[MUD-Dev] Re: An Introduction

[Chris Gray]

[Jeroen Ruigrok:]

 >Yeah, that's exactly what I meant... I just wonder if we would be good for OS
 >programming too then?  =)
 >What do you (as the MUD-Dev list) commonly use for status control? Flags, chars,
 >bitmasks or other genious inventions?

Sure, I've done OS programming, too. Oh, that's not what you meant? :-)

I tend to use boolean values in server code. Occasionally I'll use bitmaps
for some flagsets, but I find it prettier not to, and for most things, the
space doesn't matter. I don't have many flag values in the most common
data structures used by the server.

Scenario code (programmed in the MUD programming language) uses booleans
exclusively. The language constructs are there for bitmaps, but I've
never found the need for them. I *have* used them for squishing down
the storage for large numbers of small integers, however. E.g. in a
secondary scenario (not part of the main one yet), I have several
large castle levels, and need to code information for each "square" of
the maps, including tile number, passability, visibility stuff, etc. That's
a lot of stuff if each number is the full 32 bits, so I've squished them
down and do a lot of bit fiddling to get them out.

 >Also a remark, we find (at least I do) OS's nice because of their layering
 >model, but thus far I haven't been seeing that on MUDs yet. To explain what I
 >mean, just think about the kernel and what gets loaded on top. Any corrections
 >to my statement?

Layers, yes, but also lots of fairly independent modules. E.g. in my
server, the database code is separate, the lexer for the programming
language is separate, the parser is separate, the interpreter is
separate, the socket stuff is most separate, etc. etc. I tend to think
in boxes rather than in layers, although the stuff written in the MUD
programming language is definitely layered on top of the server itself.

 >Hmmm, any ideas on where to find some sort of lists, either on the web or as
 >book, on the differences in UNIX/Windows programming? Or to put it in other
 >words, to stay as platform independant as possible without using Java =) But any
 >ideas on Network programming titles? Also, I have K&R's C Handbook 2nd Ed. Any
 >suggestions for another supplemental C book? One that goes slightly further?

There have been a number of suggestions in the last couple of months - you
should read back in the archives a bit. About the only new books I've
bought in a while have been Java ones, and NT (argh!!) ones.

--
Chris Gray     cg at ami-cg.GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA