[DGD] DGD Newbie

[Noah Gibbs]

--- Antony Riley <antony at flamefew.net> wrote:
> (I hear sighs of omg, not another one)

  We get newbies pretty regularly, but not in the
flood you might think.  And since my site went up, we
don't usually get the "isn't there *some*
documentation/mudlib out there?" messages.  So I
expect a lot more newbies come and go that we never
hear about at all :-)

> 1) Always use a binary port, get rid of the telnet
> port completely, write
> telnet negotiation handling in the lib.

  The rest of us would thank you for this.  As far as
I know, I'm the only one actively developing a free,
distributed mudlib for DGD.  I'll eventually get to
this if you don't, but there are several large
projects that are higher on my list of priorities for
Phantasmal.

  With that said, it's still a really good idea.  You
can avoid hacks like the ANSI color patch.

> 2) Allow outbound TCP connection from the mud for
> connectivity with other
> applications. (and in lib ftp server, and other
> security nightmares).

  I'm in favor of avoiding this as much as possible. 
Still, it'd give you IMUD3 support if you wanted it. 
It's actually possible to write an FTP server without
this, but it requires implementing only passive mode. 
I know some people have done it, but a lot of DGD code
sinks beneath the waves -- people plan to release the
lib "when it's finished", then never finish and never
release.

  That's one reason all my Phantasmal development has
been open, almost from the very beginning.  Keeps me
from being just a flash in the pan :-)

> I would really like to use the experimental branch,
> though this would mean
> taking the current NET package and patching manualy
> and well my C isn't up
> to that I don't think ;)

  Yeah, it takes some doing.  DGD's also not a trivial
piece of software, and there are some very subtle bugs
with atomic functions that can happen...

> I'd rather not stray from the experimental version
> if I use it though,
> because if I do, I will be unable to apply further
> patches :(

  This would argue in favor of your number 1, above.

> Advice ?

  I've tried very hard to keep my stuff using vanilla
DGD.  If you do, it makes it easier for all of us to
give you technical help.  It makes it easier on your
users.  While you could do a Phantasmal-style bundled
release, bear in mind that people on other platforms
won't necessarily thank you for that -- they'd rather
use their existing DGD binary, and they'd rather not
have to apply messy things like the network patch or
ANSI patch, which change from version to version of
DGD.

  Alternately, you could follow GurbaLib's lead and
just standardize on a single modified version of DGD,
which would also make it easy for you to add kfuns. 
That'd be the diametric opposite of your first
suggestion.  I'm against it, but it seems to have
worked out well for Erlend Simonsen (the guy who did
GurbaLib).

> I'll probably be starting off with the kernel
> lib as a base,

  Yay!

> phantasmal
> looks great, but isn't quite what I want,
> though I'm sure I could use
> bits from it.

  Good.  Then look at UNQ and the Help system. 
They're the two easiest bits to steal, and the most
applicable.  Jay Shaffstall, of Electric Sheep MUD,
has done the same :-)

> I'm sure there are some resources I've probably
> missed on DGD so far,

  Fewer than you think.  I index stuff at a pretty
good rate, and there's not much old stuff I haven't
dug up.  However, I freely admit that I miss a lot of
current development efforts because they rarely
publicize much.  I check periodically, but it's hard
to find most people that are just using DGD for stuff.

> the
> phantasmal website has been by far the most helpful
> so far

  Thanks!  If you've got any suggestions for changes,
nitpicks, or major new areas of content, let me know. 
I've actually got my name in little "mail-to" links at
the bottom of most pages, but I don't make a big point
of putting my name in a big font anywhere.  Maybe I
will eventually, on an 'about' page or something.


=====
------
noah_gibbs at yahoo.com

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