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cowsay

What is this?

If you are familiar with cowsay on the cli, then you know what this is, but for R. If not, read below. Why? Why not?

Contributors (alphabetical)

  • Amanda Dobbyn
  • Andreas Brandmaier
  • Andy Teucher
  • Carson Sievert
  • Franz-Sebastian Krah
  • Guangchuang Yu
  • Karl Broman
  • Kiyoko Gotanda
  • Lucy D’Agostino McGowan
  • Marion Louveaux
  • Noam Ross
  • Paolo Sonego
  • Philipp Boersch-Supan
  • Rich FitzJohn
  • Scott Chamberlain
  • Thomas Leeper
  • Tyler Rinker

That’s right, it takes 17 people to make cowsay - it’s that hard.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md

Where to find ASCII animal art

Sources to look in:

Permissions

In the ascii art mailing list https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.ascii-art they say:

 As for posting other people's ASCII art,
    after a discussion in news:alt.ascii-art       _     ___
    the following rules were agreed upon:         #_~`--'__ `===-,
    1.  If an ASCII ART picture has initials      `.`.     `#.,//
        on it, leave them on when posting it      ,_\_\     ## #\
    2.  If an ASCII ART picture doesn't have      `__.__    `####\
        initials on it,  mention  that  you            ~~\ ,###'~
        didn't  draw  it  when  posting  it.              \##'
    3.  If somebody  posts a picture without                  [nosig]
        initials and you have an original copy
        with initials on, feel free to re-post the original version.
        *   The re-post ought not to be taken personally, as we all
            know that ASCII art often loses proper credits.
            Responses to the re-post are not necessary.

    One contributor, name of Krogg, suggested the following:

    1.) Ultra polite:...ya make yer own ascii and use it.
    2.)  Very polite:...Ya contact the author and ask if ya
                        can use it...
    3.)       polite:...Ya use it but you keep the Credits
                        in there like they should be.
    4.)         rude:...Ya use it and strip credits.
    5.)    Very rude:...Ya use it and claim that it Is
                        _Your_ very own creation...

So, let’s go with this rule: Let’s include found (on the web) ascii art in this pkg, include signature if there, and if no signature, put in a [nosig] (see above).

Quick watch start

Asciicast: https://asciinema.org/a/7745

Install

From CRAN

install.packages("cowsay")

Dev version

remotes::install_github("sckott/cowsay")

library("cowsay")

The animals

sort(names(animals))
#>  [1] "alligator"    "ant"          "anxiouscat"   "bat"          "bat2"        
#>  [6] "behindcat"    "bigcat"       "buffalo"      "cat"          "chicken"     
#> [11] "chuck"        "clippy"       "cow"          "daemon"       "duck"        
#> [16] "duckling"     "egret"        "endlesshorse" "facecat"      "fish"        
#> [21] "frog"         "ghost"        "goldfish"     "grumpycat"    "hypnotoad"   
#> [26] "longcat"      "longtailcat"  "monkey"       "mushroom"     "owl"         
#> [31] "pig"          "poop"         "pumpkin"      "rabbit"       "shark"       
#> [36] "shortcat"     "signbunny"    "smallcat"     "snowman"      "spider"      
#> [41] "squirrel"     "squirrel2"    "stegosaurus"  "stretchycat"  "trilobite"   
#> [46] "turkey"       "whale"        "wolf"         "yoda"

Say Something

say('time')
#> 
#>  -------------- 
#> 2023-11-02 07:16:42.618198 
#>  --------------
#>     \
#>       \
#>         \
#>             |\___/|
#>           ==) ^Y^ (==
#>             \  ^  /
#>              )=*=(
#>             /     \
#>             |     |
#>            /| | | |\
#>            \| | |_|/\
#>       jgs  //_// ___/
#>                \_)
#> 

say("ain't that some shit", "chicken")
#> 
#>  ----- 
#> ain't that some shit 
#>  ------ 
#>     \   
#>      \
#>          _
#>        _/ }
#>       `>' \
#>       `|   \
#>        |   /'-.     .-.
#>         \'     ';`--' .'
#>          \'.    `'-./
#>           '.`-..-;`
#>             `;-..'
#>             _| _|
#>             /` /` [nosig]
#> 

Add some color:

library(crayon)

say("boo!", "ghost", 
    what_color = "cyan", by_color = "saddlebrown")
say("I love hooo you are!", "owl", 
    what_color = rgb(0, 1, 1), by_color = "#FF0000")

String styles together crayon-style:

say(what = "rms", by = "rms", 
        what_color = yellow$bgMagenta$bold,
        by_color = cyan$italic)

This doesn’t preclude you from adding extra crayon colors to your what string directly.

say(what = paste0("hello ", crayon::yellow("there "), crayon::underline("world")), 
    by = "trilobite", 
    what_color = bgBlue$cyan$italic,
    by_color = "thistle")  # Don't ask me why "thistle" is pink/purple
say(what = "I'm a rare Irish buffalo",
    by = "buffalo", 
    what_color = c("salmon2", "darkcyan", "salmon2", "darkcyan"),
    by_color = c("green", "white", "orange"))

Vary type of output, default calls message()

say("hell no!")
#> 
#>  -------------- 
#> hell no! 
#>  --------------
#>     \
#>       \
#>         \
#>             |\___/|
#>           ==) ^Y^ (==
#>             \  ^  /
#>              )=*=(
#>             /     \
#>             |     |
#>            /| | | |\
#>            \| | |_|/\
#>       jgs  //_// ___/
#>                \_)
#> 

say("hell no!", type="warning")
#> Warning in say("hell no!", type = "warning"): 
#>  -------------- 
#> hell no! 
#>  --------------
#>     \
#>       \
#>         \
#>             |\___/|
#>           ==) ^Y^ (==
#>             \  ^  /
#>              )=*=(
#>             /     \
#>             |     |
#>            /| | | |\
#>            \| | |_|/\
#>       jgs  //_// ___/
#>                \_)
#> 

say("hell no!", type="string")
#> [1] "\n -------------- \nhell no! \n --------------\n    \\\n      \\\n        \\\n            |\\___/|\n          ==) ^Y^ (==\n            \\  ^  /\n             )=*=(\n            /     \\\n            |     |\n           /| | | |\\\n           \\| | |_|/\\\n      jgs  //_// ___/\n               \\_)\n  "

Catfacts!!!!

From the catfacts API at https://catfact.ninja

say("catfact", "cat")
#> --------------
#> When a domestic cat goes after mice, about 1 pounce in 3 results in a catch.
#> --------------
#>    \
#>      \
#>        \
#>            |\___/|
#>          ==) ^Y^ (==
#>            \  ^  /
#>             )=*=(
#>            /     \
#>            |     |
#>           /| | | |\
#>           \| | |_|/\
#>      jgs  //_// ___/
#>               \_)

Long cat

From the a Boing Boing tweet on 2014-05-10 “twitter.com/BoingBoing/status/465170473194512384” (post may be gone)

say("it's caturday", "longcat")
#> 
#>  ----- 
#> it's caturday 
#>  ------ 
#>     \   
#>      \
#>     .ハ,,ハ
#>     ( ゚ω゚)
#>     |つ  つ
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     |    |
#>     U "  U
#>         [BoingBoing]
#> 

Grumpy cat

say('NO!', by='grumpycat')
#> 
#>  -------------- 
#> NO! 
#>  --------------
#>     \
#>       \
#>         \
#>       ハ _ ハ
#>       ಠ X ಠ
#> 

say('WOKE UP TODAY, IT WAS TERRIBLE', by='grumpycat')
#> 
#>  -------------- 
#> WOKE UP TODAY, IT WAS TERRIBLE 
#>  --------------
#>     \
#>       \
#>         \
#>       ハ _ ハ
#>       ಠ X ಠ
#> 

say('I HAD FUN ONCE, IT WAS AWFUL', by='grumpycat')
#> 
#>  -------------- 
#> I HAD FUN ONCE, IT WAS AWFUL 
#>  --------------
#>     \
#>       \
#>         \
#>       ハ _ ハ
#>       ಠ X ಠ
#> 

Bunny Holding a sign

say(by='signbunny')
#> 
#>  -------------- 
#> Hello world! 
#>  --------------
#> (\__/) ||
#> (•ㅅ•) ||
#> /   づ
#>           [nosig]
#> 

Fish

say(by='fish')
#> 
#>  ----- 
#> Hello world! 
#>  ------ 
#>     \   
#>      \
#>   ><((((º>  ><((((º>  ><((((º>  ><((((º>  ><((((º>
#>       Kiyoko Gotanda
#> 

R fortunes

say('fortune','cat')
#> 
#>  -------------- 
#> Let's not kid ourselves: the most widely used piece of software for statistics is Excel.
#>  Brian D. Ripley
#>  'Statistical Methods Need Software: A View of Statistical Computing'
#>  Opening lecture RSS 2002, Plymouth
#>  September 2002 
#>  --------------
#>     \
#>       \
#>         \
#>             |\___/|
#>           ==) ^Y^ (==
#>             \  ^  /
#>              )=*=(
#>             /     \
#>             |     |
#>            /| | | |\
#>            \| | |_|/\
#>       jgs  //_// ___/
#>                \_)
#> 

You can also pick a particular fortune by number or regex search - if the fortune parameter is not NULL you don’t have pass anything to the what parameter (the 1st parameter)

say(fortune=100)
#> 
#>  -------------- 
#> I'm not sure I'd trust any computer recommendation from 1976, no matter how famous the authors are.
#>  Peter Dalgaard
#>  after Samuel Edward Kemp cited a recommendation about nonlinear least squares computer programs from 'Box-Jenkins, 1976'
#>  R-help
#>  January 2005 
#>  --------------
#>     \
#>       \
#>         \
#>             |\___/|
#>           ==) ^Y^ (==
#>             \  ^  /
#>              )=*=(
#>             /     \
#>             |     |
#>            /| | | |\
#>            \| | |_|/\
#>       jgs  //_// ___/
#>                \_)
#> 

say(fortune='whatever')
#> 
#>  -------------- 
#> Justin: Is there a function that just does whatever I'm thinking (aka whatever my homework question is...)?
#> Joshua Ulrich: That's the magic_pony function.
#>  Justin and Joshua Ulrich
#>  stackoverflow.com
#>  June 2013 
#>  --------------
#>     \
#>       \
#>         \
#>             |\___/|
#>           ==) ^Y^ (==
#>             \  ^  /
#>              )=*=(
#>             /     \
#>             |     |
#>            /| | | |\
#>            \| | |_|/\
#>       jgs  //_// ___/
#>                \_)
#> 

Trilobite

say("Hi there :)", by='trilobite')
#> 
#>  -------------- 
#> Hi there :) 
#>  --------------
#>     \
#>       \
#>         \
#>           _____
#>        .'` ,-. `'.
#>       /   ([ ])   \
#>      /.-""`(`)`""-.\
#>       <'```(.)```'>
#>       <'```(.)```'>
#>        <'``(.)``'>
#>    sk   <``\_/``>
#>          `'---'`
#> 

Shark

say('Q: What do you call a solitary shark\nA: A lone shark', by='shark')
#> 
#>  -------------- 
#> Q: What do you call a solitary shark
#> A: A lone shark 
#>  --------------
#>     \
#>       \
#>         \
#>               /""-._
#>               .       '-,
#>                :          '',
#>                 ;      *     '.
#>                  ' *         () '.
#>                    \               \
#>                     \      _.---.._ '.
#>                     :  .' _.--''-''  \ ,'
#>         .._           '/.'             . ;
#>         ; `-.          ,                \'
#>          ;   `,         ;              ._\
#>           ;    \     _,-'                ''--._
#>           :    \_,-'                          '-._
#>           \ ,-'                       .          '-._
#>           .'         __.-'';            \...,__       '.
#>         .'      _,-'        \              \   ''--.,__  '\
#>         /    _,--' ;         \              ;           \^.}
#>         ;_,-' )     \  )\      )            ;
#>              /       \/  \_.,-'             ;
#>             /                              ;
#>          ,-'  _,-'''-.    ,-.,            ;      PFA
#>       ,-' _.-'        \  /    |/'-._...--'
#>      :--``             )/
#>   '
#> 

Buffalo

say('Q: What do you call a single buffalo?\nA: A buffalonely', by='buffalo')
#> 
#>  -------------- 
#> Q: What do you call a single buffalo?
#> A: A buffalonely 
#>  --------------
#>     \
#>       \
#>         \
#>                    _.-````'-,_
#>          _,.,_ ,-'`           `'-.,_
#>        /)     (                   '``-.
#>       ((      ) )                      `\
#>         \)    (_/                        )\
#>         |       /)           '    ,'    / \
#>         `\    ^'            '     (    /  ))
#>           |      _/\ ,     /    ,,`\   (  "`
#>           \Y,   |   \  \  | ````| / \_ \
#>             `)_/      \  \  )    ( >  ( >
#>                        \( \(     |/   |/
#>           mic & dwb  /_(/_(    /_(  /_(
#> 

Clippy

say(fortune=59, by="clippy")
#> 
#> 
#>  ----- 
#> Let's not kid ourselves: the most widely used piece of software for statistics is Excel.
#>  Brian D. Ripley
#>  'Statistical Methods Need Software: A View of Statistical Computing'
#>  Opening lecture RSS 2002, Plymouth
#>  September 2002 
#>  ------ 
#>     \   
#>      \   __
#>    / \
#>    | |
#>    @ @
#>   || ||
#>   || ||
#>   |\_/|
#>   \___/ GB

Yoda

say("fortune", by = "yoda")

Bats!

say("hi, i'm a bat", by="bat")
#> 
#>  ------------- 
#> hi, i'm a bat 
#>  -------------- 
#>               \   
#>                \  
#>                 \
#>         __.--'\     \.__./     /'--.__
#>     _.-'       '.__.'    '.__.'       '-._
#>   .'                                      '.
#>  /                                          \
#> |                                            |
#> |                                            |
#>  \         .---.              .---.         /
#>   '._    .'     '.''.    .''.'     '.    _.'
#>      '-./            \  /           \.-'
#>                       ''mrf

See also bat2

Monkey!

say("fortune", by = "monkey")
#> 
#>  ------------- 
#> Corinna Schmitt: How can I divide the number 0.285 with 2. I need a function.
#>   Result: 0.285 / 2 = 0.1425
#> Gabor Csardi: Well, i think
#>   half.of.0.285 <- function() {
#>     0.1425
#>   }
#> would do the trick.
#>  Corinna Schmitt and Gabor Csardi
#>  R-help
#>  April 2007 
#>  -------------- 
#>               \   
#>                \  
#>                 \
#> 
#>                   .="=.
#>                 _/.-.-.\_     _
#>                ( ( o o ) )    ))
#>                 |/  "  \|    //
#>                  \'---'/    //
#>            jgs   /`"""`\\  ((
#>                 / /_,_\ \\  \\
#>                 \_\_'__/  \  ))
#>                 /`  /`~\   |//
#>                /   /    \  /
#>           ,--`,--'\/\    /
#>           '-- "--'  '--'

Daemon!

say("fortune", by = "daemon")
#> 
#>  ----- 
#> Tony Plate: There looks to be a typo in the R-exts manual: [...]
#> Peter Dalgaard: 'svn blame' tells me that this was Brian's addition in rev.35362 [...]
#> Brian D. Ripley: I prefer 'svn praise' myself.
#> Peter Dalgaard: Or 'svn annotate'. I think it depends on what I'm looking for, plus the risk that the author (perpetrator, contributor) might be me...
#>  Tony Plate, Peter Dalgaard, and Brian D. Ripley
#>  about a typo in the documentation
#>  R-devel
#>  April 2007 
#>  ------ 
#>     \   
#>      \  
#>       \
#>             ,        ,
#>            /(        )`
#>            \ \___   / |
#>             /- _  `-/  '
#>            (/\/ \ \   /\
#>            / /   | `    
#>            O O   ) /    |
#>            `-^--'`<     '
#>           (_.)  _  )   /
#>            `.___/`    /
#>              `-----' /
#> <----.     __ / __   \
#> <----|====O)))==) \) /====
#> <----'    `--' `.__,' \
#>              |        |
#>               \       /
#>         ______( (_  / \______
#>       ,'  ,-----'   |        \
#>       `--{__________)        \/ [nosig]

Egret

say("je ne regrette rien", by = "egret")
#> 
#>  ----- 
#> je ne regrette rien 
#>  ------ 
#>     \   
#>      \  
#>       \
#>        \   _,
#>       -==<' `
#>           ) /
#>          / (_.
#>         |  ,-,`\
#>          \\   \ \
#>           `\,  \ \
#>            ||\  \`|,
#>  jgs      _|| `=`-'
#>          ~~`~`

See also bat2

Endless horse

endless_horse()
## -----
## Hello world!
## ------
##    \
##     \
##      \
##       ,
##    _,,)\.~,,._
##     (()`  ``)\))),,_
##      |     \ ''((\)))),,_          ____
##      |6`   |   ''((\())) "-.____.-"    `-.-,
##      |    .'\    ''))))'                  \)))
##      |   |   `.     ''                     ((((
##      \, _)     \/                          |))))
##       `'        |                          (((((
##                 \                  |       ))))))
##                  `|    |           ,\     /((((((
##                   |   / `-.______.<  \   |  )))))
##                   |   |  /         `. \  \  ((((
##                   |  / \ |           `.\  | (((
##                   \  | | |             )| |  ))
##                    | | | |             || |  '   [endless.horse]
##                    | | | |             || |
##
##                    | | | |             || |
##                    | | | |             || |
##                    | | | |             || |
##                    | | | |             || |
##                    | | | |             || |
##                    | | | |             || |
##                    | | | |             || |
##                    | | | |             || |
##                    | | | |             || |
##                    | | | |             || |

Using pipes

library("magrittr")
"I HAD FUN ONCE, IT WAS AWFUL" %>% say('grumpycat')
#> 
#>  -------------- 
#> I HAD FUN ONCE, IT WAS AWFUL 
#>  --------------
#>     \
#>       \
#>         \
#>       ハ _ ハ
#>       ಠ X ಠ
#> 

I just want the animals!

Okay, hold your endless horses. Just use the exported vector animals, and you can select the animal you want by name.

animals['clippy']
#>                                                                                                                    clippy 
#> "\n\n ----- \n%s \n ------ \n    \\   \n     \\   __\n   / \\\n   | |\n   @ @\n  || ||\n  || ||\n  |\\_/|\n  \\___/ GB\n"

Meta

  • License: MIT
  • Please note that this project is released with a Contributor Code of Conduct. By participating in this project you agree to abide by its terms.

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Install

install.packages('cowsay')

Monthly Downloads

4,130

Version

0.9.0

License

MIT + file LICENSE

Issues

Pull Requests

Stars

Forks

Last Published

November 2nd, 2023

Functions in cowsay (0.9.0)

animals

Animals
endless_horse

Endless horse
say

Sling messages and warnings with flair
cowsay-package

cowsay: Messages, Warnings, Strings with Ascii Animals