[MUD-Dev] Java & MUD servers

[Laurent Bossavit]

Marc Hernandez sez: 

> So I learned java and found that when I wanted to do something the
> language and API support seemed to make it easier.  In C++ I
> always felt I was reinventing and reimplementing.  Probably more a
> personal problem then one with the language. 

Oh, no - I hardly think you're unique in having had that experience. 
The above captures in a nutshell why I prefer Java myself. Aptly 
enough the reason I'm on this list is that I've already written one 
MUD server in Java (a grounds-up reimplementation of the LambdaMOO  
server); the compiler was one of the easiest parts to write, thanks  
to the clean design of the compiler generator I used (SableCC). 

The MOO clone was a commercial project, and one which I wasn't fully 
happy with - mostly because as it progressed I became aware of lots 
of serious flaws in MOO's design; so now I'm in a 'back burner' 
design phase, trying to come up with a detailed, reasoned 
specification of what I want in an ideal server. My focus is on 
general-purpose servers rather than game-oriented ones, which is why 
I was originally interested in MOO, and will probably be inspired by 
efforts such as Alex Stewart's outline of Lithium or Jeff Prothero's 
Muq.  

I want the notion of a "distributed" server to be at the root of the 
design, which is my main stumbling block right now - I'm still trying 
to articulate a cogent notion of what "distributed server" really 
means. And this focus on the distributed aspect is of course tied in 
with Java as the implementation language; partly because Java seems 
to be the best language for distributed software, but also because I 
want to write the server in Java and it would make no sense not to 
take advantage of the language's features in that respect. 

I have been observing the MU* scene for some time now and it seems to 
me that in recent times (i.e. the last few months) there has been a 
revival of interest in Java for implementing servers, as the number 
of 'live' Java-based projects attests (MUGU, JaMU, Java Mud, 
Entity...)  At the risk of sounding trite, "now that HotSpot is out" 
we may be seeing even more activity on that front. 

I've been on the mud-dev list for a bit under a month, and find the 
tone and the content are of above-par quality. So, having finally 
delurked, I'm looking forward to hearing from anybody with 
ideas/suggestions/etc. on my own pet topic. ;) 



-[Morendil]-
Any given program, when running, is obsolete.




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