[MUD-Dev] common server design

[clawrenc at cup.hp.com]

In <33bf7ed8.126245682 at relay.mnsinc.com>, on 07/05/97 
   at 02:14 PM, caliban at darklock.com (Caliban Tiresias Darklock) said:

>On Tue, 1 Jul 1997 20:05:08 PST8PDT, clawrenc at cup.hp.com wrote:

>>One approach is to make command parsing a question of simple and
>>uniform expression evaluation.  Make the rules simple and easy to
>>learn, and the rest should be almost automatic.  

>Tiny has done this for quite some time, observing a simple syntax of 

>	command/switch target=arguments

>and further dividing the commands into commands which are actual
>gameplay commands; uppercase commands, which deal with the connection
>to the game; commands beginning with @, which are building and
>configuration commands; and commands beginning with +, which are
>'added' commands specific to the individual game. 

Yup.  There are usually two general approaches: making the command
line modal, or making the commands fall into modal groups.  From the
above Tiny is taking the latter approach.   

>There's a general
>contempt I've seen in the MUD community for the prevalence of @-signs
>and the case sensitivity on only *some* commands in Tiny, but there
>*is* a method to the madness.

I can't say I like the arrangement either.  Then again I loathe modal
command lines.  My own current model however does use a modal command
line (ha!), but I've made it stackable just to be usable.  My general
tendency is to avoid shifted characters and case-sensitivity for
everything I can outside of programming and quote characters.

>>>It's the user friendliness that I think we need to QUIT IGNORING.
>>>We've done it far too long. 
>>
>>User friendly for A != user friendly for B.

>Gee, you're right. So since we cannot make everyone in the world
>happy with the design of the command structure, let's just make them
>all miserable. Then everyone will be equal, and equality is a Good
>Thing. 

Of a sureity.  One size always fits all.  I am however interested in
seeing competition for the definition of user friendly in the MUD
arena by various parties and scales.  I'm not interested in trying to
establish yet another (or same) orthodoxy.

--
J C Lawrence                           Internet: claw at null.net
(Contractor)                           Internet: coder at ibm.net
---------------(*)               Internet: clawrenc at cup.hp.com
...Honorary Member Clan McFUD -- Teamer's Avenging Monolith...