

        if (decrypt):
            e -= key
            while e < ord('A'):
                e += 26
        else:
            e += key
            while e > ord('Z'):
                e -= 26
            count += 1

        ciphertext += chr(e)

    return ciphertext

print solitare("AAAAAAAAAA")
print solitare("AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA","FOO")
print solitare("SOLITAIRE","CRYPTONOMICON")

print solitare("EXKYI ZSGEH",decrypt=True)
print solitare("ITHZU JIWGR FARMW","FOO",decrypt=True)
print solitare("KIRAK SFJAN","CRYPTONOMICON",decrypt=True)

Dave Webb said
January 19, 2011 at 8:24 AM
Line 84 should be:
```
plaintext += 'X' * pad
```
and not:
```
plaintext += 'X'
```
Erlend said
January 19, 2011 at 10:18 AM
My solution (Haskell): https://gist.github.com/785960

Mike said

January 19, 2011 at 8:03 PM

My python version.


from itertools import chain, ifilter, imap, izip

A = 53
B = 54
N_CARDS = 54
ORD_A = ord('A')

class Deck(list):
    def __init__(self, key=''):
        list.__init__(self, range(1,55))

        self.step()
        for ch in key:
            self.counted_cut(ord(ch) - ORD_A + 1)
            self.step()

    def move(self, card, distance):
        fm = self.index(card)
        to = fm + distance
        if to >= N_CARDS:
            to -= (N_CARDS-1)

        self.insert(to, self.pop(fm))

    def triple_cut(self):
        a = self.index(A)
        b = self.index(B)
        s, e = (a, b+1) if a < b else (b, a+1)
        self[:] = self[e:] + self[s:e] + self[:s]

    def counted_cut(self, count):
        self[:] = self[count:-1] + self[:count] + self[-1:]

    def step(self):
        self.move(A, 1)
        self.move(B, 2)
        self.triple_cut()
        self.counted_cut(min(self[-1], A))

    def __iter__(self):
        while True:
            ndx = min(self[0], A)

            if self[ndx] < A:
                yield self[ndx]
                    
            self.step()


def encrypt(text, key=''):
    encode = lambda c,k: chr((ord(c) - ORD_A + k)%26 + ORD_A)
        
    padded_text = chain(text, ['X']*(-len(text)%5))
    
    cyphertext =  imap(encode, padded_text, Deck(key))
    
    groups = imap(''.join, izip(*[cyphertext]*5))
    
    return ' '.join(groups)


def decrypt(text, key=''):
    decode = lambda c,k: chr((ord(c) - ORD_A - k)%26 + ORD_A)

    letters = (c for c in text if c.isupper())

    return ''.join(imap(decode, letters, Deck(key)))

Veer said

January 20, 2011 at 1:00 PM

My attempt in scheme.

(define (joker? n) (or (= n joker1) (= n joker2)))
(define joker1 53)
(define joker2 54)

;utils
(define (find-elem i v pred?)
  (cond
    [(= i (vector-length v)) (error 'oops)]
    [(pred? (vector-ref v i)) i]
    [else (find-elem (+ i 1) v pred?)]))

(define (string->nums s)
  (let ([l (string->list (string-upcase s))])
    (map (lambda (c) (mod (mod (char->integer c) 64) 26)) l)))

(define (nums->string nl)
  (map (lambda (n)
         (if (= 0 n) #\Z (integer->char (+ n 64)))) nl))


;start
(define (shift v index end op)
  (let ([val (vector-ref v index)])
    (let loop ([index index])
      (cond
        [(= index end) (vector-set! v index val)]
        [else (vector-set! v index (vector-ref v (op index 1))) 
              (loop (op index 1))]))))

(define (mov v i n )
  (let ([index (mod i (vector-length v))])
    (let ([end-index (mod (+ index n) (vector-length v))])
      (if (<= index end-index)
          (shift v index end-index +)
          (shift v index (+ 1 end-index) -)))))

(define (count-cut v n ei)
  (let ([si (- n 1)]) 
    (let loop ([si si] [ei ei])
      (cond
        [(< si 0) v]
        [(zero? si) (shift v si ei +)]
        [else (shift v si ei +)
              (loop (- si 1) (- ei 1))]))))

(define (triple-cut v)
  (let ([joker1 (find-elem 0 v joker?)])        
    (count-cut v joker1 (- (vector-length v) 1))
      (let ([joker2 (find-elem 1 v joker?)])
        (count-cut v (+ joker2 1) (- (vector-length v) (+ 1 joker1)))
        v)))

(define (move-jokers deck)
  (mov deck (find-elem 0 deck (lambda (n) (= n joker1))) 1)
  (mov deck (find-elem 0 deck (lambda (n) (= n joker2))) 2))

(define (steps deck)
  (move-jokers deck)
  (triple-cut deck)
  (let ([last-num (vector-ref deck (- (vector-length deck) 1))])
    (count-cut deck (min 53 last-num) (- (vector-length deck) 2))))

(define (key-deck key deck)
  (for-each (lambda (i)
              (steps deck)
              (count-cut deck i (- (vector-length deck) 2)))
            key))

(define (enc-dec msg key op)

  (define (get-next deck)
    (steps deck)
    (let ([n (vector-ref deck (min 53 (vector-ref deck 0)))])
      (if (>= n 53) (get-next deck) n)))
  
  (let ([msg (string->nums msg)]
        [key (string->nums key)]
        [deck (build-vector 54 (lambda (i) (+ i 1)))])
    (key-deck key deck)
    
    (list->string
     (nums->string (map (lambda (m) (mod (op m (get-next deck)) 26)) msg)))))
        
(define (enc msg key)
  (enc-dec msg key +))

(define (dec msg key)
  (enc-dec msg key -))
  

(define (test)
  (and
   (equal? (enc "AAAAAAAAAA" "" ) "EXKYIZSGEH")
   (equal? (enc "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" "FOO" ) "ITHZUJIWGRFARMW")
   (equal? (enc "SOLITAIRE" "CRYPTONOMICON" ) "KIRAKSFJA")
   
   (equal? (dec "EXKYIZSGEH" "") "AAAAAAAAAA")
   (equal? (dec "ITHZUJIWGRFARMW" "FOO") "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA")
   (equal? (dec "KIRAKSFJA" "CRYPTONOMICON")  "SOLITAIRE")))

Veer said

January 21, 2011 at 6:05 AM

Another attempt using pattern matching.

(define DECK (build-list 54 (lambda (i) (+ i 1))))
(define joker1 53)
(define joker2 54)
(define (joker? j) (or (equal? j joker1) (equal? j joker2)))

(define (to-num c)
  (modulo
   (- (char->integer (char-upcase c)) 64) 26))

(define (to-char n)
  (let ([n (modulo n 26)])
    (if (zero? n) #\Z (integer->char (+ n 64)))))

(define (eq=? val1)
  (lambda (val2)
    (= val1 val2)))

(define (move-joker v joker)
  (match v
    [(list a x ... (? (eq=? joker)) ) (append (list a joker) x)]
    [(list x ... (? (eq=? joker)) b y ...) (append x (list b joker) y)]))

(define (move-jokers v)
  (move-joker (move-joker (move-joker v joker1) joker2) joker2))

(define (triple-cut v)
  (match v
    [(list x ... (? joker? j1) y ... (? joker? j2) z ... ) (append z (list j1) y (list j2) x)]))

(define (cut v n)
  (let ([val (list-ref v (- n 1))])
    (match v
      [(list x ... (? (eq=? val) b) z ... c) (append z x (list b c))])))
        
(define (step v)
  (let ([v (triple-cut (move-jokers v))])
    (cut v (min 53 (list-ref v (- (length v) 1))))))

(define (key-deck v key)
  (match key
    [(list ) v]
    [(list a b ...) (key-deck (cut (step v) (to-num a)) b) ]))
            
(define (enc-dec msg deck op)
  (let ([deck (step deck)])
    (let ([n (list-ref deck (min 53 (first deck)))])
        (cond
          [(empty? msg) empty]
          [(joker? n) (enc-dec msg deck op)]
          [else (cons (to-char (op (to-num (first msg)) n))
                      (enc-dec (rest msg) deck op))]))))

(define (enc msg key)
  (let ([deck (key-deck DECK (string->list key))])
    (list->string (enc-dec (string->list msg) deck +))))

(define (dec msg key)
  (let ([deck (key-deck DECK (string->list key))])
    (list->string (enc-dec (string->list msg) deck -))))

Daniel Duffield said

May 19, 2013 at 12:53 AM

Here is v. 0.0.1 of my writing of this algorithm. This is not neat and pretty, merely functional. The first block of code is solitaire.py. It executes when called on the console (only tested on UNIX-like systems) and must be passed arguments to work. There is a class and list of functions in solitaire.py. Deck class handles all the stuff you’d expect a deck in solitaire to handle: pushing cards, popping cards, getting characters, advancing state, and a built-in make. The functions in solitaire.py are mainly for loading and unloading deck states and to operate the command-line form.

Advpass option for command line operation is a demonstration of nested decks, basically a deck of decks. The deck class is flexible enough to take characters, strings, binary blobs, functions, or anything else that counts as an object as a card’s representation.

I wrote pyrand.py to interface to /dev/urandom and serve me up tasty 32-bit unsigned random integers. Replace in code with your own solution as I suspect pyrand is the slow spot in the shuffle routines in solitaire.py…

This is the first time this code has left this system, consider it licensed under BSD by:
Daniel Duffield
LucianSolaris@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/LucianSolaris

solitaire.py:

#!/usr/bin/python2.7

import pyrand
import sys
import os
import re

#class declaration -
class Deck(object):

 #constructor
 def __init__(self):
  self.__deck=[]
  self.__numCards=0
  self.__lockState=0
  self.__debug=0
  self.__pushLockState=0

 def printDebug(self, inString):
  if self.__debug==1:
   print inString

 def pushCard(self, inTuple):
  if not self.__lockState and self.__pushLockState!=2:
   self.__pushLockState=1
   self.__numCards+=1
   self.__deck.reverse()
   self.__deck.append(inTuple)
   self.__deck.reverse()
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck feature locked in current state, check programming!')

 def pushAlpha(self, inObj):
  if not self.__lockState and self.__pushLockState!=1:
   self.__pushLockState=2
   self.__numCards+=1
   self.__deck.reverse()
   self.__deck.append((self.__numCards,inObj))
   self.__deck.reverse()
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck feature locked in current state, check programming!')

 def pushJoker(self, inJoker):
  if not self.__lockState and self.__pushLockState!=1:
   self.__pushLockState=2
   if inJoker<=2 and inJoker>=1:
    self.__deck.reverse()
    self.__deck.append((0-inJoker,None))
    self.__deck.reverse()
   else:
    raise Exception('(EE): Joker count cannot exceed 2 nor be less than 0')
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck feature locked in current state, check programming!')

 def shuffleVal(self, inCount):
  if not self.__lockState:
   for j in range(inCount):
    deck2=[]
    tmp=None
    offset=-1
    for i in range(len(self.__deck)):
     tmp=(i,self.__deck.pop(pyrand.urandomGet(0,2**16,1)[0]%len(self.__deck)))
     if tmp[1][1]==None:
      deck2.append((tmp[1][0],None))
      offset+=1
     else:
      deck2.append((tmp[0]-offset,tmp[1][1]))
    self.__deck=deck2
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck locked before accessing protected feature')

 def shuffleDeck(self, inCount):
  if not self.__lockState:
   deck2=[]
   for ij in range(inCount):
    for i in range(len(self.__deck)):
     deck2.append(self.__deck.pop(pyrand.urandomGet(0,2**16,1)[0]%len(self.__deck)))
    self.__deck=deck2
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck locked before accessing protected feature')

 def popState(self):
  for i in range(len(self.__deck)):
   yield (i+1,self.__deck[i][0],self.__deck[i][1])

 def lockDeck(self):
  try:
   if self.__deck.index((-1,None))+1 and self.__deck.index((-2,None))+1:
    self.__lockState=1
   else:
    raise Exception('(EE): Unknown Joker error')
  except:
   raise Exception('(EE): Lacking one or more Jokers at lock')

 def makeDeck(self, inAlphaString, inShuffleCount):
  if not self.__lockState:
   for i in inAlphaString:
    self.pushAlpha(i)
   self.pushJoker(1)
   self.pushJoker(2)
   self.shuffleDeck(inShuffleCount)
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck locked before accessing protected feature')

 def advanceState(self):
  if self.__lockState:
   deck2=[]
   smJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-1,None))
   bgJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-2,None))
   if smJokerLoc==len(self.__deck)-1:
    deck2=self.__deck[0:1]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc:smJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[1:smJokerLoc]
   else:
    deck2=self.__deck[:smJokerLoc]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc+1:smJokerLoc+2]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc:smJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc+2:]
   self.__deck=deck2
   deck2=[]
   smJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-1,None))
   bgJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-2,None))
   if bgJokerLoc==len(self.__deck)-1:
    deck2=self.__deck[0:2]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[2:bgJokerLoc]
   elif bgJokerLoc==len(self.__deck)-2:
    deck2=self.__deck[0:1]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[1:bgJokerLoc]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+1:bgJokerLoc+2]
   else:
    deck2=self.__deck[:bgJokerLoc]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+1:bgJokerLoc+3]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+3:]
   self.__deck=deck2
   deck2=[]
   smJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-1,None))
   bgJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-2,None))
   if smJokerLoc<bgJokerLoc:
    deck2=self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+1:]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc:smJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc+1:bgJokerLoc]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[:smJokerLoc]
    self.__deck=deck2
   else:
    tmp=smJokerLoc
    smJokerLoc=bgJokerLoc
    bgJokerLoc=tmp
    deck2=self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+1:]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc:smJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc+1:bgJokerLoc]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[:smJokerLoc]
    self.__deck=deck2
   deck2=[]
   smJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-1,None))
   bgJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-2,None))
   if self.__deck[len(self.__deck)-1][0]<0:
    deck2.append(self.__deck[:])
   else:
    deck2.append(self.__deck[self.__deck[len(self.__deck)-1][0]:-1]+self.__deck[:self.__deck[len(self.__deck)-1][0]]+self.__deck[-1:])
   self.__deck=deck2[0]
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck not locked before accessing protected feature')

 def getChars(self, inSize):
  i=0
  while i<inSize:
   self.advanceState()
   if self.__deck[0][0]<0:
    yieldChar=self.__deck[-2][1]
   else:
    yieldChar=self.__deck[self.__deck[0][0]-1][1]
   if type(yieldChar)!=type(None):
    i+=1
    yield yieldChar

 def getKey(self, inSize):
  outString=''
  for i in self.getChars(inSize):
   outString=outString+i
  return outString

alphaDict={
'complex':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789\'\",.<>`~[]{}/=\?+|;:-_',
'dvkextended':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789\'\",.<>/=?+;:-_',
'extended':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789\'\",.<>[]{}/?;:',
'standard':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789',
'lowercase':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz',
'lowercasenums':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789',
'uppercase':'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ',
'uppercasenums':'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789',
'numbers':'0123456789',
'solitaire':'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ',
'stdcrypt':'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789-'
}

def loadState(inDeck, inFilename):
 file=open(inFilename,'rU')
 if 'PYNTIFEX_DECK\n' not in file:
  raise Exception('(EE): Attempted to load deck file lacking magic string')
 for i in file:
  try:
   imatch=re.search('\((\d+),\s(-?\d+),\s\'(.+)\'\)', i)
   if imatch.groups()[2]=='None':
    inDeck.pushCard((int(imatch.groups()[1]),None))
   else:
    inDeck.pushCard((int(imatch.groups()[1]),imatch.groups()[2]))
  except:
   if i!='PYNTIFEX_DECK':
    raise Exception('(EE): The following line cannot be processed: '+str(i+1)+' in file: '+inFilename)
 file.close()
 inDeck.lockDeck()

def saveState(inDeck, inFilename):
 outFile=open(inFilename,'w')
 outFile.truncate(0)
 outFile.write('PYNTIFEX_DECK\n')
 for i in inDeck.popState():
  if i[1]<0:
   i=(i[0],i[1],'None')
  outFile.write(str(i)+'\n')
 outFile.flush()
 outFile.close()

def makeDeckFile():
 alphabet=''
 outFile=''
 shuffleCount=100
 mixValues=0
 deck=Deck()
 try:
  alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alphastr')+1]
 except ValueError:
  try:
   alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alpha')+1]
   alphabet=alphaDict.get(alphabet)
   if alphabet==None:
    print '\nBad selection on --alpha, please refer to --help'
    sys.exit(1)
  except ValueError:
   print '\nBad options, should be: <command> make [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --outfile <PathToOutputFile> [--shuffle <Integer>] [--mix-values]'
   sys.exit(1)
 try:
  outFile=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--outfile')+1]
  try:
   shuffleCount=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--shuffle')+1])
   if shuffleCount<10:
    print '\nFor security reasons, please make --shuffle 10 or larger'
    sys.exit(1)
  except ValueError:
   pass
  if '--mix-values' in sys.argv:
   mixValues=1
 except ValueError:
  print '\nBad options, should be: <command> make [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --outfile <PathToOutputFile> [--shuffle <Integer>] [--mix-values]'
  sys.exit(1)
 deck.makeDeck(alphabet, shuffleCount)
 if mixValues==1:
  deck.shuffleVal(shuffleCount)
 deck.lockDeck()
 try:
  saveState(deck,outFile)
 except:
  print '\nError writing file to path:'
  print outFile
  sys.exit(1)
 print '\nDeck outputted successfully to:'
 print outFile
 sys.exit(0)

def printKeyString():
 inFile=''
 outFile=''
 keyString=''
 stringLength=0
 deck=Deck()
 try:
  inFile=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--infile')+1]
  stringLength=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--length')+1])
  try:
   outFile=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--outfile')+1]
  except ValueError:
   pass
 except:
  print '\nBad options, should be: <command> key --infile <PathToFile> --length <Integer> [--outfile <PathToFile>] [--quiet]'
  sys.exit(1)
 try:
  loadState(deck,inFile)
 except:
  print '\nError opening deck file:'
  print inFile
  sys.exit(1)
 deck.lockDeck()
 print '',
 for i in deck.getChars(stringLength):
  print '\b'+i,
 if outFile=='':
  try:
   deck.saveState(inFile)
  except:
   if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
    print '\nError saving deck file:'
    print inFile
   sys.exit(1)
 else:
  try:
   deck.saveState(outFile)
  except:
   if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
    print '\nError saving deck file:'
    print outFile
   sys.exit(1)
 sys.exit(0)

def printPassString():
 shuffleCount=100
 alphabet=''
 stringLength=0
 try:
  stringLength=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--length')+1])
 except ValueError:
  '\nBad options, should be: <command> pass [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --length <Integer> [--shuffle <Integer>]'
 deck=Deck()
 try:
  alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alphastr')+1]
 except ValueError:
  try:
   alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alpha')+1]
   alphabet=alphaDict.get(alphabet)
   if alphabet==None:
    print '\nBad selection on --alpha, please refer to --help'
    sys.exit(1)
  except ValueError:
   print '\nBad options, should be: <command> pass [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --length <Integer> [--shuffle <Integer>]'
   sys.exit(1)
 try:
  shuffleCount=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--shuffle')+1])
  if shuffleCount<100:
   print '\nFor security reasons, please make --shuffle 100 or larger'
   sys.exit(1)
 except ValueError:
  pass
 deck.makeDeck(alphabet*3, shuffleCount)
 deck.shuffleVal(shuffleCount)
 deck.lockDeck()
 for i in deck.getChars(stringLength):
  print '\b'+i,
 sys.exit(0) 

def printAdvPassString():
 if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
  print '\nUnofficial function selected.  Advpass can take a'
  print ' really long time to output.  Output latency is pro-'
  print ' portional to (2x --count) x (--shuffle) x (--alpha len)'
  print ' length having little impact...'
 shuffleCount=100
 alphabet=''
 stringLength=0
 deckCount=1
 try:
  deckCount=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--count')+1])
  stringLength=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--length')+1])
 except ValueError:
  print '\nBad options, should be: <command> advpass [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --length <Integer> --count <Integer> [--shuffle <Integer>]'
  sys.exit(1)
 deck=Deck()
 try:
  alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alphastr')+1]
 except ValueError:
  try:
   alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alpha')+1]
   alphabet=alphaDict.get(alphabet)
   if alphabet==None:
    print '\nBad selection on --alpha, please refer to --help'
    sys.exit(1)
  except ValueError:
   print '\nBad options, should be: <command> pass [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --length <Integer> [--shuffle <Integer>]'
   sys.exit(1)
 try:
  shuffleCount=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--shuffle')+1])
  if shuffleCount<10:
   print '\nFor security reasons, please make --shuffle 10 or larger'
   sys.exit(1)
 except ValueError:
  pass
 if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
  print '\n Initializing Meta-deck...\n  ',
 for i in range(deckCount):
  deck2=Deck()
  deck2.makeDeck(alphabet,shuffleCount)
  deck2.lockDeck()
  deck.pushAlpha(deck2)
 deck.pushJoker(1)
 deck.pushJoker(2)
 deck.shuffleDeck(shuffleCount)
 deck.shuffleVal(shuffleCount)
 deck.lockDeck()
 if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
  print '\n Compiling password string...\n'
 print '',
 for j in deck.getChars(stringLength):
  for i in j.getKey(1):
   print '\b'+i,
 sys.exit(0) 

#main function -
def main():
 if '--help' in sys.argv or len(sys.argv)==1:
  print '\nOptions:'
  print ' <command> func --args args'
  print '\n Function \'make\':'
  print '  Makes a Pontifex deck.  Options are:'
  print '  --alpha String    | Pre-made alphabet to use (below)'
  print '  --alphastr String | User-provided alphabet (in single quotes, mutually exclusive with --alpha)'
  print '  --outfile Path    | Path to output deck file'
  print '  --shuffle Integer | [Optional] Shuffle count (100 Default)'
  print '  --mix-values      | [Optional] Mixes up alphabet value assignments'
  print '\n Function \'key\':'
  print '  Outputs a key string for use with a tableau.  Options are:'
  print '  --length Integer  | Output length'
  print '  --infile Path     | Deck file to use'
  print '  --outfile Path    | [Optional] Deck output path (Don\'t write endstate to infile)'
  print '                    |   (not recommended for sensitive uses)'
  print '  --quiet           | [Optional] Suppress soft errors'
  print '\n Function \'pass\':'
  print '  Outputs a complex password based on these options:'
  print '  --length Integer  | Password length'
  print '  --alpha String    | Pre-made alphabet string name (below)'
  print '  --alphastr String | User-provided alphabet (in single quotes, mutually exclusive with --alpha)'
  print '  --shuffle Integer | [Optional] Shuffle count (100 Default)'
  print '\n Function \'advpass\':'
  print '  Outputs a complex password, like pass, but with this additional option:'
  print '  --count           | Number of decks in \'meta\' deck.'
  print '\n  (advpass is more of a test than a function, therefore it\'s unsupported)'
  print '\n Available pre-made alphabets:'
  for i in alphaDict.keys():
   print '  '+i+': '+alphaDict.get(i)
 elif sys.argv[1]=='make':
  makeDeckFile()
 elif sys.argv[1]=='key':
  printKeyString()
 elif sys.argv[1]=='pass':
  printPassString()
 elif sys.argv[1]=='advpass':
  printAdvPassString()
 else:
  print '\nNo useable Options.  --help for info.'
  sys.exit(1)

#launch boilerplate -
if __name__ == '__main__':
 try:
  main()
 except KeyboardInterrupt:
  print '\n Program execution halted prematurely via keyboard (^C)'

pyrand.py:

#!/usr/bin/python2.7

import os
import struct
import sys

randomDevice=open('/dev/random','rb')
urandomDevice=open('/dev/urandom','rb')
UINT32_MAX=0xffffffff

def randomDeviceBytes(inLength):
 return randomDevice.read(inLength)

def urandomDeviceBytes(inLength):
 return urandomDevice.read(inLength)

def convertBytesToInt(inBytes):
 return struct.unpack('I',inBytes)[0]

def makeAcceptableInt(inLower, inUpper, inInt):
 if inLower>=0 and inUpper>inLower and inInt>=0:
  return int((((inUpper-inLower)/float(UINT32_MAX))+inLower)*inInt)

def randomGet(inLower, inUpper, inCount):
 if inLower>=0 and inUpper>inLower and inCount>0:
  return [makeAcceptableInt(inLower, inUpper, convertBytesToInt(randomDeviceBytes(4))) for _ in range(inCount)]
 else:
  raise Exception('(EE): Bad arguments for randomGet()')

def urandomGet(inLower, inUpper, inCount):
 if inLower>=0 and inUpper>inLower and inCount>0:
  return [makeAcceptableInt(inLower, inUpper, convertBytesToInt(urandomDeviceBytes(4))) for _ in range(inCount)]
 else:
  raise Exception('(EE): Bad arguments for urandomGet()')

def main():
 args=[None]
 if len(sys.argv)==4 and long(sys.argv[1])<long(sys.argv[2]) and long(sys.argv[3])>=0:
  for i in sys.argv[1:]:
   args.append(int(i))
  print '\nurandom Output:'
  for i in urandomGet(args[1],args[2],args[3]):
   print i,
  print '\n\nrandom Output:'
  for i in randomGet(args[1],args[2],args[3]):
   print i,
  print '\n\nDebug Check Complete...'
 else:
  print '(EE): Error in arguments.  Usage: ./command Lower Upper Count'


if __name__=='__main__':
 main()

Daniel Duffield said

May 19, 2013 at 4:37 AM

A bug was discovered in the functions pushCard(), pushAlpha(), and pushJoker(). They caused the deck to be loaded in the wrong order. The corrected code is below.

solitaire.py: (v. 0.0.2)

#!/usr/bin/python2.7

import pyrand
import sys
import os
import re

#class declaration -
class Deck(object):

 #constructor
 def __init__(self):
  self.__deck=[]
  self.__numCards=0
  self.__lockState=0
  self.__debug=0
  self.__pushLockState=0

 def printDebug(self, inString):
  if self.__debug==1:
   print inString

 def pushCard(self, inTuple):
  if not self.__lockState and self.__pushLockState!=2:
   self.__pushLockState=1
   self.__numCards+=1
   self.__deck.append(inTuple)
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck feature locked in current state, check programming!')

 def pushAlpha(self, inObj):
  if not self.__lockState and self.__pushLockState!=1:
   self.__pushLockState=2
   self.__numCards+=1
   self.__deck.append((self.__numCards,inObj))
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck feature locked in current state, check programming!')

 def pushJoker(self, inJoker):
  if not self.__lockState and self.__pushLockState!=1:
   self.__pushLockState=2
   if inJoker<=2 and inJoker>=1:
    self.__deck.append((0-inJoker,None))
   else:
    raise Exception('(EE): Joker count cannot exceed 2 nor be less than 0')
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck feature locked in current state, check programming!')

 def shuffleVal(self, inCount):
  if not self.__lockState:
   for j in range(inCount):
    deck2=[]
    tmp=None
    offset=-1
    for i in range(len(self.__deck)):
     tmp=(i,self.__deck.pop(pyrand.urandomGet(0,2**16,1)[0]%len(self.__deck)))
     if tmp[1][1]==None:
      deck2.append((tmp[1][0],None))
      offset+=1
     else:
      deck2.append((tmp[0]-offset,tmp[1][1]))
    self.__deck=deck2
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck locked before accessing protected feature')

 def shuffleDeck(self, inCount):
  if not self.__lockState:
   deck2=[]
   for ij in range(inCount):
    for i in range(len(self.__deck)):
     deck2.append(self.__deck.pop(pyrand.urandomGet(0,2**16,1)[0]%len(self.__deck)))
    self.__deck=deck2
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck locked before accessing protected feature')

 def popState(self):
  for i in range(len(self.__deck)):
   yield (i+1,self.__deck[i][0],self.__deck[i][1])

 def lockDeck(self):
  try:
   if self.__deck.index((-1,None))+1 and self.__deck.index((-2,None))+1:
    self.__lockState=1
   else:
    raise Exception('(EE): Unknown Joker error')
  except:
   raise Exception('(EE): Lacking one or more Jokers at lock')

 def makeDeck(self, inAlphaString, inShuffleCount):
  if not self.__lockState:
   for i in inAlphaString:
    self.pushAlpha(i)
   self.pushJoker(1)
   self.pushJoker(2)
   self.shuffleDeck(inShuffleCount)
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck locked before accessing protected feature')

 def advanceState(self):
  if self.__lockState:
   deck2=[]
   smJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-1,None))
   bgJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-2,None))
   if smJokerLoc==len(self.__deck)-1:
    deck2=self.__deck[0:1]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc:smJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[1:smJokerLoc]
   else:
    deck2=self.__deck[:smJokerLoc]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc+1:smJokerLoc+2]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc:smJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc+2:]
   self.__deck=deck2
   deck2=[]
   smJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-1,None))
   bgJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-2,None))
   if bgJokerLoc==len(self.__deck)-1:
    deck2=self.__deck[0:2]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[2:bgJokerLoc]
   elif bgJokerLoc==len(self.__deck)-2:
    deck2=self.__deck[0:1]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[1:bgJokerLoc]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+1:bgJokerLoc+2]
   else:
    deck2=self.__deck[:bgJokerLoc]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+1:bgJokerLoc+3]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+3:]
   self.__deck=deck2
   deck2=[]
   smJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-1,None))
   bgJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-2,None))
   if smJokerLoc<bgJokerLoc:
    deck2=self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+1:]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc:smJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc+1:bgJokerLoc]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[:smJokerLoc]
    self.__deck=deck2
   else:
    tmp=smJokerLoc
    smJokerLoc=bgJokerLoc
    bgJokerLoc=tmp
    deck2=self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+1:]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc:smJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc+1:bgJokerLoc]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[:smJokerLoc]
    self.__deck=deck2
   deck2=[]
   smJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-1,None))
   bgJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-2,None))
   if self.__deck[len(self.__deck)-1][0]<0:
    deck2.append(self.__deck[:])
   else:
    deck2.append(self.__deck[self.__deck[len(self.__deck)-1][0]:-1]+self.__deck[:self.__deck[len(self.__deck)-1][0]]+self.__deck[-1:])
   self.__deck=deck2[0]
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck not locked before accessing protected feature')

 def getChars(self, inSize):
  i=0
  while i<inSize:
   self.advanceState()
   if self.__deck[0][0]<0:
    yieldChar=self.__deck[-2][1]
   else:
    yieldChar=self.__deck[self.__deck[0][0]-1][1]
   if type(yieldChar)!=type(None):
    i+=1
    yield yieldChar

 def getKey(self, inSize):
  outString=''
  for i in self.getChars(inSize):
   outString=outString+i
  return outString

alphaDict={
'complex':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789\'\",.<>`~[]{}/=\?+|;:-_',
'dvkextended':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789\'\",.<>/=?+;:-_',
'extended':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789\'\",.<>[]{}/?;:',
'standard':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789',
'lowercase':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz',
'lowercasenums':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789',
'uppercase':'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ',
'uppercasenums':'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789',
'numbers':'0123456789',
'solitaire':'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ',
'stdcrypt':'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789-'
}

def loadState(inDeck, inFilename):
 file=open(inFilename,'rU')
 if 'PYNTIFEX_DECK\n' not in file:
  raise Exception('(EE): Attempted to load deck file lacking magic string')
 for i in file:
  try:
   imatch=re.search('\((\d+),\s(-?\d+),\s\'(.+)\'\)', i)
   if imatch.groups()[2]=='None':
    inDeck.pushCard((int(imatch.groups()[1]),None))
   else:
    inDeck.pushCard((int(imatch.groups()[1]),imatch.groups()[2]))
  except:
   if i!='PYNTIFEX_DECK':
    raise Exception('(EE): The following line cannot be processed: '+str(i+1)+' in file: '+inFilename)
 file.close()
 inDeck.lockDeck()

def saveState(inDeck, inFilename):
 outFile=open(inFilename,'w')
 outFile.truncate(0)
 outFile.write('PYNTIFEX_DECK\n')
 for i in inDeck.popState():
  if i[1]<0:
   i=(i[0],i[1],'None')
  outFile.write(str(i)+'\n')
 outFile.flush()
 outFile.close()

def makeDeckFile():
 alphabet=''
 outFile=''
 shuffleCount=100
 mixValues=0
 deck=Deck()
 try:
  alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alphastr')+1]
 except ValueError:
  try:
   alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alpha')+1]
   alphabet=alphaDict.get(alphabet)
   if alphabet==None:
    print '\nBad selection on --alpha, please refer to --help'
    sys.exit(1)
  except ValueError:
   print '\nBad options, should be: <command> make [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --outfile <PathToOutputFile> [--shuffle <Integer>] [--mix-values]'
   sys.exit(1)
 try:
  outFile=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--outfile')+1]
  try:
   shuffleCount=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--shuffle')+1])
   if shuffleCount<10:
    print '\nFor security reasons, please make --shuffle 10 or larger'
    sys.exit(1)
  except ValueError:
   pass
  if '--mix-values' in sys.argv:
   mixValues=1
 except ValueError:
  print '\nBad options, should be: <command> make [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --outfile <PathToOutputFile> [--shuffle <Integer>] [--mix-values]'
  sys.exit(1)
 deck.makeDeck(alphabet, shuffleCount)
 if mixValues==1:
  deck.shuffleVal(shuffleCount)
 deck.lockDeck()
 try:
  saveState(deck,outFile)
 except:
  print '\nError writing file to path:'
  print outFile
  sys.exit(1)
 print '\nDeck outputted successfully to:'
 print outFile
 sys.exit(0)

def printKeyString():
 inFile=''
 outFile=''
 keyString=''
 stringLength=0
 deck=Deck()
 try:
  inFile=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--infile')+1]
  stringLength=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--length')+1])
  try:
   outFile=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--outfile')+1]
  except ValueError:
   pass
 except:
  print '\nBad options, should be: <command> key --infile <PathToFile> --length <Integer> [--outfile <PathToFile>] [--quiet]'
  sys.exit(1)
 try:
  loadState(deck,inFile)
 except:
  print '\nError opening deck file:'
  print inFile
  sys.exit(1)
 deck.lockDeck()
 print ''
 print '',
 for i in deck.getChars(stringLength):
  print '\b'+i,
 if outFile=='':
  try:
   deck.saveState(inFile)
  except:
   if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
    print '\nError saving deck file:'
    print inFile
   sys.exit(1)
 else:
  try:
   deck.saveState(outFile)
  except:
   if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
    print '\nError saving deck file:'
    print outFile
   sys.exit(1)
 sys.exit(0)

def printPassString():
 shuffleCount=100
 alphabet=''
 stringLength=0
 try:
  stringLength=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--length')+1])
 except ValueError:
  '\nBad options, should be: <command> pass [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --length <Integer> [--shuffle <Integer>]'
 deck=Deck()
 try:
  alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alphastr')+1]
 except ValueError:
  try:
   alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alpha')+1]
   alphabet=alphaDict.get(alphabet)
   if alphabet==None:
    print '\nBad selection on --alpha, please refer to --help'
    sys.exit(1)
  except ValueError:
   print '\nBad options, should be: <command> pass [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --length <Integer> [--shuffle <Integer>]'
   sys.exit(1)
 try:
  shuffleCount=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--shuffle')+1])
  if shuffleCount<100:
   print '\nFor security reasons, please make --shuffle 100 or larger'
   sys.exit(1)
 except ValueError:
  pass
 deck.makeDeck(alphabet*3, shuffleCount)
 deck.shuffleVal(shuffleCount)
 deck.lockDeck()
 for i in deck.getChars(stringLength):
  print '\b'+i,
 sys.exit(0) 

def printAdvPassString():
 if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
  print '\nUnofficial function selected.  Advpass can take a'
  print ' really long time to output.  Output latency is pro-'
  print ' portional to (2x --count) x (--shuffle) x (--alpha len)'
  print ' length having little impact...'
 shuffleCount=100
 alphabet=''
 stringLength=0
 deckCount=1
 try:
  deckCount=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--count')+1])
  stringLength=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--length')+1])
 except ValueError:
  print '\nBad options, should be: <command> advpass [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --length <Integer> --count <Integer> [--shuffle <Integer>]'
  sys.exit(1)
 deck=Deck()
 try:
  alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alphastr')+1]
 except ValueError:
  try:
   alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alpha')+1]
   alphabet=alphaDict.get(alphabet)
   if alphabet==None:
    print '\nBad selection on --alpha, please refer to --help'
    sys.exit(1)
  except ValueError:
   print '\nBad options, should be: <command> pass [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --length <Integer> [--shuffle <Integer>]'
   sys.exit(1)
 try:
  shuffleCount=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--shuffle')+1])
  if shuffleCount<10:
   print '\nFor security reasons, please make --shuffle 10 or larger'
   sys.exit(1)
 except ValueError:
  pass
 if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
  print '\n Initializing Meta-deck...\n  ',
 for i in range(deckCount):
  deck2=Deck()
  deck2.makeDeck(alphabet,shuffleCount)
  deck2.lockDeck()
  deck.pushAlpha(deck2)
 deck.pushJoker(1)
 deck.pushJoker(2)
 deck.shuffleDeck(shuffleCount)
 deck.shuffleVal(shuffleCount)
 deck.lockDeck()
 if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
  print '\n Compiling password string...\n'
 print '',
 for j in deck.getChars(stringLength):
  for i in j.getKey(1):
   print '\b'+i,
 sys.exit(0) 

#main function -
def main():
 if '--help' in sys.argv or len(sys.argv)==1:
  print '\nOptions:'
  print ' <command> func --args args'
  print '\n Function \'make\':'
  print '  Makes a Pontifex deck.  Options are:'
  print '  --alpha String    | Pre-made alphabet to use (below)'
  print '  --alphastr String | User-provided alphabet (in single quotes, mutually exclusive with --alpha)'
  print '  --outfile Path    | Path to output deck file'
  print '  --shuffle Integer | [Optional] Shuffle count (100 Default)'
  print '  --mix-values      | [Optional] Mixes up alphabet value assignments'
  print '\n Function \'key\':'
  print '  Outputs a key string for use with a tableau.  Options are:'
  print '  --length Integer  | Output length'
  print '  --infile Path     | Deck file to use'
  print '  --outfile Path    | [Optional] Deck output path (Don\'t write endstate to infile)'
  print '                    |   (not recommended for sensitive uses)'
  print '  --quiet           | [Optional] Suppress soft errors'
  print '\n Function \'pass\':'
  print '  Outputs a complex password based on these options:'
  print '  --length Integer  | Password length'
  print '  --alpha String    | Pre-made alphabet string name (below)'
  print '  --alphastr String | User-provided alphabet (in single quotes, mutually exclusive with --alpha)'
  print '  --shuffle Integer | [Optional] Shuffle count (100 Default)'
  print '\n Function \'advpass\':'
  print '  Outputs a complex password, like pass, but with this additional option:'
  print '  --count           | Number of decks in \'meta\' deck.'
  print '\n  (advpass is more of a test than a function, therefore it\'s unsupported)'
  print '\n Available pre-made alphabets:'
  for i in alphaDict.keys():
   print '  '+i+': '+alphaDict.get(i)
 elif sys.argv[1]=='make':
  makeDeckFile()
 elif sys.argv[1]=='key':
  printKeyString()
 elif sys.argv[1]=='pass':
  printPassString()
 elif sys.argv[1]=='advpass':
  printAdvPassString()
 else:
  print '\nNo useable Options.  --help for info.'
  sys.exit(1)

#launch boilerplate -
if __name__ == '__main__':
 try:
  main()
 except KeyboardInterrupt:
  print '\n Program execution halted prematurely via keyboard (^C)'

Daniel Duffield said

May 19, 2013 at 6:10 AM

A couple more bugs squashed, one involving returning the last card counted instead of the next one after the last one counted. Now operates to real-life version.

Build deck file that resembles the standard hand-held algorithm by inputting:

./solitaire.py make --alpha solitaire --outfile ../sandbox/soldeck001.deck --shuffle 100

Generate a key with:

./solitaire.py key --infile soldeck001.deck --length 1000 --outfile soldeck001.out.deck

Then open soldeck001.deck in a text editor. The second and third values are the count values (the number the card represents, used for counting) and face values (characters). Model your real deck after this one and check for yourself!

I’m sure many of those who read this thread have heard of Pontifex, or the Solitaire cipher. This is my attempt to implement a general form of that algorithm which can accept as face values any type of data, including more decks. This python module even allows for a deck of decks! As written, it is meant to operate just like the card algorithm, so if you wanted to you could print up code books of what your ‘field agents’ are carrying decks of cards to generate! This module also has two password generating routines, one which uses the solitaire deck simply, and another that is a play on the deck of decks idea.

Here is v. 0.0.3 of my writing of this algorithm. This is not neat and pretty, merely functional. The first block of code is solitaire.py. It executes when called on the console (only tested on UNIX-like systems) and must be passed arguments to work. There is a class and list of functions in solitaire.py. Deck class handles all the stuff you’d expect a deck in solitaire to handle: pushing cards, popping cards, getting characters, advancing state, and a built-in make. The functions in solitaire.py are mainly for loading and unloading deck states and to operate the command-line form.

I decided to write this because I wanted to start writing python code where I implement quantum computing proof cryptographic algorithms and protocols. I think OpenPGP is sorely lacking in post-quantum computing foresight at this point and warez has to get out there to handle this threat.

Yea yea, I know it’s sloppy code. I wrote it to work, and I may work on cleaning it up and making it faster and more general. In the event I don’t, here’s a little present for y’all:

This is the first time this code has left this system, consider it licensed under BSD by:
Daniel Duffield
LucianSolaris@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/LucianSolaris

Output of `./solitaire.py –help`:

Options:
 <command> func --args args

 Function 'make':
  Makes a Pontifex deck.  Options are:
  --alpha String    | Pre-made alphabet to use (below)
  --alphastr String | User-provided alphabet (in single quotes, mutually exclusive with --alpha)
  --outfile Path    | Path to output deck file
  --shuffle Integer | [Optional] Shuffle count (100 Default)
  --mix-values      | [Optional] Mixes up alphabet value assignments

 Function 'key':
  Outputs a key string for use with a tableau.  Options are:
  --length Integer  | Output length
  --infile Path     | Deck file to use
  --outfile Path    | [Optional] Deck output path (Don't write endstate to infile)
                    |   (not recommended for sensitive uses)
  --quiet           | [Optional] Suppress soft errors

 Function 'pass':
  Outputs a complex password based on these options:
  --length Integer  | Password length
  --alpha String    | Pre-made alphabet string name (below)
  --alphastr String | User-provided alphabet (in single quotes, mutually exclusive with --alpha)
  --shuffle Integer | [Optional] Shuffle count (100 Default)

 Function 'advpass':
  Outputs a complex password, like pass, but with this additional option:
  --count           | Number of decks in 'meta' deck.

  (advpass is more of a test than a function, therefore it's unsupported)

 Available pre-made alphabets:
  extended: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789'",.<>[]{}/?;:
  uppercase: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
  uppercasenums: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789
  standard: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789
  dvkextended: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789'",.<>/=?+;:-_
  numbers: 0123456789
  lowercase: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
  stdcrypt: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789-
  lowercasenums: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789
  complex: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789'",.<>`~[]{}/=\?+|;:-_
  solitaire: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

solitaire.py:

#!/usr/bin/python2.7

import pyrand
import sys
import os
import re

#class declaration -
class Deck(object):

 #constructor
 def __init__(self):
  self.__deck=[]
  self.__numCards=0
  self.__lockState=0
  self.__debug=0
  self.__pushLockState=0

 def printDebug(self, inString):
  if self.__debug==1:
   print inString

 def pushCard(self, inTuple):
  if not self.__lockState and self.__pushLockState!=2:
   self.__pushLockState=1
   self.__numCards+=1
   self.__deck.append(inTuple)
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck feature locked in current state, check programming!')

 def pushAlpha(self, inObj):
  if not self.__lockState and self.__pushLockState!=1:
   self.__pushLockState=2
   self.__numCards+=1
   self.__deck.append((self.__numCards,inObj))
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck feature locked in current state, check programming!')

 def pushJoker(self, inJoker):
  if not self.__lockState and self.__pushLockState!=1:
   self.__pushLockState=2
   if inJoker<=2 and inJoker>=1:
    self.__deck.append((0-inJoker,None))
   else:
    raise Exception('(EE): Joker count cannot exceed 2 nor be less than 0')
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck feature locked in current state, check programming!')

 def shuffleVal(self, inCount):
  if not self.__lockState:
   for j in range(inCount):
    deck2=[]
    tmp=None
    offset=-1
    for i in range(len(self.__deck)):
     tmp=(i,self.__deck.pop(pyrand.urandomGet(0,2**16,1)[0]%len(self.__deck)))
     if tmp[1][1]==None:
      deck2.append((tmp[1][0],None))
      offset+=1
     else:
      deck2.append((tmp[0]-offset,tmp[1][1]))
    self.__deck=deck2
    self.shuffleDeck(10)
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck locked before accessing protected feature')

 def shuffleDeck(self, inCount):
  if not self.__lockState:
   deck2=[]
   for ij in range(inCount):
    for i in range(len(self.__deck)):
     deck2.append(self.__deck.pop(pyrand.urandomGet(0,2**16,1)[0]%len(self.__deck)))
    self.__deck=deck2
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck locked before accessing protected feature')

 def popState(self):
  for i in range(len(self.__deck)):
   yield (i+1,self.__deck[i][0],self.__deck[i][1])

 def lockDeck(self):
  try:
   if self.__deck.index((-1,None))+1 and self.__deck.index((-2,None))+1:
    self.__lockState=1
   else:
    raise Exception('(EE): Unknown Joker error')
  except:
   raise Exception('(EE): Lacking one or more Jokers at lock')

 def makeDeck(self, inAlphaString, inShuffleCount):
  if not self.__lockState:
   for i in inAlphaString:
    self.pushAlpha(i)
   self.pushJoker(1)
   self.pushJoker(2)
   self.shuffleDeck(inShuffleCount)
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck locked before accessing protected feature')

 def advanceState(self):
  if self.__lockState:
   deck2=[]
   smJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-1,None))
   bgJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-2,None))
   if smJokerLoc==len(self.__deck)-1:
    deck2=self.__deck[0:1]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc:smJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[1:smJokerLoc]
   else:
    deck2=self.__deck[:smJokerLoc]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc+1:smJokerLoc+2]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc:smJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc+2:]
   self.__deck=deck2
   deck2=[]
   smJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-1,None))
   bgJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-2,None))
   if bgJokerLoc==len(self.__deck)-1:
    deck2=self.__deck[0:2]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[2:bgJokerLoc]
   elif bgJokerLoc==len(self.__deck)-2:
    deck2=self.__deck[0:1]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[1:bgJokerLoc]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+1:bgJokerLoc+2]
   else:
    deck2=self.__deck[:bgJokerLoc]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+1:bgJokerLoc+3]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+3:]
   self.__deck=deck2
   deck2=[]
   smJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-1,None))
   bgJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-2,None))
   if smJokerLoc<bgJokerLoc:
    deck2=self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+1:]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc:smJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc+1:bgJokerLoc]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[:smJokerLoc]
    self.__deck=deck2
   else:
    tmp=smJokerLoc
    smJokerLoc=bgJokerLoc
    bgJokerLoc=tmp
    deck2=self.__deck[bgJokerLoc+1:]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc:smJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[smJokerLoc+1:bgJokerLoc]+self.__deck[bgJokerLoc:bgJokerLoc+1]+self.__deck[:smJokerLoc]
    self.__deck=deck2
   deck2=[]
   smJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-1,None))
   bgJokerLoc=self.__deck.index((-2,None))
   if self.__deck[len(self.__deck)-1][0]<0:
    deck2.append(self.__deck[:])
   else:
    deck2.append(self.__deck[self.__deck[len(self.__deck)-1][0]:-1]+self.__deck[:self.__deck[len(self.__deck)-1][0]]+self.__deck[-1:])
   self.__deck=deck2[0]
  else:
   raise Exception('(EE): Deck not locked before accessing protected feature')

 def getChars(self, inSize):
  i=0
  while i<inSize:
   self.advanceState()
   if self.__deck[0][0]<0:
    yieldChar=self.__deck[-2][1]
   else:
    yieldChar=self.__deck[self.__deck[0][0]][1]
   if type(yieldChar)!=type(None):
    i+=1
    yield yieldChar

 def getKey(self, inSize):
  outString=''
  for i in self.getChars(inSize):
   outString=outString+i
  return outString

alphaDict={
'complex':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789\'\",.<>`~[]{}/=\?+|;:-_',
'dvkextended':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789\'\",.<>/=?+;:-_',
'extended':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789\'\",.<>[]{}/?;:',
'standard':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789',
'lowercase':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz',
'lowercasenums':'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789',
'uppercase':'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ',
'uppercasenums':'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789',
'numbers':'0123456789',
'solitaire':'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ',
'stdcrypt':'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789-'
}

def loadState(inDeck, inFilename):
 file=open(inFilename,'rU')
 if 'PYNTIFEX_DECK\n' not in file:
  raise Exception('(EE): Attempted to load deck file lacking magic string')
 for i in file:
  try:
   imatch=re.search('\((\d+),\s(-?\d+),\s\'(.+)\'\)', i)
   if imatch.groups()[2]=='None':
    inDeck.pushCard((int(imatch.groups()[1]),None))
   else:
    inDeck.pushCard((int(imatch.groups()[1]),imatch.groups()[2]))
  except:
   if i!='PYNTIFEX_DECK':
    raise Exception('(EE): The following line cannot be processed: '+str(i+1)+' in file: '+inFilename)
 file.close()
 inDeck.lockDeck()

def saveState(inDeck, inFilename):
 outFile=open(inFilename,'w')
 outFile.truncate(0)
 outFile.write('PYNTIFEX_DECK\n')
 for i in inDeck.popState():
  if i[1]<0:
   i=(i[0],i[1],'None')
  outFile.write(str(i)+'\n')
 outFile.flush()
 outFile.close()

def makeDeckFile():
 alphabet=''
 outFile=''
 shuffleCount=100
 mixValues=0
 deck=Deck()
 try:
  alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alphastr')+1]
 except ValueError:
  try:
   alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alpha')+1]
   alphabet=alphaDict.get(alphabet)
   if alphabet==None:
    print '\nBad selection on --alpha, please refer to --help'
    sys.exit(1)
  except ValueError:
   print '\nBad options, should be: <command> make [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --outfile <PathToOutputFile> [--shuffle <Integer>] [--mix-values]'
   sys.exit(1)
 try:
  outFile=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--outfile')+1]
  try:
   shuffleCount=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--shuffle')+1])
   if shuffleCount<10:
    print '\nFor security reasons, please make --shuffle 10 or larger'
    sys.exit(1)
  except ValueError:
   pass
  if '--mix-values' in sys.argv:
   mixValues=1
 except ValueError:
  print '\nBad options, should be: <command> make [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --outfile <PathToOutputFile> [--shuffle <Integer>] [--mix-values]'
  sys.exit(1)
 deck.makeDeck(alphabet, shuffleCount)
 if mixValues==1:
  deck.shuffleVal(shuffleCount)
 deck.lockDeck()
 try:
  saveState(deck,outFile)
 except:
  print '\nError writing file to path:'
  print outFile
  sys.exit(1)
 print '\nDeck outputted successfully to:'
 print outFile
 sys.exit(0)

def printKeyString():
 inFile=''
 outFile=''
 keyString=''
 stringLength=0
 deck=Deck()
 try:
  inFile=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--infile')+1]
  stringLength=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--length')+1])
  try:
   outFile=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--outfile')+1]
  except ValueError:
   pass
 except:
  print '\nBad options, should be: <command> key --infile <PathToFile> --length <Integer> [--outfile <PathToFile>] [--quiet]'
  sys.exit(1)
 try:
  loadState(deck,inFile)
 except:
  print '\nError opening deck file:'
  print inFile
  sys.exit(1)
 deck.lockDeck()
 print ''
 print '',
 for i in deck.getChars(stringLength):
  print '\b'+i,
 if outFile=='':
  try:
   saveState(deck,inFile)
  except:
   if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
    print '\nError saving deck file:'
    print inFile
   sys.exit(1)
 else:
  try:
   saveState(deck,outFile)
  except:
   if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
    print '\nError saving deck file:'
    print outFile
   sys.exit(1)
 sys.exit(0)

def printPassString():
 shuffleCount=100
 alphabet=''
 stringLength=0
 try:
  stringLength=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--length')+1])
 except ValueError:
  '\nBad options, should be: <command> pass [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --length <Integer> [--shuffle <Integer>]'
 deck=Deck()
 try:
  alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alphastr')+1]
 except ValueError:
  try:
   alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alpha')+1]
   alphabet=alphaDict.get(alphabet)
   if alphabet==None:
    print '\nBad selection on --alpha, please refer to --help'
    sys.exit(1)
  except ValueError:
   print '\nBad options, should be: <command> pass [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --length <Integer> [--shuffle <Integer>]'
   sys.exit(1)
 try:
  shuffleCount=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--shuffle')+1])
  if shuffleCount<100:
   print '\nFor security reasons, please make --shuffle 100 or larger'
   sys.exit(1)
 except ValueError:
  pass
 deck.makeDeck(alphabet*3, shuffleCount)
 deck.shuffleVal(shuffleCount)
 deck.lockDeck()
 for i in deck.getChars(stringLength):
  print '\b'+i,
 sys.exit(0) 

def printAdvPassString():
 if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
  print '\nUnofficial function selected.  Advpass can take a'
  print ' really long time to output.  Output latency is pro-'
  print ' portional to (2x --count) x (--shuffle) x (--alpha len)'
  print ' length having little impact...'
 shuffleCount=100
 alphabet=''
 stringLength=0
 deckCount=1
 try:
  deckCount=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--count')+1])
  stringLength=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--length')+1])
 except ValueError:
  print '\nBad options, should be: <command> advpass [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --length <Integer> --count <Integer> [--shuffle <Integer>]'
  sys.exit(1)
 deck=Deck()
 try:
  alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alphastr')+1]
 except ValueError:
  try:
   alphabet=sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--alpha')+1]
   alphabet=alphaDict.get(alphabet)
   if alphabet==None:
    print '\nBad selection on --alpha, please refer to --help'
    sys.exit(1)
  except ValueError:
   print '\nBad options, should be: <command> pass [--alpha <Name> | --alphastr <String>] --length <Integer> [--shuffle <Integer>]'
   sys.exit(1)
 try:
  shuffleCount=int(sys.argv[sys.argv.index('--shuffle')+1])
  if shuffleCount<10:
   print '\nFor security reasons, please make --shuffle 10 or larger'
   sys.exit(1)
 except ValueError:
  pass
 if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
  print '\n Initializing Meta-deck...\n  ',
 for i in range(deckCount):
  deck2=Deck()
  deck2.makeDeck(alphabet,shuffleCount)
  deck2.lockDeck()
  deck.pushAlpha(deck2)
 deck.pushJoker(1)
 deck.pushJoker(2)
 deck.shuffleDeck(shuffleCount)
 deck.shuffleVal(shuffleCount)
 deck.lockDeck()
 if '--quiet' not in sys.argv:
  print '\n Compiling password string...\n'
 print '',
 for j in deck.getChars(stringLength):
  for i in j.getKey(1):
   print '\b'+i,
 sys.exit(0) 

#main function -
def main():
 if '--help' in sys.argv or len(sys.argv)==1:
  print '\nOptions:'
  print ' <command> func --args args'
  print '\n Function \'make\':'
  print '  Makes a Pontifex deck.  Options are:'
  print '  --alpha String    | Pre-made alphabet to use (below)'
  print '  --alphastr String | User-provided alphabet (in single quotes, mutually exclusive with --alpha)'
  print '  --outfile Path    | Path to output deck file'
  print '  --shuffle Integer | [Optional] Shuffle count (100 Default)'
  print '  --mix-values      | [Optional] Mixes up alphabet value assignments'
  print '\n Function \'key\':'
  print '  Outputs a key string for use with a tableau.  Options are:'
  print '  --length Integer  | Output length'
  print '  --infile Path     | Deck file to use'
  print '  --outfile Path    | [Optional] Deck output path (Don\'t write endstate to infile)'
  print '                    |   (not recommended for sensitive uses)'
  print '  --quiet           | [Optional] Suppress soft errors'
  print '\n Function \'pass\':'
  print '  Outputs a complex password based on these options:'
  print '  --length Integer  | Password length'
  print '  --alpha String    | Pre-made alphabet string name (below)'
  print '  --alphastr String | User-provided alphabet (in single quotes, mutually exclusive with --alpha)'
  print '  --shuffle Integer | [Optional] Shuffle count (100 Default)'
  print '\n Function \'advpass\':'
  print '  Outputs a complex password, like pass, but with this additional option:'
  print '  --count           | Number of decks in \'meta\' deck.'
  print '\n  (advpass is more of a test than a function, therefore it\'s unsupported)'
  print '\n Available pre-made alphabets:'
  for i in alphaDict.keys():
   print '  '+i+': '+alphaDict.get(i)
 elif sys.argv[1]=='make':
  makeDeckFile()
 elif sys.argv[1]=='key':
  printKeyString()
 elif sys.argv[1]=='pass':
  printPassString()
 elif sys.argv[1]=='advpass':
  printAdvPassString()
 else:
  print '\nNo useable Options.  --help for info.'
  sys.exit(1)

#launch boilerplate -
if __name__ == '__main__':
 try:
  main()
 except KeyboardInterrupt:
  print '\n Program execution halted prematurely via keyboard (^C)'

pyrand.py:

#!/usr/bin/python2.7

import os
import struct
import sys

randomDevice=open('/dev/random','rb')
urandomDevice=open('/dev/urandom','rb')
UINT32_MAX=0xffffffff

def randomDeviceBytes(inLength):
 return randomDevice.read(inLength)

def urandomDeviceBytes(inLength):
 return urandomDevice.read(inLength)

def convertBytesToInt(inBytes):
 return struct.unpack('I',inBytes)[0]

def makeAcceptableInt(inLower, inUpper, inInt):
 if inLower>=0 and inUpper>inLower and inInt>=0:
  return int((((inUpper-inLower)/float(UINT32_MAX))+inLower)*inInt)

def randomGet(inLower, inUpper, inCount):
 if inLower>=0 and inUpper>inLower and inCount>0:
  return [makeAcceptableInt(inLower, inUpper, convertBytesToInt(randomDeviceBytes(4))) for _ in range(inCount)]
 else:
  raise Exception('(EE): Bad arguments for randomGet()')

def urandomGet(inLower, inUpper, inCount):
 if inLower>=0 and inUpper>inLower and inCount>0:
  return [makeAcceptableInt(inLower, inUpper, convertBytesToInt(urandomDeviceBytes(4))) for _ in range(inCount)]
 else:
  raise Exception('(EE): Bad arguments for urandomGet()')

def main():
 args=[None]
 if len(sys.argv)==4 and long(sys.argv[1])<long(sys.argv[2]) and long(sys.argv[3])>=0:
  for i in sys.argv[1:]:
   args.append(int(i))
  print '\nurandom Output:'
  for i in urandomGet(args[1],args[2],args[3]):
   print i,
  print '\n\nrandom Output:'
  for i in randomGet(args[1],args[2],args[3]):
   print i,
  print '\n\nDebug Check Complete...'
 else:
  print '(EE): Error in arguments.  Usage: ./command Lower Upper Count'


if __name__=='__main__':
 main()

Programming Praxis