roland-secret-code.py

import sys

# Make sure we have enough arguments to start
if len(sys.argv) != 3:
    print("Usage: %s [base] [Sekrit Message]" % sys.argv[0])
    exit()

# Print out the letter base, and build the dictionary
dict = {}
for i in range(1,27):
    char = chr(i + 96);
    print("%d=%s" % (i,char), end = " ") # Print out the key
    dict[char] = i # Store the char => number mapping in a dict

print("\n")

base   = sys.argv[1]
string = sys.argv[2]

last = base # Starting number
for x in string:
    if x == " ": # Skip spaces
        continue

    y   = x.lower()
    cur = dict[y]

    # How far to jump to the next char
    jump = int(cur) - int(last)

    if jump < -13: # If it's too big negative we loop around
        jump = 26 + jump
    if jump > 13: # If it's too big positive then we go negative
        jump = jump - 26

    print(jump, end="  ")
    last = cur

print()