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% TeX source for the Inform Designer's Manual, Second Edition
% 23 October 1995
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% For contents
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-- #1\par\qquad\qquad\quad
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%
% End of macros
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\def\fr{\noindent{\sl For rooms}\quad}
\def\fo{\noindent{\sl For objects}\quad}
\def\fpo{\noindent{\sl For the player-object}\quad}
\def\fco{\noindent{\sl For compass objects}\quad}
\def\fato{\noindent{\sl For |animate| or |talkable| objects}\quad}
\def\rr{\noindent{\sl Routine returns}\quad}
\def\nrr{\noindent{\sl No return value}\quad}
\def\warn{\noindent{\sl Warning}\quad}
% --------------------------------------------------------------------------
\centerline{\bigfont The Inform Designer's Manual}
\vskip 0.5in
\centerline{by Graham Nelson}
\vskip 0.25in
\centerline{\sl Second edition}
\smallskip
\centerline{23 October 1995}
\vskip 0.5in
\sli{}{Detailed contents}{2}
\sli{}{Introduction}{7}
\medskip
\sli{I}{Fundamentals}{10}
\sli{II}{The Model World}{31}
\sli{III}{Describing and Parsing}{68}
\sli{IV}{Testing and Hacking}{99}
\sli{V}{Language and Compiler Reference}{111}
\sli{VI}{Library Reference}{139}
\medskip
\sli{}{A short Inform lexicon}{157}
\sli{}{Answers to all the exercises}{164}
\sli{}{Index}{206}
%\input $.games.infocom.ftp.toolkit.mandir.dmanual.titlepageX
\newpage
%\input $.games.infocom.ftp.toolkit.mandir.dmanual.ContentsX
%\input $.games.infocom.ftp.toolkit.mandir.dmanual.Intro
%\input $.games.infocom.ftp.toolkit.mandir.dmanual.chapi
%\input $.games.infocom.ftp.toolkit.mandir.dmanual.chapii
%\input $.games.infocom.ftp.toolkit.mandir.dmanual.chapiii
%\input $.games.infocom.ftp.toolkit.mandir.dmanual.chapiv
%\input $.games.infocom.ftp.toolkit.mandir.dmanual.chapv
%\input $.games.infocom.ftp.toolkit.mandir.dmanual.chapvi
\def\mli#1{\endgroup\bigbreak\noindent{\bf #1}\medskip\begingroup}
\def\with#1{\par\noindent{\sl #1}\smallbreak}
\def\ssli#1#2#3{\endgroup\par\smallbreak\noindent\hbox to\hsize%
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\begingroup\noindent\narrower\ninepoint}
\def\sslix#1#2{\medbreak\par\noindent\hbox to\hsize%
{\tenpoint{\bf #1}\dotfill #2}\par\hangindent=1in\ninepoint}
\sectionx{Contents}
\titletrue
\sslix{Introduction}{7}%
\begingroup%
\mli{Chapter I: Fundamentals}
\ssli{1}{Getting started}{10}%
Beginning to lay `Ruins'; including the library files; the |Initialise|
routine; some properties of mushrooms; |name|, |description| and |initial|;
|edible| foodstuffs; introducing |before| and |after| rules.
\ssli{2}{An invitation to Inform}{14}%
The Inform approach; what programs contain; brief introduction to the
language; common core of directives and statements.
\ssli{3}{Objects, properties and attributes}{18}%
The object tree; the |nothing| non-object; |move| and |remove| statements;
the functions |sibling|, |parent|, |child|, etc.; attributes; properties;
lists as property values; declaring objects, perhaps |Nearby| ones; routines
as property values; why the |name| property is special.
\ssli{4}{Actions and reactions}{23}%
Actions are attempts; generating them with |<|, |<<|; |self|; the `Before',
`During' and `After' stages of processing actions; exact sequence of events;
|before|, |after|, |react_before|, |react_after|, |GamePreRoutine|,
|GamePostRoutine|; |noun|, |second|, |inp1| and |inp2|; the parser can make
peculiar actions; the Library actions already defined, in three Groups;
creating a `Blorple' action and a simple new verb; fake actions;
message-passing; self-destructing |before| rules.
\ssli{5}{Classes of objects}{29}%
Class definitions; `Ruins' artifacts: the pygmy statuette, the honeycomb;
inheritance and rules of precedence; |additive| properties accumulate
through class inheritance.
\mli{Chapter II: The Model World}
\ssli{6}{Places, scenery, directions and the map}{31}%
Giving `Ruins' a small map; |n_to|, |d_to|, etc.; when you |cant_go|;
scenery objects; |default| rules; rooms have |before| and |after| too; a
mist object, present in many rooms, using |found_in|; the five senses
and reaction rules; direction objects in the |compass|.
\ssli{7}{Containers, supporters and sub-objects}{36}%
Containers: |container|, |supporter|, |capacity|, |open|, |openable|; locks
and keys: |locked|, |lockable|, |with_key|; |LetGo| and |Receive| to trap
use of a container: a horrifying chasm; the |Search| action; |transparent|
objects have visible sub-objects; a television set with buttons.
\ssli{8}{Doors}{38}%
How to create a |door|; |door_to|, |door_dir|; |when_open|, |when_closed|;
a stone door for `Ruins'; a two-way door, the `Advent' grate; why
|door_dir| is needed and how to trap every attempt to go through.
\ssli{9}{Switchable objects}{40}%
|switchable| and |on|: |when_on|, |when_off|; the Gotham City searchlight;
a sodium lamp; |describe| taking precedence.
\ssli{10}{Things to enter, travel in and push around}{42}%
|enterable| objects: a slab altar; vehicles: KAR 1; special rule about
the |Go| action when inside something |enterable|; the |PushDir| action:
a huge pumice-stone ball; pushing up and down.
\ssli{11}{Reading matter and consultation}{44}%
The |Consult| action, ``look up''; |consult_from| and |consult_words|:
a dictionary of glyphs, Tyndale's Bible; making ``read'' and ``examine''
different.
\ssli{12}{Living creatures and conversation}{46}%
|animate| objects and the |life| rule; a mummified priest, Blofeld,
a coiled snake; some people are |transparent|; orders: actions for other
people; |talkable| objects; parsing conversation: Zen and Charlotte;
untypeable verbs; fake fake actions; several voice-activated machines;
applications of scope: telepathy and phone calls.
\ssli{13}{The light and the dark}{53}%
Light and darkness is automatically managed; the definition of `when there
is light'; |OffersLight| and |HasLightSource|; going from darkness to
darkness and the |DarkToDark| entry point; modifying the darkness object.
\ssli{14}{Daemons and the passing of time}{55}%
Daemons and the |daemon| property; starting and stopping them; background
daemons; timers (fuses); |time_left| and |time_out|; |each_turn| events for
places and nearby objects; the time of day; changing it with |SetTime|; on
the status line; midnight, sunrise, sunset; the exact sequence of events
at end-of-turn.
\ssli{15}{Starting, moving, changing and killing the player}{58}%
What |Initialise| should do; the |location|; initial restoration;
teleportation and the |PlayerTo| routine; what happens when the room
changes: |NewRoom|, |initial| for a room, |visited|; giving the player his
own |before| rule; using |ChangePlayer| to transform him into any object;
multi-character games; life and |deadflag|; the |DeathMessage| routine;
resurrection and the |AfterLife| routine.
\ssli{16}{Miscellaneous constants and scoring}{62}%
|Story| and |Headline|; |MAX_CARRIED|; the automatic rucksack |SACK_OBJECT|;
`amusing' rewards for the victorious; two scoring systems: |MAX_SCORE|,
|OBJECT_SCORE|, |ROOM_SCORE|; tasks: |TASKS_PROVIDED|, |NUMBER_TASKS|,
|task_scores|, |PrintTaskName|; rankings and |PrintRank|; automatic score
notification and |notify_mode|; ``objects'' and ``places'' verbs, removable
with |NO_PLACES|.
\ssli{17}{Extending and redefining the Library}{64}%
Creating new attributes and properties; |alias|; changing the default value
of a property; how to |PrintOrRun| a property; determining the `type' of a
property value; modular extensions; the |LibraryMessages| system for
changing Library messages like ``Dropped.''; changing the prompt; the last
resort, using |Replace| directives; even on `hardware' functions like
|random|.
\vfill\eject
\mli{Chapter III: Describing and Parsing}
\ssli{18}{Describing objects and rooms}{68}%
|print (The) obj|, |... (the) obj| and so on; indefinite and
definite |article|; |proper| nouns; the |short_name| of an object;
|invent| strings and routines; exactly how inventory lines are
printed; a matchbook; |describe| routines; exactly how rooms
are described; |Locale|.
\ssli{19}{Listing and grouping objects}{73}%
The list-maker |WriteListFrom|; its style bitmap; examples: tall and
wide inventories; grouping similar items together in lists: foodstuffs,
Scrabble pieces and denominations of coin.
\ssli{20}{How nouns are parsed}{76}%
How |name| is used; a fried green tomato turning red; the parser breaks
text into a stream of words; |wn| and |NextWord|; reading words as
numbers or from their raw text; a |parse_name| routine is much more
flexible than |name|; the |ParseNoun| entry point; distinguishing
adjectives from nouns.
\ssli{21}{Plural names for duplicated objects}{80}%
Collections of indistinguishable objects; a bag of six coins; the |plural|
property for printing out plurals; definition of `indistinguishable';
writing |parse_name| routines to allow plurals to be understood; class of
crowns.
\ssli{22}{How verbs are parsed}{82}%
The parser's fundamental method; |BeforeParsing| entry point; the actor and
verb word; synonyms for verbs; definitions of grammar, line and token;
|action_to_be|; |Verb| directive: a simplified ``take'' grammar; |meta|
verbs; grammar creates actions; creating an ``xyzzy'' verb; how to |Extend|
grammar for an existing verb: pushing numbered buttons; priority: |replace|,
|first|, |last|; splitting synonymous verbs apart with |Extend| |only|; the
|UnknownVerb| and |PrintVerb| entry points.
\ssli{23}{Tokens of grammar}{87}%
Full list of grammar tokens; prepositions; |noun| and |held|; implicit
taking; tokens allowing multiple objects like ``all''; filtering out nouns
by attribute: ``use'' verb; and by general routine: ``free'' verb; parsing
numbers: ``type'' verb, |ParseNumber|; general parsing routines; reading
from the parser's raw text |buffer| and |parse| table; exercises, including
French, telephone and floating-point numbers, times of day, adding a
|third| parameter to a grammar line.
\ssli{24}{Scope and what you can see}{92}%
The definition of `in scope'; which applies to other people as well;
answering questions: ``what is a grue''; |scope=...| tokens with
programmable scope; |scope_stage|, |ScopeWithin| and |PlaceInScope|;
changing the global definition of `in scope' using |InScope|;
|scope_reason|; looping over and testing scope; making the rules more
sensitive to darkness; a long room divided by a glass wall; the
|add_to_scope| property for component parts of containers.
\ssli{25}{Helping the parser out of trouble}{97}%
Parser error messages and |ParserError|; ambiguity-resolution and
influencing it with |ChooseObjects|; making ``eat'' prefer |edible|
objects; redefining ``all''.
\vfill\eject
\mli{Chapter IV: Testing and Hacking}
\ssli{26}{Debugging verbs and tracing}{99}%
Suite of debugging verbs: ``purloin'', ``abstract'', ``tree'', ``scope'',
``goto'', ``gonear'', ``actions'', ``routines'', ``timers'', ``trace'',
``recording'', ``replay'', ``random''; transcriptions; the random-number
generator; Infix-format debugging files; how to crash the game interpreter
at run-time; the levels of parser tracing; compiling with debugging code.
\ssli{27}{Limitations on the run-time format}{102}%
Formats of the Z-machine; restrictions: memory, vocabulary, dictionary
resolution, attributes, properties, names, special effects, objects, memory
management, global variables, ``undo'' verb, function arguments; using
|Abbreviate| to save run-time memory.
\ssli{28}{Boxes, menus and drawings}{104}%
Asking yes/no questions with |YesOrNo|; the status line; character graphics,
escape characters; proportional- and fixed-pitch fonts, |font|; epigrams in
boxes and |box|; menus of text options, |DoMenu|, |pretty_flag|,
|menu_item|; an example menu; submenus are allowed; changing the text
|style| to bold-face, underlining, reverse video.
\ssli{29}{Descending into assembly language}{106}%
Assembly language |@|; reliability of interpreters; table of opcodes
which do something higher-level code can't; upper and lower windows:
splitting, setting the window, moving the cursor, clearing the screen,
word-breaking; the colour scheme; a bell sound; keyboard reading in
real-time; function and cursor keys; tokenising with dictionaries;
encoding dictionary entries; input/output streams; the stack frame:
throw and catch; examples: a title page, drawing status lines,
formatting and centering text.
\mli{Chapter V: Language and Compiler Reference}
\ssli{30}{Language specification}{111}%
1: Source file format; 2: The logical machine; 3: Constants; 4: Directives;
5: Property and attribute definitions; 6: Object and class definitions;
7: Global variables and arrays; 8: Grammar and verbs; 9: Routines;
10: Arithmetic expressions; 11: Built-in functions; 12: Conditions;
13: Assignments; 14: Printing commands; 15: Manipulating objects;
16: Returning from routines; 17: Blocks of code; 18: Control constructs;
19: Actions.
\ssli{31}{A summary of grammar}{126}%
\ssli{32}{Compiler options and memory settings}{128}%
Switches; memory sizes; typical memory usage; raising memory settings.
\ssli{33}{All the Inform error messages}{131}%
Fatal errors; errors; internal and assembler errors; warnings; obsolete
usages.
\mli{Chapter VI: Library Reference}
\ssli{34}{The attributes}{139}%
\ssli{35}{The properties}{141}%
\ssli{36}{Library-defined objects and routines}{147}%
\ssli{37}{Entry points and meaningful constants}{149}%
\ssli{38}{The actions and fakes}{151}%
\ssli{39}{The library message numbers}{152}%
\endgroup
\bigskip
\sslix{What order the program should be in}{156}%
\sslix{A short Inform lexicon}{157}%
\sslix{Answers to all the exercises}{164}%
\sslix{Index}{206}%
\tenpoint
\newpage
\sectionx{Introduction}
\titletrue
\poem
I will build myself a copper tower
With four ways out and no way in
But mine the glory, mine the power$\ldots$
\poemby{^{Louis MacNeice} ({\oldstyle1907}--{\oldstyle1963})}{Flight of the Heart}
\noindent
Inform is an adventure-game compiler, and this is the book to read about it.
Infocom format `^{story files}' (adventure games, that is) can be played on
almost any computer, ancient or modern, and interpreters which run them are
widely available, from personal organisers to mainframes. They represent
probably the most portable form in which games can ever be written, as no
alteration whatever is required to move a game from one model of computer to
another.
Inform is a suite of software as well as a compiler. Its library (a
standard core of game routines) allows designers to begin coding at once.
An Inform source file need not contain any of the parser code, or the
running of the `game universe', only descriptions and exceptions to the
usual rules. This world is quite rich already, having over 80 verbs and an
extensive grammar: the library understands rooms, objects, duplicates,
containers, doors, things on top of other things, light, scoring, switching
things on and off, opening, closing and locking things, looking up
information in books, entering things, travelling about in them and so
forth. The parser it uses (which can be entirely invisible to the designer,
but is programmable and very flexible) is sophisticated enough to handle
ambiguities, to clarify its input by asking questions and to cope properly
with plurals, vagueness, conversation, pronouns and the player becoming
someone else in mid-game.
\bigskip
The text of this book has evolved from six earlier editions. In Inform's
early years, the manual was in places rather technical, with a makeshift and
sometimes defensive tone (``Inform is an easel, not a painting''). There were
specifications of the run-time code format and literary critiques of games
gone by: like an oven manual padded out with both a cookery book and a
detailed plan of the gas mains. This book contains just the instructions
for the oven.
So there are three ^{`companion volumes'}. {\sl The Craft of Adventure} is
an essay on the design of adventure games; {\sl The Specification of the
Z-Machine} covers the run-time format and Inform assembly language, its
lowest level; and {\sl The Inform Technical Manual} documents chiefly
internals, for compiler maintenance and porting.
In trying to be both a tutorial and reference work, this book aims itself
in style halfway between the two extremes of manual, Tedium and Gnawfinger's
{\sl Elements of Batch Processing in COBOL-66}, third edition, and Mr Blobby's
{\sl Blobby Book of Computer Fun}. (This makes some sections both leaden
{\sl and} patronising.) I have tried to make every passage tell the truth,
so that even early sections are reliable for reference purposes. Passages
which divert the main story, usually to tell an unexpurgated truth which may
just confuse the newcomer, are marked with a warning triangle $\triangle$ or
two, and set in smaller type.
Many lengthy or involved examples are left as ^{exercises}, with full answers
given at the back of the book. Harder exercises, marked with triangles,
sometimes need knowledge of material later in the book, but most of the
easier exercises can be attempted by a first-time reader. For a list of
exercises with page references to question and answer, see under
``exercises'' in the Index.
Most sections end with a `References' paragraph referring to yet more
examples which can be found in the demonstration games which come with
Inform. All of these have publically available source code (see the Inform
home page): those most frequently referred to are ^{`Advent'} (a full
version of the original ^{mainframe `Adventure'}, which contains a good deal
of ``everyday Inform''), ^{`Adventureland'} (a version of ^{Scott Adams}'s
primitive classic), ^{`Alice Through The Looking-Glass'} (a heavily
annotated game, developed in the course of Gareth Rees's WWW tutorial for
Inform), ^{`Balances'} (a short story consisting of puzzles which stretch
the parser's abilities) and ^{`Toyshop'} (hardly a game at all: more an
incoherent collection of unusual objects to play with). In addition, the
little game ^{`Ruins'} is developed in the course of Chapters I and II of
this manual. There is also a `Shell' game consisting of the minimum code to
get going, but it's only 14 lines long and it's essentially given in \S 1
anyway.
\bigskip
The copyright on Inform, the program and its source code, its example games
and documentation (including this book) is retained by ^{Graham Nelson}, who
asserts the moral right to be identified as its author. Having said this, I
am happy for it to be freely distributed to anybody who wants a copy,
provided that: (a) distributed copies are not substantially different from
those archived by the author, (b) this and other ^{copyright} messages are
always retained in full, and (c) no profit is involved. However, a story
file produced with the Inform compiler (and libraries) then belongs to its
author, and may be sold for profit if desired, provided that its game banner
contains the information that it was compiled by Inform, and the Inform
version number.
At present, the best source for Inform material (executables of the compiler
for different machines, source code, the library files and example games) is
the anonymous ftp site |ftp.gmd.de|, and its home directory is:
\beginstt
/if-archive/infocom/compilers/inform
\endtt^^{ftp site}^^{home page}^^{Inform home page}
Another useful resource is the Inform home page on the `^{World Wide Web}',
currently maintained by ^{Gareth Rees} at:
\beginstt
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/gdr11/inform
\endtt
This manual describes Inform 5.5 (or later), using library release 5/12
(or later).
\bigskip
Some of the ideas of Inform came from an incremental multi-player
game called ^{Tera}, on the ^{Cambridge University} mainframe, written by
Dilip Sequeira and the author in 1990 (whose compiler was called Teraform);
in turn, this stole a little from ^{David Seal} and ^{Jonathan Thackray}'s
game assembler; which dates back to the late 1970s and was written for
^{`Acheton'}, perhaps the first worthwhile game written outside America.
Still, much of the Inform kernel derives ultimately from the {\sl IEEE Computer}
article `Zork: A Computerized Fantasy Simulation Game' by P. David Lebling,
Marc S. Blank and Timothy A. Anderson; and more was suggested by
Richard Tucker and Gareth Rees, among others.
The list of those who have helped the project along is legion: I should like
to thank them all, porters, users and critics alike, but especially Volker
Blasius, Paul David Doherty, Mark Howell, Bob Newell, Robert Pelak, Gareth
Rees, J\o rund Rian, Dilip Sequeira, Richard Tucker and Christopher Wichura.
Gareth Rees in particular acted as proof-reader and editor for this second
edition, greatly improving the text.
One final word. I should like to dedicate this book, impertinently perhaps,
to our illustrious predecessors: ^{Willie Crowther}, ^{Don Woods} and
the authors of ^{Infocom, Inc.}
\medskip
%$ Graham Nelson
%$ St Anne's College, Oxford
%$ October 1995
%$-3
\hbox to\hsize{\hfill\it Graham Nelson}
\hbox to\hsize{\hfill\it St Anne's College, Oxford}
\hbox to\hsize{\hfill\it October 1995}
\bigskip\medskip
\poem
And if no piece of chronicle we prove,
We'll build in sonnets pretty rooms;
As well a well wrought urn becomes
The greatest ashes, as half-acre tombs.
\poemby{^{John Donne} ({\oldstyle1571}?--{\oldstyle1631})}{The Canonization}
\newpage
\chapter{Chapter I: Fundamentals}
\section{1}{Getting started}
\noindent
The examples in Chapters I and II of this manual will put together
a small game called ^{`Ruins'}. As every game does, this will start
looking very like the minimal ^{`Shell'} game supplied with Inform:
\beginstt
Constant Story "RUINS";
Constant Headline "^An Interactive Worked Example^\
Copyright (c) 1995 by Graham Nelson.^";
Include "Parser";
Include "VerbLib";
Object Forest "Dark Forest"
with description
"In this tiny clearing, the pine-needle carpet is broken by \
stone-cut steps leading down into darkness. Dark olive \
trees crowd in on all sides, the air steams with warm recent \
rain, midges hang in the air.",
has light;
[ Initialise;
location = Forest;
"^^^^^Days of searching, days of thirsty hacking through the briars of \
the forest, but at last your patience was rewarded. A discovery!^";
];
Include "Grammar";
end;
\endtt
If you can compile this successfully, Inform is probably set up and working
properly on your computer. Compilation may take a few seconds, because the
game `includes' three library files which contain a great deal more code.
These files are themselves written in Inform
and contain the core of ordinary rules common to all games:
\medskip
\settabs 6 \columns
\+ & ^|Parser| & the game's main loop, and a full parser;\cr
\+ & ^|VerbLib| & routines for many game verbs, like ``take'';\cr
\+ & ^|Grammar| & a grammar table for decoding the player's input.\cr
\medskip\noindent
The library is certainly modifiable by designers, but great effort has gone
into making sure the need seldom arises. Apart from the inclusions, `Ruins'
contains:
\medskip
\item{(a)} strings giving the name of the game and a ^{copyright message},
to be printed out at the appropriate moments;
\item{(b)} a routine, called ^|Initialise|, which is run when the game begins,
and simply sets where the player starts (in the obvious place!) and prints a
^{`welcome' message};
\item{(c)} an object, to be the only room of the game.
\medskip
\par\noindent `Ruins' is at this stage a very boring game:
\beginlines
|Days of searching, days of thirsty hacking through the briars of the forest,|
|but at last your patience was rewarded. A discovery!|
||
|RUINS|
|An Interactive Worked Example|
|Copyright (c) 1995 by Graham Nelson.|
|Release 1 / Serial number 951006 / Inform v1502 Library 5/12|
||
|Dark Forest|
|In this tiny clearing, the pine-needle carpet is broken by stone-cut steps|
|leading down into darkness. Dark olive trees crowd in on all sides, the air|
|steams with warm recent rain, midges hang in the air.|
||
|>i|
|You are carrying nothing.|
||
|>north|
|You can't go that way.|
||
|>wait|
|Time passes.|
||
|>quit|
|Are you sure you want to quit? yes|
\endlines
\par\noindent (The ``Release'' number is 1 unless you set it otherwise,
putting a directive like |Release 2;| into the source code. The
``Serial number'' is set by Inform to the date of compilation.)
\medskip\noindent
In Inform, everything is an object: rooms and items to be picked up,
scenery, intangible things like mist and even some abstract ideas (like
the direction `north'). Our second object is added by writing the
following just after the |Forest| ends and just before |Initialise|
begins:^^{mushroom}
^^{speckled mushroom}
\beginstt
Nearby mushroom "speckled mushroom"
with name "speckled" "mushroom" "fungus" "toadstool";
\endtt
(|Nearby| just means that the mushroom is inside the last thing declared as an
|Object|, in this case the Forest.) The mushroom now appears in the game;
the player can call it ``speckled mushroom", ``mushroom", ``toadstool" or even
``speckled". It can be taken, dropped, looked at, looked under and so on.
However, the description of the Forest says only ``There is a speckled mushroom
here.'', which is still rather plain. So we might extend the definition by:
\beginlines
|Nearby mushroom "speckled mushroom"|
| with name "speckled" "mushroom" "fungus" "toadstool",|
| initial|
| "A speckled mushroom grows out of the sodden earth, on a long stalk.";|
\endlines
The ^|initial| message is used to tell the player about the mushroom when
the Forest is described. (Once the mushroom has been picked or moved, the
message is no longer used: hence the name `initial'.) The mushroom is,
however, still ``nothing special'' when the player asks to ``look at'' or
``examine'' it. To provide a more interesting close-up view, we must give
the mushroom its own |description|:
\beginlines
|Nearby mushroom "speckled mushroom"|
| with name "speckled" "mushroom" "fungus" "toadstool",|
| initial|
| "A speckled mushroom grows out of the sodden earth, on a long stalk.",|
| description|
| "The mushroom is capped with blotches, and you aren't at all sure \|
| it's not a toadstool.",|
| has edible;|
\endlines
Notice that the mushroom's description is split across two lines of source code.
If there were no |\| character, then the description would come out with a
curious gap of 12 spaces between ``sure'' and ``it's''. In a string, the
|\| character ``folds'' lines together by telling Inform to ignore the line
break and carry on reading from the first non-space character on the next
line. (So the gap is just one space after all.) If we want to print a
genuine new-line, we can include the special |^| character.
Now if we examine the mushroom, as is always wise before eating, we get a
cautionary hint; and, thanks to the |edible| clause, we're now able to eat
it.
\danger
|name|, |description| and |initial| are examples of `properties',
while |edible| and |light| are `attributes': the difference is that the
former have values, whereas the latter are just on or off. They can
be defined in any order, and their values can change during play; the
original definition only sets up the initial state.^^{properties}^^{attributes}
We can go much further with form-filling like this, but for the sake of
example we'll begin some honest programming by adding the following
property to the mushroom:
\beginlines
| after|
| [; Take: "You pick the mushroom, neatly cleaving its thin stalk.";|
| Drop: "The mushroom drops to the ground, battered slightly.";|
| ],|
\endlines
The property ^|after| doesn't just have a string for a value: it has a
routine of its own. Now after something happens to the mushroom,
the |after| routine is called to apply any special rules to it. In this
case, |Take| and |Drop| are the only actions tampered with, and the only
effect is that the usual messages (``Taken.'' ``You eat the speckled
mushroom. Not bad.'') are replaced. The game can now manage a brief but
plausible dialogue:
\beginlines
|Dark Forest|
|In this tiny clearing, the pine-needle carpet is broken by stone-cut steps|
|leading down into darkness. Dark olive trees crowd in on all sides, the air|
|steams with warm recent rain, midges hang in the air.|
|A speckled mushroom grows out of the sodden earth, on a long stalk.|
|>get mushroom|
|You pick the mushroom, neatly cleaving its thin stalk.|
|>look at it|
|The mushroom is capped with blotches, and you aren't at all sure it's not a|
|toadstool.|
|>drop it|
|The mushroom drops to the ground, battered slightly.|
\endlines
The mushroom is a little more convincing now, but it doesn't do anything
yet. We can give it a somewhat sad new rule by adding yet another property,
this time with a more substantial routine:
\beginlines
| before|
| [; Eat: if (random(100) <= 30)|
| { deadflag = 1;|
| "The tiniest nibble is enough. It was a toadstool, \|
| and a poisoned one at that!";|
| }|
| "You nibble at one corner, but the curious taste repels you.";|
| ],|
\endlines^^{routines: simple example of}
The |before| routine is called before the player's intended action takes
place. So when the player tries typing, say, ``eat the mushroom", what happens
is: in 30\% of cases, she dies of ^{toadstool poisoning}; and in the other
70\%, she simply nibbles a corner of fungus (without consuming it
completely).
\danger Like many programming languages, Inform braces together blocks of
code so that several statements can come under the |if| condition.
^|deadflag| is a global variable, whose value does not belong to any
particular object (or routine). It is defined somewhere in the depths of
the library: it's usually 0; setting it to 1 causes the game to be lost,
and setting it to 2 causes a win.^^{global variables}\
In either case, the usual rule for the |Eat| action is never applied. This is
because, although it isn't obvious from the code, the routine actually
returns a value. (In Inform, every routine returns a value.) The command
\beginstt
"The tiniest nibble... ...at that!";
\endtt
is actually a shorthand form of
\beginstt
print_ret "The tiniest nibble... ...at that!";
\endtt
What it does is to print the message (together with a carriage return), and
then return from (i.e. finish running) the ^|before| routine, returning the
value `true'. (This is a very convenient shorthand in practice, but if often
confuses newcomers: in particular, a routine reading |"Hello."; return 2;|
won't return 2 as first appears: it will print ``Hello.'' and a new-line,
then return true (actually the number 1). The code coming after |"Hello.";|
will simply not be reached.) To return to this example, the library knows
that something has interrupted the usual rules of play because the |before|
routine didn't return `false' the way it normally would have.
\exercise The present |after| routine for the mushroom is misleading,
because it says the mushroom has been picked every time it's taken (which
will be odd if it's taken, dropped then taken again). Correct this to
complete the definition of the `Ruins'
mushroom.^^{exercises: mushroom picking}
\answer{^^{exercises: mushroom picking}
Change the mushroom's |after| rule to:
\beginstt
after
[; Take: if (self hasnt general)
{ give self general;
"You pick the mushroom, neatly cleaving its thin stalk.";
}
"You pick up the slowly-disintegrating mushroom.";
Drop: "The mushroom drops to the ground, battered slightly.";
],
\endtt
Note that |general| is a general-purpose attribute, always free for the
designer to use. The `neatly cleaving' message can only happen once, because
after that the mushroom object (which calls itself |self|) must have
|general|.}
\section{2}{An invitation to Inform}
\poem
Nothing so difficult as a beginning
In poesy, unless perhaps the end.
\poemby{^{Lord Byron} ({\oldstyle1788}--{\oldstyle1824})}{Don Juan, IV iv}
\noindent
All adventure games work in roughly the same way:
\medskip
\item{1.}{ask the player to type something;}
\item{2.}{parse this (i.e., decide what it means) and generate any actions it
calls for;}
\item{3.}{work out the consequences of these actions and tell the player;}
\item{4.}{worry about time passing, and other things happening.}
\medskip\noindent
This process repeats until it ends in either victory or death. The time
between one keyboard input and the next is called a `turn', and many different
things may happen during it. Most events taking place in the game are called
`actions' and are discussed in detail in \S 5.
Probably the most complicated programming in any adventure game goes into the
^{parser}. Inform's parser is as good as any, and is designed with the intention
of being highly programmable at all levels to suit your game. This book
will return to features of the parser again and again. At any rate, the parser
can easily be taught to understand commands like:
\beginstt
throw three of the coins into the fountain
write funny on the lit cube
take the sword and all the crowns
what is a grue
dwarf, give me the battleaxe
\endtt
It also asks questions when it needs to, makes inferences from partial requests
and tries to make good guesses when faced with ambiguous requests. You can
teach it `grammar' for new verbs and new forms of old ones. The library
starts with about 85 verbs, not counting synonyms.
Inform has a fairly rich model of the world, which understands ideas such
as places, map directions, portable objects, containers, objects on top of
each other, food, doors, locks and keys, vehicles, things which can pushed
around, people, speech and so on. All of this model is maintained
automatically. Just as you don't need to write your own parser, you
don't need to tell Inform what to do when the player tries to pick up
an ordinary object. Inform is a concise language to write adventure games
for, because you only specify exceptions to the usual rules. (E.g., by
saying in effect ``this football is unusual because if you try to kick
it, the following happens''.)
Because Inform programs are (hopefully) well-organised lists of exceptions,
they don't look like programs written in computer languages like `BASIC':
they aren't executed top-to-bottom. The basic ingredients of an Inform
program are objects (an axe, the Bedquilt Room, etc.), routines (e.g. the
|Initialise| routine of code which runs when the game starts up) and grammar
(instructions on how to make sense of what the player means by typing, e.g.,
``shoot the photographer'').
\medskip
We have already used the name `Inform' rather ambiguously. It tends to be
used to mean three different things: the compiler itself, the
programming language (i.e. the language all Inform games are written in) and
the whole `Library' system of doors, containers and so on. Chapters II
to IV (and VI) of this book are about features of the Library and take the
underlying language for granted, though hard-to-guess usages are usually
glossed the first time they turn up in examples. A concise specification
is given in Chapter V.
\bigskip
\noindent
The rest of this section gives a brief overview of the language, which
beginners may wish to skip.
\medskip
Inform `source code' (which compiles to the actual game, also called the
`story file') consists of a sequence of `directives', which are instructions
to the compiler to do something and are divided up by semi-colons.
Carriage-returns (i.e. new-lines), extra spaces between words and tab
characters are of no significance (except in quoted strings), so they can be
used to lay out the program to the programmer's own taste. Strings of
text are written between double-quotes: the |^| character means `put a
carriage return here' and the |\| character `folds' text together across
lines of program.
Inform provides 26 ^{directives} to the public (and keeps another 16 to itself
for testing and maintenance). So far ^{`Ruins'} only uses 6 of these,
and the core of commonly-used directives isn't much larger:
\medskip
\noindent|Array| \<arrayname>...^^|Array|\quad
Creates an array with the given name, size and initial values: see \S 30.7.
\noindent|Class| \<classname>...^^|Class|\quad
Defines a new `class'. This does not appear in the game, but is instead
a template, making it easier to define groups of similar objects: see \S 5.
\noindent|Constant| \<constant-name> \<value>^^|Constant|\quad
Defines a new constant with this name and value.
\noindent^|End|\quad
Marks the end of the program (though this isn't
needed if it occurs at the end of the file anyway).
\noindent|Extend "|\<word>|"|...\quad^^|Extend|
Extends the grammar understood by the game when the player's first
typed word is \<word>: see \S 22 and \S 31.
\noindent|Global| \<varname>^^|Global|\quad
Creates a new variable with the given name, which is initially zero,
unless you add |=| \<some-value>.
\noindent|Nearby| \<objectname> |"|\<a short description>|"|...^^|Nearby|\quad
Creates an object and puts it initially inside the last object
declared with an |Object| directive: see \S 3.
\noindent|Object| \<objectname> |"|\<a short description>|"|...^^|Object|\quad
Creates an object: see \S 3 and \S 30.6.
\noindent|Verb "|\<word>|"|...\quad^^|Verb|
Creates a new verb and adds it to the game's table of grammar:
see \S 22 and \S 31.
\noindent|[| \<routinename> \<local variables...>^^|[|\quad
Tells Inform that a routine of code begins here and has this list of
local variables (possibly none at all).
\medskip
\noindent
Actual code (that is, instruction telling the computer what to do
at run-time) is always held inside ^{routines} (or `functions': the words
are used interchangeably). All routines return a value. They can be
called (i.e. set running) with up to 7 arguments: e.g., the statement
|MoveTheFrog(pond,5);| will call |MoveTheFrog| with the two values
|pond| and |5| as arguments (but will throw away the return value as
unwanted). If a routine expects, say, 4 arguments it is legal to supply
it with fewer, or none at all. Any arguments not supplied will be set
to zero.
There are two kinds of variable: local and global. Global variables need to
be explicitly created, but they are then available to every piece of code in
the program. Local ones are accessible to one routine only and only while
it is running. Routines may be called recursively.
The local variables (if any) for a routine are given the names listed at the
end of the |[| directive. When a routine is called, the arguments it was
called with are written into its first local variables. For example, if
|MoveTheFrog| begins as follows:
\begindisplay
|[ MoveTheFrog domain hops x y z;|\cr
\enddisplay
then |MoveTheFrog(pond,5);| will start the routine running with |domain|
set to |pond|, |hops| set to 5 and |x|, |y| and |z| all zero.
\medskip
\noindent^^{arrays}
There are four kinds of array: most common is a `word array', defined by
a directive like
\begindisplay
|Array pizza_toppings --> 20;|\cr
\enddisplay
which makes an array of 20 global variables, called
\begindisplay
|pizza_toppings-->0| to |pizza_toppings-->19|.\cr
\enddisplay
This is called a `word' array because each entry is stored in a (16-bit)
word of memory, large enough to hold any Inform value. Next there is
a `byte array', written with
|->| instead of |-->|, whose entries are stored in single (8-bit) bytes.
This is more economical of memory but the entries can only hold ASCII
characters or numbers from 0 to 255. The other
two kinds of array, |table| and |string|, are similar but have entry
|0| set to the array's length. There are elaborate ways
to define arrays already stocked with values: see \S 30.7.
\medskip
\noindent
Inside a routine is a sequence of statements, each followed by a semicolon.
The core of commonly used statements is small:
\medskip
\noindent\<variable>| = |\<value>\quad
Set the variable to be equal to the given value from now on.
\medskip
\noindent\<variable>|++|\quad
Adds one to the variable. (|++| can only be applied to an actual named
variable, not to an array entry or object property.)
\medskip
\noindent\<variable>|--|\quad
Subtracts one from the variable. (|--| can only be applied to an actual
named variable, not to an array entry or object property.)
\medskip
\noindent\<routine>|(|\<arguments>...|)|\quad
Call the routine with the given arguments (possibly none), and throw away
the return value.
\medskip
\noindent|return |\<value>\quad
Finish the current routine, returning the value given. If no value is
given, that value is `true', or 1.
\medskip
\noindent|rfalse|\quad Return with `false', or 0.
\medskip
\noindent|rtrue|\quad Return with `true', or 1.
\medskip
\noindent|<|\<Action>...|>|\quad
Cause an action. See \S 4.
\medskip
\noindent|<<|\<Action>...|>>|\quad
Cause an action and then return with `true', or 1. See \S 4.
\medskip
\noindent|print |\<list-of-items>\quad Print out the given list
of items (which are separated by commas). Strings in double-quotes are
printed out; numerical values are printed in decimal. For the full
specification see \S 30.14, but the most useful features are for describing
objects, for which the beginning of \S 18 is more explanatory.
\medskip
\noindent|print_ret |\<list-of-items>\quad Print out the given list,
print a new-line and then return `true'.
\medskip
\noindent|"Something"|\quad A statement consisting only of a single string
in double quotes is an abbreviation for |print_ret| \<the-string>:
thus, it prints the string, prints a new-line and returns `true'.
\medskip
\noindent|if (|\<condition>|) |\<statement(s)>\quad
Execute the statement, or group of statements contained inside braces |{|
and |}|, only if the condition holds.
\medskip
\noindent|for (|\<initialise>|:|\<condition>|:|\<iterate>|)| \<statement(s)>\quad
First, execute \<initialise>. Then repeatedly carry out the
\<statement> while the \<condition> is true. After
each iteration, execute \<iterate>. For instance,
|for (i=1:i<=10:i++) print i, " ";| prints the numbers from 1 to
10, separated by spaces. See \S 30.18 for this and other
loop constructs including |objectloop| and |while|.
\bigskip
\noindent
Conditions include |value1 == value2| (testing for numerical equality;
note that |=| is not a legal condition); |value1 ~= value2| (inequality);
|<|, |>|, |<=| and |>=| as usual; and |object1 in object2| to test if
one is contained directly in the other. (Similarly for |notin|.) See
\S 30.12.
\bigskip\noindent
In any Inform statement, a value can be any expression which can be worked
out at run-time. This can be a single
number or variable, or a combination of these: see \S 30.10. For instance,
|4+5*x| and |100-lamp.time_left| are both expressions. However, in a
directive (such as |Object|) values must be constants which can be worked
out at compile-time, and moreover compound values cannot be given. For
instance, |45| and |lamp| (the object number of a lamp) would be legal
constants but |2*5| would not. See \S 30.3.
\bigskip
\danger Inform can produce several kinds of game: ``Standard'', ``Advanced''
and a new, much larger form^^{Standard games}^^{Advanced games}.
(Code is in almost every case portable between these formats, so that you
can often make a version each way from the same program.) Left to itself
Inform produces an ``Advanced'' game and it's inadvisable to produce a
``Standard'' one unless you really need to (for a small computer such as a
personal organiser, or a very bad run-time interpreter): since the
``Standard'' format imposes several annoying restrictions. See \S 27.
\refs For details of the imaginary machine, sometimes called the Z-machine
(Z is for ^{`Zork'}) which Inform compiles games for, see \S 30.2 and
(if you must) the {\sl Specification of the Z-machine} document.
\section{3}{Objects, properties and attributes}
\quote
Objects make up the substance of the world. That is why
they cannot be composite.
\poemby{Ludwig Wittgenstein ({\oldstyle1889}--{\oldstyle1951})}{Tractatus}
\quote
$\ldots$making philosophical sense of change runs up against what
seem to be impossible philosophical difficulties. Aristotle$\ldots$
focuses on the central case of an object coming to have a
property that it formerly lacked.
\poemby{Julia Annas}{Classical Greek Philosophy}^^{Aristotle}
\noindent
The ^{objects} of the game form what is sometimes called a `tree', though
a better analogy would be a forest, and anyway one usually draws the whole
thing upside down and uses the language of `families' -- calling them `children'
and `parents' of each other. Anyway, here's an
example:^^{tree of objects}^^{objects: tree of}
%$-9
\def\ra{\rightarrow}\def\da{\downarrow}
$$\matrix{
|Meadow|\cr
\da\cr
|Mailbox| & \ra & |Player|\cr
\da & & \da\cr
|Note| & & |Sceptre| & \ra & |Cucumber| & \ra & |Torch| & \ra & |Magic Rod|\cr
& & & & & & \da\cr
& & & & & & |Battery|\cr} $$
%$ Meadow
%$ |
%$ Mailbox -> Player
%$ | |
%$ Note Sceptre -> Cucumber -> Torch -> Magic Rod
%$ |
%$ Battery
The |Mailbox| and |Player| are both children of the |Meadow|, which is their
parent, but only the |Mailbox| is ``the'' child of the |Meadow|.
The |Magic Rod| is the sibling of the |Torch|, which is the |sibling| of
the |Cucumber|, and so on. Inform provides special functions for reading
off positions in the tree: ^|parent|, ^|sibling| and ^|child|
all do the obvious things, and in addition there's a function called |children|
which counts up how many children an object has (only children: grandchildren
aren't counted). For instance,
\beginstt
parent ( Mailbox ) == Meadow
children ( Player ) == 4
child ( Sceptre ) == nothing
sibling ( Torch ) == Magic Rod
\endtt
\danger ^|nothing| isn't really an object: it's just a convenient name for the
number 0, which is the object number meaning `no such object'. It isn't a good
idea to meddle with |nothing|, or to apply functions like |parent| to it,
but then there's never any need.
As the game goes on, objects move around: when an object moves, all its
possessions (that is, children) go with it. The Inform statement to move an
object is ^|move|. For instance, |move Cucumber to Mailbox;|
results in the tree
$$\matrix{
|Meadow|\cr
\da\cr
|Mailbox| & \ra & \ra & \ra &|Player|\cr
\da & & & & \da\cr
|Cucumber|& \ra & |Note| & & |Sceptre| & \ra & |Torch| & \ra & |Magic Rod|\cr
& & & & & & \da\cr
& & & & & & |Battery|\cr} $$
but it must be emphasized that |move| prints nothing on the screen, and indeed
does nothing except to rearrange the tree. Using |remove|, an object can be
detached from the tree altogether (so that its parent is |nothing|) though
this does not delete it from the game, and it may return.^^{objects: movement of}
When an object is added to the possessions held by another, it appears
at the front of the list, becoming ``eldest'' in the family-tree sense. Inform
also provides the following functions, with names along the same lines:
\smallskip\ninepoint
\settabs 5 \columns
\+ &^|youngest| & end of list of possessions;\cr
\+ &^|eldest| & same as |child|;\cr
\+ &^|younger| & same as |sibling|, i.e., one step right in the picture;\cr
\+ &^|elder| & reverse of |sibling|, i.e., one step left in the picture.\cr
\smallskip\tenpoint
\noindent
Objects contain more than just a position in the tree; they
also have collections of variables attached. Firstly, there are `^{attributes}'
(in more usual computer parlance, `^{flags}'), which can be either on or off.
These might be such conditions
as ``giving light", ``currently worn" or ``is one of the featureless
white cubes". Attributes all have one-word names: like ^|light|, for
instance, which indicates that something is giving off light.
An attribute can be checked with the |has| or |hasnt| condition:^^|has|
\beginstt
if (obj has locked) "But it's locked!";
if (TreasureRoom hasnt light) "All these rooms are the same in the dark.";
\endtt^^{objects: attributes and properties}
Attributes are set with the ^|give| command:
\beginstt
give brass_lantern light;
give iron_door locked;
\endtt
and are similarly taken away:
\beginstt
give brass_lantern ~light;
give fake_coin ~scored;
\endtt^^{tilde character}
the |~| sign (or tilde) standing for negation. You can give or take
many at one go, as for example
\beginstt
give wooden_door open openable ~locked;
\endtt
\medskip\noindent
Secondly, there are `^{properties}'. These are far more elaborate, and not
every object has every property. For instance, not every object has the
|door_to| property (it holds the place a door leads to, so things other
than doors don't usually have it). The current value of a property is
got at by constructions like:
\beginstt
crystal_bridge.door_to
mushroom.before
diamond.initial
\endtt
You can read the value of |door_to| for something like the |diamond|,
and you'll just get a dull value like |nothing|, but you can't write to it:
that is, you can't change |diamond.door_to| unless you declared the
|diamond| with a |door_to| property.
As will be seen from examples, a property value can be many things:
a string like |"frog"|, a number such as |$ffff| (this is the Inform
way of writing numbers in hexadecimal, so it means 65535), an object
or a routine. You can change the current value by something like
\beginstt
location.door_to = hall_of_mists;
brass_lantern.short_name = "dimly lit brass lantern";
grenade.time_left = 45;
\endtt^^{hexadecimal numbers}
\warning The game may crash at run-time if you attempt to write to a property
field which an object hasn't got. So although you can read an undeclared
property (you just get the default value), you can't write to one.
(Also, you can't extend a property beyond its length: see below.)
\danger The Inform language does not have types as such, and strings
and routines are stored as numbers: as their addresses inside the virtual
machine, in fact. This means that Inform thinks
|"Hello there" + 45 + 'a'|
is a ^{perfectly sensible} calculation.
It's up to you to be careful.^^{types (lack of)}
\ddanger Actually one can partially work out the type of a property
value: see \S 17.
\noindent
A property can hold more than just one number (be it interpreted
as a string, a routine or whatever): it can hold a ^{small array}.
For instance, the definition of the object |broken_shells| might contain
\beginstt
found_in Marble_Hall Arched_Passage Stone_Stairs,
\endtt^^{broken shells}^^|.&|
^^{arrays: as property values}^^{properties: holding arrays}
which stores a sequence of three values in the |found_in|
property.
\danger
The |.&| operator produces the property as an array:
\beginstt
print (name) (broken_shells.&found_in)-->2;
\endtt^^{properties: length and address}
might print ``Stone Stairs''. One usually needs to know how
long this array is, and for that the |.#| operator is needed:
\beginstt
print broken_shells.#found_in;
\endtt
would print 6, because the array is 6 bytes long, which makes 3 |-->|
entries. (When a list is given in an object definition like this,
the values are put into a |-->| array, where each entry takes up two
bytes. However, you can if you wish read and write to it as a |->|
byte array.)
\ddanger Normally the array can be up to 64 bytes long, so you can either
treat it as a |->| array of length up to 64 or a |-->| array of length
up to 32. But ^{Standard games} restrict this to 8 bytes' worth.
If you give a property more than 8 bytes of data in a Standard game,
Inform warns you and takes only the first 8.
\dangerexercise Use the |object.&property| construction to find out whether
the object in variable |obj| has the |door_to| property defined
or not.^^{exercises: testing presence of property}
\answer{^^{exercises: testing presence of property}
|if (obj.&door_to == 0) { ... }|}
\bigskip\noindent^^{objects: definition}
Time to make some object definitions. A typical object definition looks
something like:
\beginstt
Object steps "stone-cut steps" Forest
with name "steps" "stone" "stairs" "stone-cut",
description
"The cracked and worn steps descend into a dim chamber. Yours \
might be the first feet to tread them for five hundred years.",
door_to Square_Chamber,
door_dir d_to
has scenery door open;
\endtt^^{`Ruins'}^^{stone-cut steps}
This is the conventional way to lay out an ^|Object| declaration: with the
header first, then ^|with| a list of properties and their starting values,
finishing up with the attributes it initially ^|has|. (Though |with| and
|has| can be given the other way round.)
\danger For the full |Object| syntax, see \S 30.6.
\noindent
|steps| is the name given to the object in the program, and it becomes
a constant (whose value is the number of the object). The |Forest| is the
object which the |steps| start out belonging to. Some objects begin with no
parent: rooms, for example, or a priest who will magically
appear half-way through the game. You could declare these as belonging
to |nothing|, but it's simpler just to miss this out altogether:
\beginstt
Object magician "Zadok the Priest"
with ...
\endtt
If you do declare an object already belonging to another, as above,
then the other object must have been defined earlier on the source.
This restriction is useful because it prevents you from setting up a `loop'
-- one object in another in a third in the first, for instance.
Objects can also be declared, in an identical way, by the |Nearby| directive.
The only difference is that no initial-owner object can be given; it starts
out belonging to the last thing declared as an |Object|. For example, in
\beginstt
Object hillside "Panoramic Hillside"
with ...
Nearby the_hills "rolling hills"
with ...
\endtt^^{Panoramic Hillside}^^{hills, rolling}
the |hillside| is a room to which |the_hills| will belong. Otherwise,
^|Nearby| is the same as |Object|, and this is just a convenience to make
it easier to move things around in Inform code by cutting definitions out
and pasting them in elsewhere.
For the sake of flexibility, most properties of objects can be given as
routines to work out a value (instead of giving just the value). For
instance, you can give a routine for |description| instead of a string, and it
will be called instead of being printed. This routine can then
print something suitable, perhaps changing with the circumstances. The
^{stone-cut steps} in ^{`Ruins'} use just such a routine:
\beginstt
description
[; print "The cracked and worn steps descend into a dim chamber. \
Yours might ";
if (Square_Chamber has visited)
print "be the first feet to tread";
else print "have been the first feet to have trodden";
" them for five hundred years. On the top step is inscribed \
the glyph Q1.";
],
\endtt^^{properties: holding routines}^^{routines: as property values}
(The glyphs will be explained to the player in \S 11.) Note that the
routine is `anonymous': there is no name after the |[|. Since there are
no local variables either, a semi-colon follows immediately. It would
be legal to write the routine elsewhere in the program, with a name,
and give just the name here as the property value: but less tidy.
The routine must end with either |],| or |];|. If |],| the object definition
can resume where it left off. If |];|, then the object definition ends
where the routine finishes.
\danger The rules for ^{embedded routines} are not quite the same as those
for ordinary routines. By default, embedded routines return ``false", or 0
(instead of ``true", or 1, which other routines return by default). Also,
the handy shorthand:
\begindisplay
\<Action1>|,| \<Action2>...|:| ...\<some code>...\cr
\enddisplay^^{routines: embedded in objects}^^{objects: with embedded routines}
is provided, which executes the code only if the action currently being
considered is one of those named. There can also be a |default| clause
which executes if and only if none of the others do.
\danger One property is treated differently from all others, and this
is the special property ^|name|. Its data must be a list of English words
in double-quotes, as in all the above examples. (Probably the most
annoying restriction of ^{Standard games} is that this means only 4 names
at most can be accommodated in that format: normally you get up to 32.)
The parser may not be able to do much with name-words like
|"my"|, |"the"|, |"all"|, |"except"| or |"this"|, but English numbers
like |"four"| or direction names like |"south"| can safely be
used.^^{dictionary: words not to put in}
\ddanger This is actually the only circumstance in which Inform syntax puts
dictionary words in double, rather than single, quotes.
\refs To see the object tree in action, compile one of the shorter games
(say ^{`Alice Through The Looking-Glass'}) with the line |Constant DEBUG;|
inserted at the top: when played in this form, special debugging verbs
(see \S 26) become available. Amongst others, ``tree'' displays the
current tree and ``routines'' makes the game print a trace message each
time it executes a routine which is the property value of some object.
\section{4}{Actions and reactions}
\widepoem
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.
\widepoemby{^{James Shirley} ({\oldstyle1594}--{\oldstyle1666})}{The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses}
\widequote
..a language obsessed with action, and with the joy of seeing
action multiply from action, action marching relentlessly ahead
and with yet more actions filing in from either side to fall into
neat step at the rear, in a long straight rank of cause and
effect, to what will be inevitable, the only possible end.
\widepoemby{^{Donna Tartt}}{The Secret History}
\noindent
Inform is a language obsessed with ^^{actions}. An `action' is an attempt
to perform one simple task: for instance,
\begindisplay
|Inv| \qquad |Take sword|\qquad |Insert gold_coin cloth_bag|
\enddisplay
are all examples. Here the actual actions are |Inv|, |Take| and
|Insert|. An action has 0, 1 or 2 objects supplied
with it (or, in a few special cases, some numerical information rather than
objects): internally, actions are stored as three numbers. Most actions
are triggered off by the parser, whose job can be summed up as reducing the
player's keyboard commands to actions. Some actions cause others to happen,
and a really complicated keyboard command (``empty the sack into the
umbrella stand'') can cause a long sequence of actions to begin. A good
way to get a feel for this is to compile one of Inform's example games with
the ^|DEBUG| constant defined (see \S 26) so that you can
use the special ^{``actions'' verb} to watch them happen.
It must be stressed that an action is only an attempt to do something,
which may or may not succeed. Firstly, a |before| rule might interfere,
as we have seen already. Secondly, the action might not even be very
sensible. The parser is interested almost exclusively in syntax and will
happily generate the action |Eat iron_girder| if that's what the player has
asked to do.
Actions can also be generated in the program, which perfectly simulates the
effect of a player typing something. As an example of why this is so
useful, suppose the air in the ^{Pepper Room} causes the player to sneeze
each turn and drop something at random. If the code to do this simply
moves an object to the floor, then it might accidentally provide a solution
to a problem like ``the ^{toffee apple} sticks to your hands so you can't
drop it". If, however, it generates a |Drop| action instead, then the
result might read:
\begindisplay
You sneeze convulsively, and lose your grip on the toffee apple...\cr
The toffee apple sticks to your hand!\cr
\enddisplay
which is at least coherent and consistent. Besides this, actions are useful
because some effects (e.g., looking around) are inconveniently hard to code by
hand.
As an example of causing actions, an odorous |low_mist| will soon settle over
^{`Ruins'} (see \S 6). It will have the |description| ``The mist carries a
rich aroma of broth.'' An alert
player who reads this will immediately ask to smell the mist. This won't
do him any good, as we're only going to repeat the same description. A neat
way to accomplish this is to make the action |Smell low_mist| turn into the action
|Examine low_mist| instead. We need only add a |before| rule for the mist
as follows:
\beginstt
Smell: <Examine self>; rtrue;
\endtt^^{actions: statements to cause}
The statement |<Examine self>| causes the action |Examine low_mist| to be
triggered off immediately, after which whatever was going on at the time
resumes. In this case, the action |Smell low_mist| resumes, but since we
immediately return `true' the action is stopped dead. Note that |self| is a
variable: inside the mist object it has the value |low_mist|, and in general
its value is the object whose property is currently being run.
Causing an action and then returning `true' (effectively converting the
present action to a different one) is needed so often that there is a
shorthand form, putting the action in double angle-brackets. For example,
\beginstt
<Look>; <<ThrowAt smooth_stone spider>>;
\endtt
will behave as if the player has asked to look around and to throw
the stone at the spider, and will then return true.
\medskip
\noindent
Actions are processed in a simple way, but one which involves many
little stages. There are three main stages:
^^{actions: sequence of processing}
\smallskip
\item{(a)}{`Before'. An opportunity for your code to interfere with
or block altogether what is happening. Unless you provide such code,
this stage is always passed over.
\item{(b)}{`During'. The `Verblib' part of the library takes control
and looks at the action to see if it is possible according to Inform's
model of the world (for instance, only an |edible| object may be
eaten; only an object in the player's possession can be thrown at
somebody, and so on). If the action is impossible, it prints a
complaint and stops. Otherwise the action is carried out.
\item{(c)}{`After'. An opportunity for your code to react to what
has happened, after it has happened but before any text announcing
it has been printed. If it chooses, your code can print and cause
an entirely different outcome. If your code doesn't interfere,
the library reports back to the player (with such choice words as
``Dropped.'').}
\par\smallskip\noindent
The `Before' stage consults your code in five ways, and
occasionally it's useful to know in what order:
\smallskip
\item{i.} The ^|GamePreRoutine| is called, if you have written one.
If it returns `true',
nothing else happens and the action is stopped.
\item{ii.} The |orders| property of the player is called on the
same terms. For more details, see \S 15.
\item{iii.} And the |react_before| of every object in scope
(which roughly means `in the vicinity').
\item{iv.} And the |before| of the current room.
\item{v.} If the action has a first noun, its |before| is called
on the same terms.
\smallskip\par\noindent
The `After' stage is similar, but runs in the sequence:
|react_after| rules for every object in scope (including the
player object); the room's |after|; the first noun's |after|
and finally |GamePostRoutine|.
\medskip\noindent
During action processing, the variables |action|, |noun|
and |second| contain the numbers which encode the action. For example,
if |Take white_flag| is being processed, then |action| is set to
the constant |##Take| (every action has a constant value corresponding
to it, written in Inform as |##| followed by its name); |noun| is
|white_flag| and |second| is zero.
\danger Certain `meta-verbs' cause actions which bypass the Before
and After stages: these are for commands to control the game program,
like |Save| or |Verify|.
\ddanger To some extent you can also meddle with the `During' stage
(and with the final messages produced) by cunning use of the
^|LibraryMessages| system. See \S 17.
\ddanger For some actions, the `noun' (or the `second noun') is
actually a number (for instance, ``set timer to 20'' would probably
be parsed with |noun| being |timer| and |second| being 20). The
variables ^|inp1| and ^|inp2| hold object numbers only, or 1 to
indicate `some number'. (For instance, here |inp1| would be |timer|
but |inp2| would be 1.)
\noindent As mentioned above, the parser can generate very peculiar
actions, which are only realised to be impossible after |before| rules have
taken place. For example, in ^{`Ruins'} the parser would accept ``put the
mushroom in the crate'' even if the mushroom were nearby but, say, sealed
inside a glass jar. A |before| rule to cover this action may therefore
want to check that the |mushroom| is |in| the |player| before acting.
\dangerexercise This kind of snag could be avoided altogether if Inform
had a `validation stage' in action processing, to check whether an action is
sensible before allowing it to get as far as |before| rules. How could
this be added to Inform?^^{actions: validation (exercise)}
^^{exercises: action validation}
\answer{Put any validation rules desired into the |GamePreRoutine|.
For example, the following will filter out any stray |Drop| actions for
unheld objects:^^{actions: validation (exercise)}
^^{exercises: action validation}
\beginstt
[ GamePreRoutine;
if (action==Drop && noun notin player)
print_ret "You aren't holding ", (the) noun, ".";
rfalse;
];
\endtt}
\noindent
The library supports about 120 different actions and any game of serious
proportion will add some more of its own. A full list of standard actions is
given in \S 38. This list is initially daunting but you actually
don't need to remember much of it, partly because complicated actions are
usually reduced to simple ones. Thus, for instance, the action
|<Empty rucksack table>|, meaning ``empty the contents of the rucksack onto
the table'', is broken down into a stream of actions such
as |<Remove fish rucksack>| then |<PutOn fish table>|. The library arranges
things so that, in particular, the only way an object can enter the player's
possession is via a |Take| or |Remove| action.
Earlier editions of this book divided up the actions into three groups, and
the names `Group 2', etc., stuck.^^{actions: groups of}^^{groups of actions}\
Group 1 contains the ^{`meta' actions}, which are not worth listing here
(see \S 38). Group 2 contains the most important actions, which normally change
the state of the game:
\beginstt
Inv, Take, Drop, Remove, PutOn, Insert, Enter, Exit, Go, Look, Examine,
Unlock, Lock, SwitchOn, SwitchOff, Open, Close, Disrobe, Wear, Eat, Search.
\endtt
Most actions ordinarily do nothing and these form Group 3: for instance
in response to |Listen| the library always responds ``You hear nothing
unexpected.'' (unless a |before| rule has dealt with the action first).
Because the library never actually does anything at the `During' stage,
there is never an `After' stage for a Group 3 action, and no |after|
routines are called. In rough order of usefulness, the list is:
\beginstt
Pull, Push, PushDir [push object in direction], Turn, ThrowAt,
Consult, LookUnder [look underneath something], Search,
Listen, Taste, Drink, Touch, Smell,
Wait, Sing, Jump [jump on the spot], JumpOver, Attack,
Swing [something], Blow, Rub, Set, SetTo, Wave [something],
Burn, Dig, Cut, Tie, Fill, Swim, Climb, Buy, Squeeze,
Pray, Think, Sleep, Wake, WaveHands [i.e., just "wave"],
WakeOther [person], Kiss, Answer, Ask, ThrowAt,
Yes, No, Sorry, Strong [swear word], Mild [swear word]
\endtt
\danger Actions involving other people, like |Kiss|, need not be handled
by a |before| rule: it's more convenient to use the |life| rule
(see \S 12).
\danger A very few actions (e.g., |Transfer|, |Empty|, |GetOff|) are omitted
from the list above because they're always translated into more familiar
ones. For instance, |InvWide| (asking for a ``wide--format'' inventory
listing) always ends up in an |Inv|.
\danger Note that some actions only ever print text and yet are in
Group 2, not Group 3, because this is so useful. The most interesting
example is ^|Search| (the searching or looking-inside-something action),
whose `During' stage is spent only on deciding whether it would be
sensible to look inside the object (e.g., if it's a see-through
container and there is light). Only if it's sensible is `After'
allowed to happen, and only after that is the list of contents
printed out. Thus, a |before| rule applied to |Search|
traps the searching of random scenery, while an |after| can be used
to alter the contents-listing rules.
\ddanger Most of the group 2 actions -- specifically,
\beginstt
Take, Drop, Insert, PutOn, Remove, Enter, Exit, Go, Unlock, Lock,
SwitchOn, SwitchOff, Open, Close, Wear, Disrobe, Eat
\endtt^^{silent actions}^^|keep silent|
can happen ``silently''. If the variable |keep_silent| is set to 1,
then these actions print nothing in the event of success. (E.g.,
if the door was unlocked as requested.) They print up objections
as usual if anything goes wrong (e.g., if the suggested key doesn't
fit). This is useful to implement implicit actions: for instance,
to code a door which will be automatically unlocked by a player
asking to go through it, who is holding the right key.
\medskip
\noindent
The library's actions are easily added to. Two things are necessary to
add a new action: first one must provide a routine to run it, e.g.,
\beginstt
[ BlorpleSub;
"You speak the magic word ~Blorple~. Nothing happens.";
];
\endtt^^{actions: creation of}
somewhere after the |Initialise| routine, say, to be tidy. Every action
must have such a routine, the name of which is always the
name of the action with |Sub| appended. The `During' stage of processing
an action consists only of calling this routine.
Secondly, one must write a new action into the game's grammar table.
Far more about grammar will come later: in this case one need only add the
simplest of all grammar lines^^{making grammar}
\beginstt
Verb "blorple" * -> Blorple;
\endtt
after the inclusion of the |Grammar| file. (The spacing around the |*|
is just a matter of convention.) The word ``blorple" can now be used as
a verb but it can't take any nouns.
The action ^|Blorple| is now a typical Inform action, which joins Group 3
above (since it doesn't do anything very interesting). One can use the
command |<Blorple>;| to make it happen, and can write |before| routines
to trap it, just like any Group 3 action.^^{making actions}
\ddanger You can make a Group 1 action by defining the verb as |meta|
(see \S 22); and a Group 2 one by putting the line
\beginstt
if (AfterRoutines()==1) rtrue;
\endtt
into the action routine after carrying out the action, and before printing
a description of what has been done. (Calling |AfterRoutines| sets off
the `After' stage, which otherwise won't happen.)
\danger
Finally, Inform supports `^{fake actions}'. These are fake in two
senses. Firstly they aren't mentioned in any grammar (so they can never
be generated by the parser, only by a |<|, |>| command). Secondly, they
have no -|Sub| routine and if they aren't trapped at the `Before' stage
then nothing further happens. Fake actions are provided to enable you
to pass `messages' to an object, which the recipient can pick up in its
|before| routine. A fake action has to be explicitly declared
before use, by the directive |Fake_action| \<Action-name>.
^^|Fake Action|^^{passing messages}\
\ddangerexercise How can you make a ^{medicine bottle}, which can be opened
in a variety of ways in the game, so that the opening--code only occurs in
the bottle definition?^^{exercises: opening medicine bottle}
\answer{^^{exercises: opening medicine bottle}
Declare a fake action called, say, |OpenUp|. Then:
\beginlines
|Object medicine "guaranteed child-proof medicine bottle" cupboard|
| with name "medicine" "bottle",|
| description "~Antidote only: no preventative effect.~",|
| before|
| [; Open, Unlock: "It's adult-proof too.";|
| OpenUp: give self open ~locked; "The bottle cracks open!";|
| ],|
| has container openable locked;|
\endlines
Any other code in the game can execute |<OpenUp medicine>| to crack open
the bottle. For brevity, this solution assumes that the bottle is always
visible to the player when it is opened.}
\ninepoint\noindent
The Library actually makes a few fake actions itself (two of which will
appear in the next section). A simple example is |ThrownAt|, useful for
greenhouse windows, coconut shies and the like. If a
|ThrowAt| action (to throw object $X$ at object $Y$) survives the
|before| rules (for $X$), then the fake action |ThrownAt| is generated
and sent to $Y$, allowing $Y$ to react. E.g., a dartboard might have:
\beginstt
before
[; ThrownAt: if (noun==dart)
{ move dart to self; "Triple 20!"; }
move noun to location;
print_ret (The) noun, " bounces back off the board.";
],
\endtt^^{dartboard}^^|ThrownAt|^^|ThrowAt|
No |after| rule applies, as the default behaviour of |ThrowAt| has by
then simply rebuked the player.
\tenpoint
\dangerexercise |ThrownAt| would be unnecessary if Inform had an
idea of |before| and |after| routines which an object could provide if
it were the |second| noun of an action. How might this be
implemented?^^{exercises: before on second noun}
\answer{^^{exercises: before on second noun}
Briefly: provide a |GamePreRoutine| which tests to see if
|second| is a non-zero object. If it is, then call a |second_before|
property for the object (having already created this new property),
and so on.}
\ddanger Some |before| or |after| rules are intended to apply only once in
the course of a game. For instance, examining the tapestry reveals a key,
only once. A sneaky way to do this is to make the appropriate rule destroy
itself, so for example
\beginstt
tapestry.before = NULL;
\endtt^^|NULL|^^{once-only rules}^^{removing rules}^^{tapestry and key}
removes the entire |before| rule for the tapestry. |NULL| is a special
value, actually equal to -1, which routine-valued properties like |before|,
|after|, |life| and |describe| hold to indicate ``no routine is given''.
\refs
In a game compiled with |Constant DEBUG;| present, the ``actions''
verb will result in trace information being printed each time any
action is generated. Try putting many things into a rucksack and
asking to ``empty'' it for an extravagant list.
\nextref
Diverted actions (using |<<| and |>>|) are commonplace. They're used
in about 20 places in ^{`Advent'}: a good example is the way ``take water''
is translated into a |Fill bottle| action.
\nextref
^{`Balances'} uses a fake action called |Baptise| which tells one
of the white cube objects that a name has been written on it. (It
also sends a special `memory' object the actions |Insert| and |Remove| to
pass ``learn this spell'' and ``forget this spell'' messages.)
\nextref Sometimes you want `fake fake actions' which are fully--fledged
actions (with action routines and so on) but which aren't ever generated
by the parser: see the exercises at the end of \S 12.
\newpage
\section{5}{Classes of objects}
\widepoem
On a round ball
A workman that hath copies by, can lay
An Europe, Afrique and an Asia,
And quickly make that, which was nothing, All.
\widepoemby{John Donne ({\oldstyle1571}?--{\oldstyle1631})}{Valediction: Of Weeping}
\noindent
In most games there are groups of objects with certain rules in common.
Inform allows you to define ^{classes} in almost exactly the same way as
objects. The only difference between the layout of a class and object
definition is that a class has no short name or initial location,
since it does not correspond to any single real item. For example, the
scoring system in ^{`Ruins'}^^{scoring in `Ruins'}\ works as follows:
the player, an archaeologist of the old school, gets a certain number of
points for each `treasure' (i.e., cultural artifact) he can filch and put
away into his packing case. This is implemented with a class:
\beginlines
| Class Treasure|
| with number 10,|
| after|
| [; Insert:|
| if (second==packing_case) score=score+self.number;|
| "Safely packed away.";|
| ],|
| before|
| [; Take, Remove:|
| if (self in packing_case)|
| "Unpacking such a priceless artifact had best wait \|
| until the Metropolitan Museum can do it.";|
| ];|
\endlines^^{treasure class}^^{Metropolitan Museum}
An object of this class inherits the properties and attributes it defines:
in this case, an object of class |Treasure| picks up the given score and
rules automatically. So
\beginlines
|Nearby statuette "pygmy statuette"|
| class Treasure|
| with description|
| "A menacing, almost cartoon-like statuette of a pygmy spirit \|
| with a snake around its neck.",|
| initial "A precious Mayan statuette rests here!",|
| name "snake" "mayan" "pygmy" "spirit" "statue" "statuette";|
\endlines^^{pygmy statuette}
inherits the |number| value of 10 and the rules about taking
and dropping. If the statuette had itself set |number| to 15, say,
then the value would be 15: i.e., the class would be over-ridden.
\danger |number| is a general-purpose property, left free for designers
to use as they please. One might instead define a new property called,
say, |depositpoints| and use that, for clarity: see \S 17 for how to do
this.
A more unusual artifact in the `Ruins' is:
\beginlines
|Nearby honeycomb "ancient honeycomb"|
| class Treasure|
| with article "an",|
| name "ancient" "old" "honey" "honeycomb",|
| description "Perhaps some kind of funerary votive offering.",|
| initial "An exquisitely preserved, ancient honeycomb rests here!",|
| after|
| [; Eat: "Perhaps the most expensive meal of your life. The honey \|
| tastes odd, perhaps because it was used to store the entrails \|
| of the king buried here, but still like honey.";|
| ],|
| has edible;|
\endlines^^{ancient honeycomb}^^{honeycomb}
Now the honeycomb has two |after| rules: a private one of its own, and the
one all treasures have. Both apply, but its own private one takes
precedence, i.e., happens first.^^{classes: inheritance rules}
^^{precedence of class inheritance}
\danger
An object can inherit from several classes at once. Moreover, a class can
itself inherit from other classes, so it's easy to make a class for
``like Treasure but with |number| $= 8$''.^^{classes: and subclasses}
\danger
The ^|class| field of an object definition contains a list of classes,
\begindisplay
|class| $C_1$ ... $C_n$
\enddisplay^^{inheritance}
in which case the object inherits first from $C_1$, then from $C_2$
and so on. $C_2$ over-rides $C_1$ and so on along the line. These
classes may well disagree with each other, so the order matters. If $C_1$
says |number| is 5, $C_3$ says it is 10 but the object
definition itself says 15 then the answer is 15.
\danger
With some properties, the value is not replaced but added to: this
is what happened with |after| above. These
properties are those which were declared as ^|additive|, e.g. by
\begintt
Property additive before NULL;
\endtt
For instance, the standard Inform properties |name| and |before| are
both additive. So we could add |name "treasure",| to the properties
in the class definition for |Treasure|, and then all objects of that
class would respond to the word ``treasure'', as well as their own
particular names.^^{classes: and additive properties}
^^{properties: additive}
\ddanger
An additive property can contain a list in which some items are strings
and others routines. Should this occur, then on a ^|PrintOrRun| (what
usually happens when a property is being looked up) the entries are
executed in sequence -- run if routines, printed if strings. A printed
string in such a list always has a new-line printed after it; and it
never stops the process of execution. In other words, the string
|"Hello"| is equivalent to the routine |[; print "Hello^"; ],|
(which returns false), not to the routine |[; "Hello"; ],| (which would
return true and stop execution). This will seldom be useful but protects
the Z-machine stack against certain misfortunes.
\refs ^{`Advent'} has a similar treasure-class, and uses class definitions
for the many similar maze and dead-end rooms (and the sides of the fissure).
\nextref
That class definitions can be worthwhile for just two
instances can be seen from the kittens-class in
^{`Alice Through The Looking-Glass'}.
\nextref ^{`Balances'} defines many
complicated classes: see especially the white cube, spell and scroll
classes.
\nextref ^{`Toyshop'} contains one easy one (the wax candles) and
one unusually hard one (the building blocks).
\nextref
See \S 35 for which of the library's properties are additive.
\chapter{Chapter II: The Model World}
\vskip 0.5in
\quote
A Model must be built which will get everything in without
a clash; and it can do this only by becoming intricate,
by mediating its unity through a great, and finely ordered,
multiplicity.
\widepoemby{^{C. S. Lewis}
({\oldstyle1898}--{\oldstyle1963})}{The Discarded Image}
\section{6}{Places, scenery, directions and the map}
\quote
It was a long cylinder of parchment, which he unrolled and spread out
on the floor, putting a stone on one end and holding the other.
I saw a drawing on it, but it made no sense.
\poemby{^{John Christopher} ({\oldstyle1922}--)}{The White Mountains}
\noindent
Back to ^{`Ruins'}: what lies at the foot of the stone steps? We'll now
add four rooms, connected together:
$$\eqalign{&{\tt Square~Chamber} \leftrightarrow {\tt Web}\cr
&{\tt ~~~~~~}\updownarrow\cr
&{\tt ~~~Corridor}\cr
&{\tt ~~~~~~}\updownarrow\cr
&{\tt ~~~~Shrine}\cr} $$
with the Square Chamber lying underneath the original Forest location.
For instance, here's the Square Chamber's definition:
\beginlines
|Object Square_Chamber "Square Chamber"|
| with name "lintelled" "lintel" "lintels" "east" "south" "doorways",|
| description|
| "A sunken, gloomy stone chamber, ten yards across. A shaft \|
| of sunlight cuts in from the steps above, giving the chamber \|
| a diffuse light, but in the shadows low lintelled doorways to \|
| east and south lead into the deeper darkness of the Temple.",|
| u_to Forest, e_to Web, s_to Corridor,|
| has light;|
\endlines^^{Square Chamber}^^{east lintel}^^{directions}
Like the Forest, this place has |light|, however dim. (If it didn't, the
player would never see it, since it would be dark, and the player hasn't yet
been given a lamp or torch of some kind.) Now although this is a room,
and can't be referred to by the player in the way that a manipulable object
can, it still can have a ^|name| property. These |name| words are those which
Inform knows ^{``you don't need to refer to''}, and it's a convention of the
genre that the designer should signpost off the game in this way. Note
that they'll only be looked at if what the player types is unrecognised,
so the word ``east'' is understood quite normally; but a reference to
``east lintel'' will get the ``don't need to refer to'' treatment.
This room is unfurnished, so:
\beginlines
|Nearby inscriptions "carved inscriptions"|
| with name "carved" "inscriptions" "carvings" "marks" "markings" "symbols"|
| "moving" "scuttling" "crowd" "of",|
| initial|
| "Carved inscriptions crowd the walls, floor and ceiling.",|
| description "Each time you look at the carvings closely, they seem \|
| to be still. But you have the uneasy feeling when you look \|
| away that they're scuttling, moving about. Their meaning \|
| is lost on you.",|
| has static;|
\endlines^^{carved inscriptions}
This is part of the fittings, hence the |static| attribute, which means it
can't be taken or moved. As we went out of our way to describe a shaft
of sunlight, we'll include that as well:
\beginlines
|Nearby sunlight "shaft of sunlight"|
| with name "shaft" "of" "sunlight" "sun" "light" "beam" "sunbeam" "ray"|
| "rays" "sun^s",|
| description "The shaft of sunlight glimmers motes of dust in the \|
| air, making it seem almost solid."|
| has scenery;|
\endlines^^{shaft of sunlight}
Being ^|scenery| makes the object not only static but also not described
by the game unless actually examined by the player. A true perfectionist
might add a |before| rule:
\beginlines
| before|
| [; Examine, Search: ;|
| default: "It's only an insubstantial shaft of sunlight.";|
| ],|
\endlines^^{perfectionism}
so that the player can look at or through the sunlight, but any other
request involving them will be turned down. Note that a ^|default|
rule, if given, means ``any action except those already mentioned''.
We can't actually get into the Square Chamber yet, though. Just because
there is a ^{map connection} up from here to the Forest, it doesn't follow
that there's a corresponding connection down. So we must add a |d_to|
to the Forest, and while we're at it:
\beginlines
| d_to Square_Chamber,|
| u_to "The trees are spiny and you'd cut your hands to ribbons \|
| trying to climb them.",|
| cant_go "The rainforest-jungle is dense, and you haven't hacked \|
| through it for days to abandon your discovery now. Really, \|
| you need a good few artifacts to take back to civilization \|
| before you can justify giving up the expedition.",|
\endlines^^{spiny trees}^^|cant go|
The property |cant_go| contains what is printed when the player tries to go
in a nonexistent direction, and replaces ``You can't go that way''.
As is often the case with properties, instead of giving an actual
message you can instead give a routine to print one out, to vary what's
printed with the circumstances. The Forest needs a |cant_go| because
in real life one could go in every direction from there: what we're
doing is explaining the game rules to the player: go underground, find some
ancient treasure, then get out to win. The Forest's |u_to| property is
a string, not a room; this means that attempts to go up result only in
that string being printed.
\bigskip
\noindent
Rooms also have rules of their own. We might add the following |before|
rule to the Square Chamber:
\beginlines
| before|
| [; Insert:|
| if (noun==mushroom && second==sunlight)|
| { remove mushroom;|
| "You drop the mushroom on the floor, in the glare of \|
| the shaft of sunlight. It bubbles obscenely, \|
| distends and then bursts into a hundred tiny insects \|
| which run for the darkness in every direction. Only \|
| tiny crumbs of fungus remain.";|
| }|
| ],|
\endlines
The variables ^|noun| and ^|second| hold the first and second nouns
supplied with an action. Rooms have |before| and |after| routines just as
objects do, and they apply to anything which happens in the given room.
This particular could easily enough have been part of the definition of
the mushroom or the sunlight, and in general a room's rules are best
used only for geographical fixtures.
\ddanger Sometimes the room may be a different one after the action has
taken place. The ^|Go| action, for instance, is offered to the |before|
routine of the room which is being left, and the ^|after| routine of the
room being arrived in. For example:
\beginlines
| after|
| [; Go: if (noun==d_obj)|
| print "You feel on the verge of a great discovery...^";|
| ],|
\endlines
will print the message when the room is entered via the ``down" direction.
Note that the message is printed with the ^|print| command. This means
that it does not automatically return true: in fact, it returns false,
so the game knows that the usual rules still apply. Also, no new-line
is printed automatically: but the |^| symbol means ``print a new-line",
so one is actually printed.
\noindent
Some objects are present in many rooms at once. The ^{`Ruins'}, for
instance, are misty:
\beginlines
|Object low_mist "low mist"|
| with name "low" "swirling" "mist",|
| initial "A low mist swirls about your feet.",|
| description "The mist carries a rich aroma of broth.",|
| found_in Square_Chamber Forest,|
| before|
| [; Examine, Search: ;|
| Smell: <<Examine self>>;|
| default: "The mist is too insubstantial.";|
| ],|
| has static;|
\endlines^^{low mist}^^|found in|
The |found_in| property gives a list of places in which the mist
is found (so far just the Square Room and the Forest).
\danger If the rainforest contained many misty rooms, it would be tedious to
give the full list and even worse to have to alter it as the mist drifted
about in the course of the game. Fortunately |found_in| can contain a
routine instead of a list. This can look at the current |location| and say
whether or not the object should be put in it when the room is entered, e.g.,
\beginlines
|Object Sun "Sun",|
| with ...|
| found_in|
| [; if (location has light) rtrue;|
| ],|
| has scenery;|
\endlines^^{the Sun}
\ddanger |found_in| is only consulted when the player's location changes,
so if the mist has to dramatically lift or move then it needs to be moved
or removed `by hand'. A good way to lift the mist forever is to |remove|
it, and then give it the |absent| attribute, which prevents it from
manifesting itself whatever |found_in| says.
\medskip\noindent
Some pieces of scenery afflict the ^{other four senses} and need more
than a visual description. For instance, the player ought to be able
to smell broth anywhere near the mist. A |react_before| rule is
ideal for this:
\beginlines
| react_before|
| [; Smell: if (noun==0) <<Smell low_mist>>;|
| ],|
\endlines^^|react before|^^{senses}
^^{hearing (sense)}^^{smell (sense)}^^{touch (sense)}^^{taste (sense)}
This rule (when added to the mist) applies to any vague |Smell| action
(that is, caused by the player typing just ``smell'', rather than
``smell orange'') which happens when the mist is in the vicinity of
the player: and it converts the action into |Smell low_mist|. In this
way the mist is able to `steal' the
action.^^{stealing actions}^^{diverting actions}
^^{actions: diversion of}
The ^{five senses} all have actions in Inform: |Look| we have already seen,
and there are also |Listen|, |Smell|, |Taste| and |Touch|. Of these,
|Look| never has a noun attached, |Smell| and |Listen| can have and
|Taste| and |Touch| always have.^^{actions: of the five senses}
\exercise (Cf. ^{`Spellbreaker'}.) Make an orange cloud descend on the
player, which can't be seen through or walked out
of.^^{orange cloud}^^{exercises: orange cloud surrounding player}
\answer{^^{orange cloud}^^{exercises: orange cloud surrounding player}
\beginlines
|Object orange_cloud "orange cloud"|
| with name "orange" "cloud",|
| react_before|
| [; Look: "You can't see for the orange cloud surrounding you.";|
| Go, Exit: "You wander round in circles, choking.";|
| Smell: if (noun==0) "Cinnamon? No, nutmeg.";|
| ],|
| has scenery;|
\endlines}
\medskip
\noindent
Directions (such as ``north") are objects called |n_obj|, |s_obj|
and so on: in this case, |in_obj|. (They are not to be confused with the
property names |n_to| and so on.) Moreover, you can change these
directions: as far as Inform is concerned, a direction is any object in
the special object |compass|.^^{directions: direction objects}
^^{objects: direction and compass objects}
\dangerexercise In the first millenium A.D., the Mayan peoples of the
Yucat\'an Peninsula had `world colours' white ({\it sac}), red ({\it chac}),
yellow ({\it kan}) and black ({\it chikin}) for what we call the compass
bearings north, east, south, west (for instance west is associated
with `sunset', hence black, the colour of night). Implement this.^^{world
colours}^^{Mayan directions}^^{exercises: Mayan directions}
\answer{^^{exercises: Mayan directions}
Define four objects along the lines of:
\beginlines
|Object white_obj "white wall" compass|
| with name "white" "sac" "wall", article "the", door_dir n_to|
| has scenery;|
\endlines^^{world colours}^^{Mayan directions}^^{directions: direction objects}
and add the following line to |Initialise|:
\beginlines
|remove n_obj; remove e_obj; remove w_obj; remove s_obj;|
\endlines
(We could even |alias| a new property |white_to| to be |n_to|, and then
enter map directions in the source code using Mayan property names.)
As a fine point of style, turquoise ({\it yax}) is the world colour for
`here', so add a grammar line to make this cause a ``look'':
\beginlines
|Verb "turquoise" "yax" * -> Look;|
\endlines}
\dangerexercise (Cf. ^{`Trinity'}.) How can the entire game map
be suddenly east-west reflected?^^{reflecting the map}
^^{exercises: reflecting the map east-west}
\answer{^^{reflecting the map}^^{exercises: reflecting the map east-west}
\beginlines
|[ SwapDirs o1 o2 x;|
| x=o1.door_dir; o1.door_dir=o2.door_dir; o2.door_dir=x; ];|
|[ ReflectWorld;|
| SwapDirs(e_obj,w_obj); SwapDirs(ne_obj,nw_obj); SwapDirs(se_obj,sw_obj);|
|];|
\endlines}
\ddangerexercise Even when the map is reflected, there may be many
room descriptions referring to ``east'' and ``west'' by name. Reflect
these too.^^{exercises: exchanging ``east''/``west''}
\answer{^^{exercises: exchanging ``east''/``west''}
This is a prime candidate for using ^{variable strings}
^|@nn|. Briefly: at the head of the source, define
\beginlines
|Lowstring east_str "east"; Lowstring west_str "west";|
\endlines^^|Lowstring|^^|String|
and then add two more routines to the game,
\beginlines
|[ NormalWorld; String 0 east_str; String 1 west_str; ];|
|[ ReversedWorld; String 0 west_str; String 1 east_str; ];|
\endlines
where ^|NormalWorld| is called in |Initialise| or to go back to
normal, and ^|ReversedWorld| when the reflection happens. Write
|@00| in place of |east| in any double-quoted printable string,
and similarly |@01| for |west|. It will be printed as whichever
is currently set. (Inform provides up to 32 such variable strings.)}
\danger The ordinary Inform directions all have the |number|
property defined (initially set to zero): this is to provide a
set of scratch variables useful, for instance, when ^{coding mazes}.
\ddanger If the constant |WITHOUT_DIRECTIONS| is defined before
inclusion of the library files, then 10 of the default direction
objects are not defined by the library. The designer is expected to
define alternative ones (and put them in the ^|compass| object);
otherwise the game will be rather static. (The ``in" and ``out"
directions are still created, because they're needed for getting
into and out of enterable
objects.)^^|WITHOUT DIRECTIONS|
^^{directions: compiling without the usual}
\refs ^{`Advent'} has a very tangled-up map in places (see the
mazes) and a well-constructed exterior of forest and valley
giving an impression of space with remarkably few rooms. The
mist object uses |found_in| to the full, and see also the
stream (a single object representing every watercourse in the game).
Bedquilt and the Swiss Cheese room offer classic confused-exit
puzzles.
\nextref
For a simple movement rule using |e_to|, see the Office in
^{`Toyshop'}.
\nextref
The library extension ^{``smartcantgo.h''} by ^{David Wagner}
provides a system for automatically printing out ``You can only go
east and north.''-style messages.
\nextref ^{`A Scenic View'}, by ^{Richard Barnett}, demonstrates
a system for providing examinable scenery much more concisely
(without defining so many objects).
\newpage
\section{7}{Containers, supporters and sub-objects}
\quote
The concept of a surface is implemented as a special kind of containment.
Objects which have surfaces on which other objects may sit are actually
containers with an additional property of ``surfaceness".
\poemby{^{P. David Lebling}}{Zork and the Future}
\widequote
The year has been a good one for the Society {\sl (hear, hear)}.
This year our members have put more things on top of other things
than ever before. But, I should warn you, this is no time for
complacency. No, there are still many things, and I cannot
emphasize this too strongly, {\sl not} on top of other things.
\tvquoteby{`The ^{Royal Society For Putting Things On Top Of
Other Things}'}{{\sl ^{Monty Python's Flying Circus}},
programme {\oldstyle18} ({\oldstyle1970})}
\noindent
Objects can be inside or on top of one another. An object which has the
^|container| attribute can contain things, like a box: one which has
^|supporter| can hold them up, like a table. (An object can't have both at
once.) It can hold up to 100 items, by default: this is set by the ^|capacity|
property.
However, one can only put things inside a container when it has ^|open|.
If it has ^|openable|, the player can open and close it at will, unless
it also has ^|locked|. A |locked| object (whether it be a door or a
container) cannot be opened. But if it has |lockable| then it can be
locked or unlocked with the key object given in the |with_key| property.
If it is undeclared, then no key will fit, but this will not be told
to the player, who can try as many as he likes.^^|with key|
Containers (and supporters) are able to react to things being put inside
them, or removed from them, by acting on the signal to |Receive| or
|LetGo|. For example, deep under the ^{`Ruins'} is a chasm which,
perhaps surprisingly, is implemented as a container:
\beginlines
|Nearby chasm "horrifying chasm"|
| with name "blackness" "chasm" "pit" "depths" "horrifying" "bottomless",|
| react_before|
| [; Jump: <<Enter self>>;|
| Go: if (noun==d_obj) <<Enter self>>;|
| ],|
| before|
| [; Enter: deadflag=1;|
| "You plummet through the silent void of darkness!";|
| ],|
| after|
| [; Receive: remove noun;|
| print_ret (The) noun, " tumbles silently into the \|
| darkness of the chasm.";|
| Search: "The chasm is deep and murky.";|
| ],|
| has scenery open container;|
\endlines
(Actually the definition is a little longer, so that the chasm reacts to a
huge pumice-stone ball being rolled into it; see `Ruins'.) Note the use of
an |after| rule for the ^|Search| action: this is because an attempt to
``examine'' or ^{``look inside''} the chasm will cause this action.
|Search| means, in effect, ``tell me what is inside the container'' and the
|after| rule prevents a message like ``There is nothing inside the chasm.''
from misleading the player. Note also that the chasm `steals' any stray
|Jump| action and converts it into an early death.
\exercise Make the following, rather ^{acquisitive bag}:^^{toothed bag}
\beginstt
>put fish in bag
The bag wriggles hideously as it swallows the fish.
>get fish
The bag defiantly bites itself shut on your hand until you desist.
\endtt^^{exercises: acquisitive bag}
\answer{^^{toothed bag}^^{acquisitive bag}^^{exercises: acquisitive bag}
\beginlines
|Nearby bag "toothed bag"|
| with name "toothed" "bag",|
| description "A capacious bag with a toothed mouth.",|
| before|
| [; LetGo: "The bag defiantly bites itself \|
| shut on your hand until you desist.";|
| Close: "The bag resists all attempts to close it.";|
| ],|
| after|
| [; Receive:|
| print_ret "The bag wriggles hideously as it swallows ",|
| (the) noun, ".";|
| ],|
| has container open;|
\endlines}
\danger ^|LetGo| and ^|Receive| are actually two of the ^{fake actions}:
they are the actions ^|Insert| and ^|Remove| looked at from the container's
point of view.
\danger |Receive| is sent to an object $O$ both when a player tries to put
something in $O$, and put something on $O$. In the rare event that $O$
needs to react differently to these, it may consult the variable
|receive_action| to find out whether |##PutOn| or |##Insert| is the
cause.^^|receive action|
\noindent
The ^{`Ruins'} packing case makes a fairly typical container:
\beginlines
|Nearby packing_case "packing case"|
| with name "packing" "case" "box" "strongbox",|
| initial|
| "Your packing case rests here, ready to hold any important \|
| cultural finds you might make, for shipping back to civilisation.",|
| before|
| [; Take, Remove, PushDir:|
| "The case is too heavy to bother moving, as long as your \|
| expedition is still incomplete.";|
| ],|
| has static container open;|
\endlines^^{packing case}
\noindent
Now suppose you want to make a portable television set which has four
different buttons on it. Obviously when the television moves, its buttons
should move with it, and the sensible way to arrange this is to make the
four buttons possessions of the |television| object. Since the television
isn't a |container|, though, the player can't normally ``get at'' (that is,
refer to) its possessions. So how do we bring the buttons ``into scope''
so that the player can refer to them, without allowing the player to remove
or add to them?
The ^|transparent| attribute is provided for this: it simply means ``the
sub-objects of this object can be referred to by the player''.
\exercise Implement a ^{television set} with attached power button and
screen.^^{exercises: television set}
\answer{^^{exercises: television set}
\beginlines
|Object television "portable television set" lounge|
| with name "tv" "television" "set" "portable",|
| before|
| [; SwitchOn: <<SwitchOn power_button>>;|
| SwitchOff: <<SwitchOff power_button>>;|
| Examine: <<Examine screen>>;|
| ],|
| has transparent;|
|Nearby power_button "power button"|
| with name "power" "button" "switch",|
| after|
| [; SwitchOn, SwitchOff: <<Examine screen>>;|
| ],|
| has switchable;|
|Nearby screen "television screen"|
| with name "screen",|
| before|
| [; Examine: if (power_button hasnt on) "The screen is black.";|
| "The screen writhes with a strange Japanese cartoon.";|
| ];|
\endlines^^{Japanese cartoon}^^{television set}^^{Manga}^^{cartoon}}
\exercise Make a ^{glass box} and a ^{steel box}, which would behave
differently when a lamp is shut up inside
them.^^{exercises: glass and steel boxes}
\answer{\beginlines
|Nearby glass_box "glass box with a lid"|
| with name "glass" "box" "with" "lid"|
| has container transparent openable open;|
|Nearby steel_box "steel box with a lid"|
| with name "steel" "box" "with" "lid"|
| has container openable open;|
\endlines^^{exercises: glass and steel boxes}}
\danger It sometimes happens that an object should have ^{sub-objects}
(such as lamps and buttons) quite separately from its possessions, in
which case the above solution is unsatisfactory. Fuller details will
be given in the ``scope addition'' rules in \S 24, but briefly: an
object's |add_to_scope| property may contain a list of sub-objects
to be kept attached to it (and these sub-objects don't count as
possessions).^^|add to scope|^^{scope: addition to}
\exercise Implement a ^{macram\'e bag} hanging from the ceiling, inside
which objects are visible (and audible, etc.) but cannot be touched or
manipulated in any way.^^{exercises: macram\'e bag}
\answer{^^{macram\'e bag}^^{exercises: macram\'e bag}
(The description part of this answer
uses a routine from \S 19, but is only decoration.) Note the
careful use of |inp1| and |inp2| rather than |noun| or |second|:
see the note at the end of \S 4.
\beginlines
|Nearby macrame_bag "macrame bag"|
| with name "macrame" "bag" "string" "net" "sack",|
| react_before|
| [; Examine, Search, Listen, Smell: ;|
| default:|
| if (inp1>1 && inp1 in self)|
| print_ret (The) inp1, " is tucked away in the bag.";|
| if (inp2>1 && inp2 in self)|
| print_ret (The) inp2, " is tucked away in the bag.";|
| ],|
| describe|
| [; print "^A macrame bag hangs from the ceiling, shut tight";|
| if (child(self)==0) ".";|
| print ". Inside you can make out ";|
| WriteListFrom(child(self), ENGLISH_BIT); ".";|
| ],|
| has container transparent;|
|Object watch "gold watch" macrame_bag|
| with name "gold" "watch",|
| description "The watch has no hands, oddly.",|
| react_before|
| [; Listen: if (noun==0 or self) "The watch ticks loudly."; ];|
\endlines}
\refs Containers and supporters abound in the example games
(except ^{`Advent'}, which is too simple, though see the
water-and-oil carrying bottle). Interesting containers include
the lottery-board and the podium sockets from ^{`Balances'} and
the ^{`Adventureland'} bottle.
\nextref
For supporters, the hearth-rug, chessboard, armchair and mantelpiece
of ^{`Alice Through The Looking-Glass'} are typical examples; the
mantelpiece and spirit level of ^{`Toyshop'} makes a simple puzzle,
and the pile of building blocks a complicated one; see also the
scales in ^{`Balances'}.
\section{8}{Doors}
\quote
Standing in front of you to the north, however, is a door surpassing
anything you could have imagined. For starters, its massive lock is
wrapped in a dozen six-inch thick iron chains. In addition, a certain
five-headed monster...
\poemby{^{Marc Blank} and ^{P. David Lebling}}{^{`Enchanter'}}
\widepoem
O for doors to be open and an invite with gilded edges
To dine with Lord Lobcock and Count Asthma.
\poemby{^{W. H. Auden} ({\oldstyle1907}--{\oldstyle1973})}{Song}
\noindent^^{doors}
A useful kind of object is a ^|door|. This need not literally be a door:
it might be a rope-bridge or a ladder, for instance. To set up a |door|:
\smallskip
\item{(a)} give the object the |door| attribute;
\item{(b)} set its |door_to| property to the destination;
\item{(c)} set its |door_dir| property to the direction which that would be,
such as |n_to|;
\item{(d)} make the room's ^{map} connection in that direction point to the
door itself.
^^|door to|^^|door dir|
\PAR\smallskip\noindent
For example, here is a closed and locked door, blocking the
way into the ^{`Ruins'} shrine:^^{stone door}
\beginlines
|Object Corridor "Stooped Corridor"|
| with description "A low, square-cut corridor, running north to south, \|
| stooping you over.",|
| n_to Square_Chamber,|
| s_to StoneDoor;|
|Nearby StoneDoor "stone door"|
| with description "It's just a big stone door.",|
| name "door" "massive" "big" "stone" "yellow",|
| when_closed|
| "Passage south is barred by a massive door of yellow stone.",|
| when_open|
| "The great yellow stone door to the south is open.",|
| door_to Shrine,|
| door_dir s_to,|
| with_key stone_key|
| has static door openable lockable locked;|
\endlines
Note that the door is ^|static| -- otherwise the player could pick it up and
walk away with it! The properties |when_closed| and |when_open| give
descriptions appropriate for the door in these two states.
^^|when closed|^^|when open|
Doors are rather one-way: they are only really present on one side. If
a door needs to be accessible (openable and lockable from either side),
a neat trick is to make it present in both locations and to fix the
|door_to| and |door_dir| to the right way round for whichever side the player
is on. Here, then, is a ^{two-way door}:^^{steel grate}
\beginlines
|Nearby StoneDoor "stone door"|
| with description "It's just a big stone door.",|
| name "door" "massive" "big" "stone" "yellow",|
| when_closed|
| "The passage is barred by a massive door of yellow stone.",|
| when_open|
| "The great yellow stone door is open.",|
| door_to|
| [; if (location==Corridor) return Shrine; return Corridor; ],|
| door_dir|
| [; if (location==Shrine) return n_to; return s_to; ],|
| with_key stone_key,|
| found_in Corridor Shrine,|
| has static door openable lockable locked;|
\endlines^^{doors: two-way}
where |Corridor| has |s_to| set to |StoneDoor|, and |Shrine| has
|n_to| set to |StoneDoor|. The door can now be opened, closed, entered,
locked or unlocked from either side. We could also make |when_open|
and |when_closed| into routines to print different descriptions of the
door from inside and out.
At first sight, it isn't obvious why doors have the |door_dir|
^^|door dir|
property. Why does a door need to know which way it faces? The point is
that two different actions cause the player to go through the door.
Suppose the door is in the south wall. The player may type ``go south'',
which directly causes the action |Go s_obj|. Or the player may ``enter
door'' or ``go through door'', causing |Enter the_door|. Provided the
door is actually open, the |Enter| action then looks at the door's
|door_dir| property, finds that the door faces south and generates
the action |Go s_obj|. Thus, however the player tries to go through
the door, it is the |Go| action that finally results.
This has an important consequence: if you put |before| and |after|
routines on the ^|Enter| action for the |StoneDoor|, they only apply to
a player typing ``enter door" and not to one just typing ``south". So
one safe way is to trap the |Go| action. A neater method is to
put some code into a |door_to| routine. If a |door_to|
routine returns 0 instead of a room, then the player is told that
the door ``leads nowhere'' (like the famous broken bridge of Avignon).
If |door_to| returns 1, or `true', then the library stops the action
on the assumption that something has happened and the player has been
told already.^^{doors: trapping movement through}
\exercise Create a ^{plank bridge} across a chasm, which collapses if
the player walks across it while carrying
anything.^^{bridge which collapses}^^{exercises: plank bridge}
\answer{^^{plank bridge}^^{bridge which collapses}
^^{exercises: plank bridge}The
``plank breaking'' rule is implemented here in its |door_to| routine.
Note that this returns `true' after killing the player.
\beginlines
|Nearby PlankBridge "plank bridge"|
| with description "Extremely fragile and precarious.",|
| name "precarious" "fragile" "wooden" "plank" "bridge",|
| when_open|
| "A precarious plank bridge spans the chasm.",|
| door_to|
| [; if (children(player)~=0)|
| { deadflag=1;|
| "You step gingerly across the plank, which bows under \|
| your weight. But your meagre possessions are the straw \|
| which breaks the camel's back! There is a horrid crack...";|
| }|
| print "You step gingerly across the plank, grateful that \|
| you're not burdened.^";|
| if (location==NearSide) return FarSide; return NearSide;|
| ],|
| door_dir|
| [; if (location==NearSide) return s_to; return n_to;|
| ],|
| found_in NearSide FarSide,|
| has static door open;|
\endlines
There might be a problem with this solution if your game also contained
a character who wandered about, and whose code was clever enough to run
|door_to| routines for any |door|s it ran into. If so, |door_to| could
perhaps be modified to check that the |actor| is the |player|.}
\refs ^{`Advent'} is especially rich in two-way doors: the steel grate
in the streambed, two bridges (one of crystal, the other of rickety
wood) and a door with rusty hinges. See also the iron gate in `Balances'.
\section{9}{Switchable objects}
\widequote
Steven: `Well, what does this do?'\quad Doctor: `That is the dematerialising
control. And that over yonder is the horizontal hold. Up there is the
scanner, these are the doors, that is a chair with a panda on it. Sheer
poetry, dear boy. Now please stop bothering me.'
\tvquoteby{^{Dennis Spooner},
{\sl The Time Meddler}}{{\sl Dr Who}, serial {\oldstyle 17} ({\oldstyle1965})}
^^{Doctor Who}
\noindent
Objects can also be ^|switchable|. This means they can be turned off or
on, as if they had some kind of switch on them. The object has the
attribute ^|on| if it's on. For
example:^^{searchlight}^^{Gotham City}^^{holy searchlight}
\beginlines
|Object searchlight "Gotham City searchlight" skyscraper|
| with name "search" "light" "template", article "the",|
| description "It has some kind of template on it.",|
| when_on "The old city searchlight shines out a bat against \|
| the feather-clouds of the darkening sky.",|
| when_off "The old city searchlight, neglected but still \|
| functional, sits here."|
| has switchable static;|
\endlines
Something more portable would come in handy for the
explorer of ^{`Ruins'}, who would hardly have embarked on his expedition
without a decent light source$\ldots$
\beginlines
|Object sodium_lamp "sodium lamp"|
| with name "sodium" "lamp" "heavy",|
| describe|
| [; if (self hasnt on) |
| "^The sodium lamp squats heavily on the ground.";|
| "^The sodium lamp squats on the ground, burning away.";|
| ],|
| number 40,|
| before|
| [; Examine: print "It is a heavy-duty archaeologist's lamp, ";|
| if (self hasnt on) "currently off.";|
| if (self.number < 10) "glowing a dim yellow.";|
| "blazing with brilliant yellow light.";|
| Burn: <<SwitchOn self>>;|
| SwitchOn:|
| if (self.number <= 0)|
| "Unfortunately, the battery seems to be dead.";|
| if (parent(self) hasnt supporter && self notin location)|
| "The lamp must be securely placed before being lit.";|
| Take, Remove:|
| if (self has on)|
| "The bulb's too delicate and the metal frame's too \|
| hot to move the lamp while it's switched on.";|
| ],|
| after|
| [; SwitchOn: give self light;|
| SwitchOff: give self ~light;|
| ],|
| has switchable;|
\endlines^^{sodium lamp}
The `Ruins' lamp will eventually be a little more complicated, with a
daemon to make the ^{battery strength}, held in the |number| property,
run down and to extinguish the lamp when it runs out; and it will be
pushable from place to place, making it not quite as useless as the player
will hopefully think at first.
\danger A point to note is that this time the |when_on| and |when_off|
properties haven't been used to describe the lamp when it's on the ground:
this is because once an object has been held by the player, it's normally
given only a perfunctory mention in room descriptions (``You can also see a
sodium lamp and a grape here.''). The ^|describe| property has priority
over the whole business of how objects are described in ^{room
descriptions}. When it returns true, as above, the usual description process
does nothing further. For much more on room descriptions, see \S 18.
\refs The original switchable object was the brass lamp from ^{`Advent'}
(which also provides verbs ``on'' and ``off'' to switch it). (The other
example games are generally pre-electric in setting.)
\newpage
\section{10}{Things to enter, travel in and push around}
\quote
$\ldots$the need to navigate a newly added river prompted the invention
of vehicles (specifically, a boat).
\quoteby{^{P. David Lebling}, ^{Marc Blank} and ^{Timothy Anderson}}
\noindent
Some objects in a game are ^|enterable|, which means that a player can get
inside or onto them. The idea of ``inside" here is that the player is only
half-in, as with a car or a psychiatrist's couch. (If it's more like a
prison cell, then it should be a separate place.) In practice one often
wants to make an |enterable| thing also a |container|, or, as in the
^{altar} from ^{`Ruins'}, a ^|supporter|:
\beginlines
|Nearby stone_table "slab altar"|
| with name "stone" "table" "slab" "altar" "great",|
| initial "A great stone slab of a table, or altar, dominates the Shrine.",|
| has enterable supporter;|
\endlines^^{stone altar}
A chair to sit on, or a bed to lie down on, should also be a |supporter|.
\exercise (Also from `Ruins'.) Implement a cage which can be opened,
closed and entered.^^{exercises: cage to open and enter}
\answer{^^{`Ruins'}^^{exercises: cage to open and enter}
\beginlines
|Nearby cage "iron cage"|
| with name "iron" "cage" "bars" "barred" "iron-barred",|
| when_open|
| "An iron-barred cage, large enough to stoop over inside, \|
| looms ominously here.",|
| when_closed "The iron cage is closed.",|
| has enterable container openable open static;|
\endlines}
\medskip
\noindent
All the classic games have ^{vehicles} (like boats, or fork lift trucks, or
hot air balloons) which the player can journey in, so Inform makes this
easy. Here is a simple case:
\beginlines
|Object car "little red car" cave|
| with name "little" "red" "car",|
| description "Large enough to sit inside. Among the controls is a \|
| prominent on/off switch. The numberplate is KAR 1.",|
| when_on "The red car sits here, its engine still running.",|
| when_off "A little red car is parked here.",|
| before|
| [; Go: if (car has on) "Brmm! Brmm!";|
| print "(The ignition is off at the moment.)^";|
| ],|
| has switchable enterable static container open;|
\endlines^^{little red car}^^{The Prisoner}
Actually, this demonstrates a special rule. If a player is inside an
|enterable| object and tries to move, say ``north", the |before| routine
for the object is called with the action ^|Go|, and |n_obj| as the noun.
It may then return:
\begindisplay
0\quad to disallow the movement, printing a refusal;\cr
1\quad to allow the movement, moving vehicle and player;\cr
2\quad to disallow but print and do nothing; or\cr
3\quad to allow but print and do nothing.\cr
\enddisplay
If you want to move the vehicle in your own code, return 3, not 2: otherwise
the old location may be restored by subsequent workings.
\medskip\noindent
Because you might want to drive the car ``out'' of a garage,
the ^{``out'' verb} does not make the player get out of the car. Usually
the player has to type something like ``get out'' to make this happen,
though of course the rules can be changed.
\exercise Alter the car so that it won't go
east.^^{exercises: car that won't go east}
\answer{^^{exercises: car that won't go east}
Change the car's |before| to
\beginlines
| before|
| [; Go: if (noun==e_obj)|
| { print "The car will never fit through your front door.^";|
| return 2;|
| }|
| if (car has on) "Brmm! Brmm!";|
| print "(The ignition is off at the moment.)^";|
| ],|
\endlines^^{little red car}}
\danger
Objects like the car or, say, an antiquated
wireless on casters, are obviously too heavy to pick up but the player
should at least be able to push them from place to place. When the
player tries to do this, the ^|PushDir| action is generated. Now, if
the |before| routine returns false, the game will just say that the
player can't; and if it returns true, the game will do nothing at all,
guessing that the |before| routine has already printed something more
interesting. So how does one actually tell Inform that the push
should be allowed? The answer is that one has to do two things:
call the ^|AllowPushDir| routine (a library routine), and then
return true. For example (^{`Ruins'} again):
\beginlines
|Nearby huge_ball "huge pumice-stone ball"|
| with name "huge" "pumice" "pumice-stone" "stone" "ball",|
| description "A good eight feet across, though fairly lightweight.",|
| initial|
| "A huge pumice-stone ball rests here, eight feet wide.",|
| before|
| [; PushDir:|
| if (location==Junction && second==w_obj)|
| "The corridor entrance is but seven feet across.";|
| AllowPushDir(); rtrue;|
| Pull, Push, Turn: "It wouldn't be so very hard to get rolling.";|
| Take, Remove: "There's a lot of stone in an eight-foot sphere.";|
| ],|
| after|
| [; PushDir:|
| if (second==s_obj) "The ball is hard to stop once underway.";|
| if (second==n_obj) "You strain to push the ball uphill.";|
| ],|
| has static;|
\endlines^^{pumice ball}^^{eight-foot pumice ball}^^{ball of pumice}
\dangerexercise The library does not normally allow pushing objects up or down.
How can the pumice ball allow this?^^{exercises: pushing pumice ball uphill}
\answer{^^{pumice ball}^^{eight-foot pumice ball}^^{ball of pumice}
^^{`Ruins'}^^{exercises: pushing pumice ball uphill}
Insert these lines into the |before| rule for |PushDir|:
\beginlines
| if (second==u_obj) <<PushDir self n_obj>>;|
| if (second==d_obj) <<PushDir self s_obj>>;|
\endlines}
\refs For an |enterable| |supporter| puzzle, see the magic carpet
in ^{`Balances'} (and several items in
^{`Alice Through The Looking-Glass'}).
\section{11}{Reading matter and consultation}
\widequote
Even at present$\ldots$ we still know very little about how access
to printed materials affects human behaviour.
\widepoemby{^{Elizabeth Eisenstein}}{The Printing Revolution
in Early Modern Europe}
\begindisplay
look up figure 18 in the engineering textbook\cr
\enddisplay
is a difficult line for Inform to understand, because almost anything
could appear in the first clause: even its format depends on what the
second clause is. This kind of request, and more generally
\begindisplay
look up \<any words here> in \<the object>\cr
read about \<any words here> in \<the object>\cr
consult \<the object> about \<any words here>\cr
\enddisplay^^{reading books}^^{{\tt Consult} action}
cause the |Consult object| action. Note that |second| is just zero:
formally, there is no second noun attached to a |Consult| action.
The object has to parse the \<any words here> part itself, in a |before|
rule for |Consult|. The following variables are set up to make this
possible:
\smallskip
|consult_from| holds the number of the first word in the \<any...>
clause;^^|consult from|\
|consult_words| holds the number of words in the \<any...> clause
(at least 1).^^|consult words|\
\smallskip\noindent
The words given are parsed using library routines like
|NextWord()|, |TryNumber(word-number)| and so on: see \S 20 for
full details. As usual, the |before| routine should return true
if it has managed to deal with the action; returning false will
make the library print ``You discover nothing of interest in$\ldots$''.
Little hints are placed here and there in the ^{`Ruins'}, written
in the ^{glyphs} of an ancient dialect of Mayan. Our explorer has,
of course, come equipped with the latest and finest scholarship
on the subject:
\beginlines
|Object dictionary "Waldeck's Mayan dictionary"|
| with name "dictionary" "local" "guide" "book" "mayan"|
| "waldeck" "waldeck^s",|
| description "Compiled from the unreliable lithographs of the \|
| legendary raconteur and explorer ~Count~ Jean Frederic \|
| Maximilien Waldeck (1766??-1875), this guide contains \|
| what little is known of the glyphs used in the local \|
| ancient dialect.",|
| before|
| [ w1 w2 glyph other; Consult:|
| if (consult_words>2) jump GlyphHelp;|
| wn=consult_from;|
| w1 = NextWord(); ! First word of subject |
| w2 = NextWord(); ! Second word (if any) of subject |
| if (consult_words==1 && w1=='glyph' or 'glyphs')|
| jump GlyphHelp;|
| ! We want to recognise both "glyph q1" and "q1 glyph":|
| glyph=w1; other=w2;|
| if (w1=='glyph') { glyph=w2; other=w1; }|
| ! So now glyph holds the name, and other the other word|
| if (consult_words==2 && other~='glyph') jump GlyphHelp;|
| switch(glyph)|
| { 'q1': "(This is one glyph you have memorised!)^^\|
| Q1: ~sacred site~.";|
| 'circle': "Circle: ~the Sun; also life, lifetime~.";|
| ...|
| default: "That glyph is so far unrecorded.";|
| }|
| ! All three of the ways the text can go wrong lead to|
| ! this message being produced:|
| .GlyphHelp; "Try ~look up <name of glyph> in book~.";|
| ],|
| has proper;|
\endlines^^{dictionary of Mayan glyphs}^^{Jean Frederic Waldeck}
^^{Waldeck's Mayan dictionary}
Note that this understands any of the forms ``q1'', ``glyph q1'' or
``q1 glyph'' but is careful to reject, for instance, ``glyph q1 glyph''.
(These aren't genuine Mayan glyphs, but some of the real ones have similar
names, dating from when their syllabic equivalents weren't known: G8,
the Lord of the Night, for instance.)
\exercise To mark the 500th anniversary of ^{William Tyndale} (the first
English translator of the ^{New Testament}), prepare an edition of the
^{four Gospels}.^^{Bible}^^{exercises: Tyndale's Bible}
\answer{^^{William Tyndale}^^{New Testament}^^{four Gospels}^^{Bible}
^^{exercises: Tyndale's Bible}
\beginlines
|Nearby bible "black Tyndale Bible"|
| with name "bible" "black" "book",|
| initial "A black Bible rests on a spread-eagle lectern.",|
| description "A splendid foot-high Bible, which must have survived \|
| the burnings of 1520.",|
| before|
| [ w x; Consult:|
| wn = consult_from; w = NextWord();|
| switch(w)|
| { 'matthew': x="Gospel of St Matthew";|
| 'mark': x="Gospel of St Mark";|
| 'luke': x="Gospel of St Luke";|
| 'john': x="Gospel of St John";|
| default: "There are only the four Gospels.";|
| }|
| if (consult_words==1)|
| print_ret "You read the ", (string) x, " right through.";|
| w = TryNumber(wn);|
| if (w==-1000)|
| print_ret "I was expecting a chapter number in the ",|
| (string) x, ".";|
| print_ret "Chapter ", (number) w, " of the ", (string) x,|
| " is too sacred for you to understand now.";|
| ];|
\endlines}
\ddanger
Ordinarily, a request by the player to ``read'' something is translated
into an |Examine| action. But the ``read'' verb is defined independently
of the ``examine'' verb in order to make it easy to separate the two
requests. For instance:
\beginlines
|Attribute legible;|
|...|
|Object textbook "textbook"|
| with name "engineering" "textbook" "text" "book",|
| description "What beautiful covers and spine!",|
| before|
| [; Consult, Read:|
| "The pages are full of senseless equations.";|
| ],|
| has legible;|
|...|
|[ ReadSub; <<Examine noun>>; ];|
|Extend "read" first * legible -> Read;|
\endlines^^{``examine'' v. ``read''}^^{``read'' v. ``examine''}^^{legibility}
\ninepoint
Note that ``read" causes a |Read| action only for |legible| objects,
and otherwise causes |Examine| in the usual way. |ReadSub| is coded
as a translation to |Examine| as well, so that if a |legible| object
doesn't provide a |Read| rule then an |Examine| happens after all.
\tenpoint
\refs If you really need more elaborate topic-parsing (for, e.g.,
``look up \<something> in the catalogue'', where any object name might
appear) then extending the grammar for |look| may be less trouble.
For a good implementation see ^{`Encyclopaedia Frobozzica'}, by
^{Gareth Rees}.
\section{12}{Living creatures and conversation}
\widepoem
To know how to live is my trade and my art.
\poemby{^{Michel de Montaigne} ({\oldstyle1533}--{\oldstyle1592})}{Essays}
\widepoem
Everything that can be said can be said clearly.
\poemby{^{Ludwig Wittgenstein} ({\oldstyle1889}--{\oldstyle1951})}{Tractatus}
\noindent
This rummage through special kinds of objects finishes up with the most
sophisticated kind: living ones. Note that the finer points of this
section, on the arts of conversation, require some knowledge of Chapter
III.
Animate objects, such as sea monsters, mad aunts or nasty little dwarves,
have a property called ^|life|. This behaves
somewhat like a |before| or |after| routine, but only applies to the
following actions:
\medskip
\stepin=60pt
\block{Attack}^^|Attack|%
The player is making hostile advances$\ldots$
\medskip
\block{Kiss}^^|Kiss|%
$\ldots$or excessively friendly ones$\ldots$
\medskip
\block{WakeOther}^^|WakeOther|%
$\ldots$or simply trying to rouse the creature from sleep.
\medskip
\block{ThrowAt}^^|ThrowAt|%
The player asked to throw |noun| at the creature.
\medskip
\block{Give}^^|Give|%
The player asked to give |noun| to the creature$\ldots$
\medskip
\block{Show}^^|Show|%
$\ldots$or, tantalisingly, just to show it.
\medskip
\block{Ask}^^|Ask|%
The player asked about something. Just as with a ``consult''
topic (see \S 11 passim), the variables |consult_from|
and |consult_words| are set up to indicate which words the
object might like to think about. (In addition, |second|
holds the dictionary value for the first word which isn't
|'the'|, but this is much cruder.)
\medskip
\block{Tell}^^|Tell|%
Likewise, the player is trying to tell the creature about
something. The topic is set up just as for |Ask| (that is,
|consult_from| and |consult_words| are set, and |second|
also holds the first interesting word).
\block{Answer}^^|Answer|%
This can happen in two ways. One is if the player types ``answer \<some text>
to troll" or ``say \<some text> to troll''; the other is if he gives an
order which the parser can't sort out, such as
``troll, og south", and which the |orders| property hasn't handled
already. Once again, variables are set as if it
were a ``consult'' topic. (In addition, |noun| is set to the
first word, and an attempt to read the text as a number is
stored in the variable |special_number|: for instance,
^{``computer, 143"} will cause |special_number| to be set to
143.)^^|special number|
\medskip
\block{Order}^^|Order|%
This catches any `orders' which aren't
handled by the |orders| property (see below); |action|,
|noun| and |second| are set up as usual.
\bigskip
\noindent
If the |life| routine doesn't exist, or returns false, events take their
usual course. |life| routines tend to be quite lengthy, even for
relatively static characters such as the ^{priest} who stands in
the ^{`Ruins'} ^{Shrine}:
\beginlines
|Nearby priest "mummified priest"|
| with name "mummified" "priest",|
| description|
| "He is desiccated and hangs together only by will-power. Though \|
| his first language is presumably local Mayan, you have the curious \|
| instinct that he will understand your speech.",|
| initial "Behind the slab, a mummified priest stands waiting, barely \|
| alive at best, impossibly venerable.",|
| life|
| [; Answer: "The priest coughs, and almost falls apart.";|
| Ask: switch(second)|
| { 'dictionary', 'book':|
| if (dictionary has general)|
| "~The ~bird~ glyph... very funny.~";|
| "~A dictionary? Really?";|
| 'glyph', 'glyphs', 'mayan', 'dialect':|
| "~In our culture, the Priests are ever literate.~";|
| 'king', 'tomb', 'shrine', 'temple', 'altar', 'slab':|
| "~The King (life! prosperity! happiness!) is buried \|
| deep under this Shrine, where you will never go.~";|
| }|
| "~You must find your own answer.~";|
| Tell: "The priest has no interest in your sordid life.";|
| Attack, Kiss: remove self;|
| "The priest desiccates away into dust until nothing \|
| remains, not a breeze nor a bone.";|
| ThrowAt: move noun to location; <<Attack self>>;|
| Show, Give:|
| if (noun==dictionary && dictionary hasnt general)|
| { give dictionary general;|
| "The priest reads a little of the book, laughing \|
| in a hollow, whispering way. Unable to restrain \|
| his mirth, he scratches in a correction somewhere \|
| before returning the book.";|
| }|
| "The priest is not very interested in earthly things.";|
| ],|
| has animate;|
\endlines^^{mummified priest}^^{desiccated priest}
(Some of the |Ask| topics are omitted for brevity.)
Of course an |animate| object still has |before| and |after| routines
like any other, so you can trap many other kinds of behaviour.
Animate creatures can also |react_before| and |react_after|, and it's
here that these properties really come into their own:%
^^|react before|^^|react after|
\beginstt
react_before
[; Drop: if (noun==satellite_gadget)
print "~I wouldn't do that, Mr Bond,~ says Blofeld.^^";
Shoot: remove beretta;
"As you draw, Blofeld snaps his fingers and a giant \
magnet snatches the gun from your hand. It hits the \
ceiling with a clang. Blofeld silkily strokes his cat.";
];
\endtt^^{Ernst Stavro Blofeld}^^{Blofeld, Ernst Stavro}
^^{James Bond}^^{Bond, James}
^^{giant magnet}^^{Beretta pistol}
If Blofeld moves from place to place, these rules move with him.
\exercise Arrange for a bearded psychiatrist to place the player
under observation, occasionally mumbling insights such as
``Subject puts green cone on table.
Interesting.''^^{exercises: bearded psychiatrist}
\answer{^^{exercises: bearded psychiatrist}
Note that whether reacting before or after, the psychiatrist
does not cut any actions short, because |react_before| and
|react_after| both return false.
\beginlines
|Nearby psychiatrist "bearded psychiatrist"|
| with name "bearded" "doctor" "psychiatrist" "psychologist" "shrink",|
| initial "A bearded psychiatrist has you under observation.",|
| life|
| [; "He is fascinated by your behaviour, but makes no attempt to \|
| interfere with it.";|
| ],|
| react_after|
| [; Insert: print "~Subject puts ", (name) noun, " in ",|
| (name) second, ". Interesting.~^^";|
| Look: print "~Pretend I'm not here,~ says the psychiatrist.^";|
| ],|
| react_before|
| [; Take, Remove: print "~Subject feels lack of ", (the) noun,|
| ". Suppressed Oedipal complex? Mmm.~^";|
| ],|
| has animate;|
\endlines}
\noindent
Another example is the coiled snake from ^{`Balances'}, which
shows that even the tiniest |life| routine can be adequate for an animal:
\beginstt
Nearby snake "hissing snake"
with name "hissing" "snake",
initial "Tightly coiled at the edge of the chasm is a hissing snake.",
life [; "The snake hisses angrily!"; ],
has animate;
\endtt
^^{animals}^^{coiled snake}^^{snake}^^{hissing snake}
\danger When writing general code to deal with |animate| creatures,
it's sometimes convenient to have a system worked out for printing
^{pronouns} such as ``her'' and ``He''. See \S 18 for one way to do this.
\noindent
Sometimes creatures should be ^|transparent|, sometimes not. Consider these
two cases of |animate| characters, for instance:
\smallskip
\item{$\bullet$} an urchin with something bulging inside his jacket pocket;
\item{$\bullet$} a hacker who has a bunch of keys hanging off his belt.
\smallskip\noindent
The hacker is |transparent|, the urchin not. That way the parser prevents
the player from referring to whatever the urchin is hiding, even if the
player has played the game before, and knows what is in there and what it's
called. But the player can look at and be tantalised by the hacker's
keys.^^{hacker and urchin}^^{urchin and hacker}
\medskip
\noindent
When the player types in something like ``pilot, fly south'',
and the parser is able to make sense of the request, the result
is called an `order': this is the corresponding idea to an
`action' (but happens to other people rather than to the player).
This order is sent to the pilot's ^|orders| property, which has
the chance to comply with the request (if it likes). Inform
itself never carries out any orders: if no rules get in the way,
it will simply print something like ``The pilot has better things
to do.'' The above priest is especially unhelpful:
\beginlines
| orders|
| [; Go: "~I must not leave the Shrine.~";|
| NotUnderstood: "~You speak in riddles.~";|
| default: "~It is not your orders I serve.~";|
| ];|
\endlines^^{Shrine}
(The ^|NotUnderstood| clause is run when the parser couldn't
understand what the player typed.) Something to bear in mind
is that because the library regards the words ``yes'' and ``no''
as being verbs in Inform, it understands
^{``delores, yes''} as being a |Yes:| order. (This can be a slight
nuisance, as ``say yes to orc'' is treated differently: it gets
routed through the |life| routine as an |Answer|.)
\danger If the |orders| property returns false (or if there wasn't
an |orders| property in the first place), the order is sent either
to the |Order:| part of the |life| property (if it's understood)
or to the |Answer:| part (if it isn't). (This is how all orders used to
be processed, and it's retained to avoid making reams of old Inform
code go wrong.) If these also return false, a message like ``X has
better things to do'' or ``There is no reply'' is finally printed.
\noindent
To clarify the various kinds of conversation:
\smallskip
\hrule
\smallskip
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ Command &&& rule & |action| & |noun| & |second| & consult\cr
\smallskip
\hrule
\smallskip
\+ ``orc, take axe'' &&& |order| & |Take| & |axe| & |0| &\cr
\+ ``orc, yes'' &&& |order| & |Yes| & |0| & |0| &\cr
\+ ``ask orc for the shield'' &&& |order| & |Give| & |player| & |shield| &\cr
\+ ``orc, troll'' &&& |order| & |NotU...| & |'troll'| & |orc| & 3\quad 1\cr
\+ ``say troll to orc'' &&& |life| & |Answer| & |'troll'| & |orc| & 2\quad 1\cr
\+ ``answer troll to orc'' &&& |life| & |Answer| & |'troll'| & |orc|
& 2\quad 1\cr
\+ ``orc, tell me about coins'' &&& |life| & |Ask| & |orc| & |'coins'| & 6\quad 1\cr
\+ ``ask orc about the big troll'' &&& |life| & |Ask| & |orc| & |'big'| & 4\quad 3\cr
\+ ``ask orc about wyvern'' &&& |life| & |Ask| & |orc| & |0| & 4\quad 1\cr
\+ ``tell orc about lost troll'' &&& |life| & |Tell| & |orc| & |'lost'| & 4\quad 2\cr
\smallskip
\hrule
\smallskip
\noindent
where ``wyvern'' is a word not mentioned anywhere in the program,
which is why its value is |0|.
\exercise In some ways, |Answer| and |Tell| are just too much trouble.
How can you make attempts to use these produce a message saying
``To talk to someone, try
`someone, something'.''?^^{removing conversation actions}
^^{exercises: removing conversation actions}
\answer{^^{removing conversation actions}
^^{exercises: removing conversation actions}
Add the following lines, after the inclusion of |Grammar|:
\beginlines
|[ SayInsteadSub; "[To talk to someone, please type ~someone, something~ \|
|or else ~ask someone about something~.]"; ];|
|Extend "answer" replace * ConTopic -> SayInstead;|
|Extend "tell" replace * ConTopic -> SayInstead;|
\endlines
A slight snag is that this will throw out ``nigel,
tell me about the grunfeld defence'' (which the library will normally
convert to an |Ask| action, but can't if the grammar for ``tell'' is
missing); to avoid this, you could instead |Replace| the |TellSub|
routine (see \S 17) by the |SayInsteadSub| one.}
\medskip
\noindent
Some objects are not alive as such, but can be spoken to: ^{microphones},
^{tape recorders}, ^{voice-activated computers} and so on.
It would be a nuisance
to implement these as |animate|, since they have none of the other
characteristics of life: instead, they can be given just the attribute
^|talkable| and |orders| and |life| properties to deal with the resulting
conversation.
\exercise (Cf. ^{`Starcross'}.) Construct a computer responding to
``computer, theta is 180''.^^{computer (voice-activated)}
^^{exercises: computer (voice-activated)}
\answer{^^{`Starcross'}^^{computer (voice-activated)}
^^{exercises: computer (voice-activated)}
There are several ways to do this. The easiest is to add more grammar
to the parser and let it do the hard work:
\beginstt
Nearby computer "computer"
with name "computer",
orders
[; Theta: print_ret "~Theta now set to ", noun, ".~";
default: print_ret "~Please rephrase.~";
],
has talkable;
..
[ ThetaSub; "You must tell your computer so."; ];
Verb "theta" * "is" number -> Theta;
\endtt}
\medskip\noindent
\danger The rest of this section starts to overlap much more with
Chapter III, and assumes a little familiarity with the parser.
\ninepoint
\danger The ^|NotUnderstood| clause of |orders| is run when the
parser has got stuck parsing an order like ``pilot, fly somersaults''.
The variable ^|etype| holds the parser error that would have been
printed out, had it been a command by the player himself. See \S 25:
for instance, |CANTSEE_PE| would mean ``the pilot can't see any such
object''.
\danger
When the player issues requests to an |animate| or |talkable| object,
they're normally parsed exactly as if they were commands by the
player himself (except that the |actor| is now the person being
spoken to). But sometimes one would rather they were parsed by
an entirely different grammar. For instance, consider ^{Zen}, the
flight computer of an alien spacecraft. It's inappropriate to
tell Zen to (say) pick up a teleport bracelet and the crew tend
to give commands more like:
\begindisplay
``Zen, set course for Centauro''\cr
``Zen, speed standard by six''\cr
``Zen, scan 360 orbital''\cr
``Zen, raise the force wall''\cr
``Zen, clear the neutron blasters for firing''\cr
\enddisplay^^{Blake's 7}^^{flight computer}
This could mostly be implemented by adding verbs like ``raise''
to the usual game grammar (see the `Starcross' computer exercise
above), or by carefully trapping the |Answer| rule. But this is
a nuisance, especially if about half the commands you want are
recognised as orders in the usual grammar but the other half aren't.
An |animate| or |talkable| object can therefore provide a ^|grammar|
routine (if it likes). This is called at a time when the parser has
worked out the object that is being addressed and has set the variables
|verb_num| and |verb_word| (to the number of the `verb' and its
dictionary entry, respectively: for example, in ``orac, operate the
teleport'' |verb_num| would be 3 (because the comma counts as a
word on its own) and |verb_word| would be |'operate'|). The |grammar|
routine can reply by returning:
\item{0.}The parser carries on as usual.
\item{1.}The |grammar| routine is saying it has done all the parsing necessary
itself, by hand (i.e., using |NextWord|, |TryNumber|, |NounDomain| and
the like): the variables |action|, |noun| and |second| must be set up
to contain the resulting order.
\item{|'verb'|}The parser ignores the usual grammar and instead works
through the grammar lines for the given verb (see below).
\item{|-'verb'|}Ditto, except that if none of those grammar lines work
then the parser goes back and tries the usual grammar as well.
\smallskip\noindent In addition, the |grammar| routine is free to
do some partial parsing of the early words provided it moves on
|verb_num| accordingly to show how much it's got through.^^|verb num|
\dangerexercise Implement Charlotte, a little girl who's playing
^{Simon Says} (a game in which she only follows your instructions
if you remember to say ``Simon says'' in front of them: so she'll
disobey ``charlotte, wave'' but obey
``charlotte, simon says wave'').^^{girl playing Simon Says}
^^{Charlotte's game}^^{exercises: Charlotte playing Simon Says}
\answer{^^{Simon Says}^^{Charlotte's game}^^{girl playing Simon Says}
^^{exercises: Charlotte playing Simon Says}
Obviously, a slightly wider repertoire of actions might be a good idea,
but:
\beginlines
|Nearby Charlotte "Charlotte"|
| with name "charlotte" "charlie" "chas",|
| grammar|
| [; give self ~general;|
| wn=verb_wordnum;|
| if (NextWord()=='simon' && NextWord()=='says')|
| { give self general;|
| verb_wordnum=verb_wordnum+2;|
| }|
| ],|
| orders|
| [ i; if (self hasnt general) "Charlotte sticks her tongue out.";|
| WaveHands: "Charlotte waves energetically.";|
| default: "~Don't know how,~ says Charlotte.";|
| ],|
| initial "Charlotte wants to play Simon Says.",|
| has animate female proper;|
\endlines}
\dangerexercise Another of Charlotte's rules is that if you say a
number, she has to clap that many times. Can you
play?^^{clapping game}^^{exercises: Charlotte's clapping game}
\answer{^^{clapping game}^^{exercises: Charlotte's clapping game}
First add a |Clap| verb (this is easy). Then
give Charlotte a |number| property (initially 0, say) and add
these three lines to the end of Charlotte's |grammar| routine:
\beginlines
| self.number=TryNumber(verb_wordnum);|
| if (self.number~=-1000)|
| { action=##Clap; noun=0; second=0; rtrue; }|
\endlines
Her |orders| routine now needs a local variable called |i|, and
the new clause:
\beginlines
| Clap: if (self.number==0) "Charlotte folds her arms.";|
| for (i=0:i<self.number:i++)|
| { print "Clap! ";|
| if (i==100)|
| print "(You must be regretting this by now.) ";|
| if (i==200)|
| print "(What a determined girl she is.) ";|
| }|
| if (self.number>100)|
| "^^Charlotte is a bit out of breath now.";|
| "^^~Easy!~ says Charlotte.";|
\endlines}
\dangerexercise Regrettably, ^{Dyslexic Dan} has always mixed up the
words ``take'' and ``drop''. Implement him
anyway.^^{exercises: Dyslexic Dan}
\answer{^^{exercises: Dyslexic Dan}
The interesting point here is that when the |grammar| property
finds the word ``take'', it accepts it and has to move |verb_wordnum|
on by one to signal that a word has been parsed succesfully.
\beginlines
|Nearby Dan "Dyslexic Dan"|
| with name "dan" "dyslexic",|
| grammar|
| [; if (verb_word == 'take') { verb_wordnum++; return 'drop'; }|
| if (verb_word == 'drop') { verb_wordnum++; return 'take'; }|
| ],|
| orders|
| [ i;|
| Take: print_ret "~What,~ says Dan, ~ you want me to take ",|
| (the) noun, "?~";|
| Drop: print_ret "~What,~ says Dan, ~ you want me to drop ",|
| (the) noun, "?~";|
| Inv: "~That I can do,~ says Dan. ~I'm empty-handed.~";|
| No: "~Right you be then.~";|
| Yes: "~I'll be having to think about that.~";|
| default: "~Don't know how,~ says Dan.";|
| ],|
| initial "Dyslexic Dan is here.",|
| has animate proper;|
\endlines^^{Dyslexic Dan}}
\danger It's useful to know that if the player types a comma or a
full stop, then the parser cuts these out as separate words. Because
of this, a dictionary word containing up to 7 letters and
then a comma or a full stop can never be matched by what the player
types. This means that a verb with such a name is hidden from the
ordinary grammar - but it can still be used by a |grammar| routine.
For instance, here's a way to implement the ^{`Starcross'}
computer which doesn't involve creating foolish new actions. We
create grammar:
\beginlines
|[ Control;|
| switch(NextWord())|
| { 'theta': parsed_number=1; return 1;|
| 'phi': parsed_number=2; return 1;|
| 'range': parsed_number=3; return 1;|
| default: return -1;|
| }|
|];|
|Verb "comp," * Control "is" number -> SetTo;|
\endlines
And the computer itself needs properties
\beginlines
| grammar [; return 'comp,'; ],|
| orders|
| [; SetTo:|
| switch(noun)|
| { 1: print "~Theta"; 2: print "~Phi"; 3: print "~Range"; }|
| print_ret " set to ", second, ".~";|
| default: "~Does not compute!~";|
| ];|
\endlines
This may not look easier, but it's much more flexible, as the exercises
below will hopefully demonstrate.
\ddanger Another use for ^{`untypeable verbs'} is to create what might be
called `^{fake fake actions}'. Recall that a fake action is one which
is never generated by the parser and is used for message-passing only,
so it doesn't have an action routine and can't do anything other than
send the message. Sometimes, though, you want a proper action (with
its own action routine) which also can't be generated by the parser.
The following example creates three of these:
\beginlines
|Verb "actions." * -> Prepare * -> Simmer * -> Cook;|
\endlines
The parser never uses ``actions.'' in its ordinary grammar, so this
definition has the sole effect of creating three new actions:
|Prepare|, |Simmer| and |Cook|.
\ddangerexercise How can you make a grammar extension to an ordinary
verb that will apply only to
Dan?^^{extensions for one actor only}
^^{exercises: extensions for one actor only}
\answer{^^{exercises: extensions for one actor only}
Suppose Dan's grammar (but nobody else's) for the ``examine''
verb is to be extended. His grammar routine should also contain:
\beginlines
| if (verb_word == 'examine' or 'x')|
| { verb_wordnum++; return -'danx,'; }|
\endlines^^{extensions for one actor only}^^{cow pie}
(Note the crudity of this: it looks at the actual verb word, so you
have to check any synonyms yourself.) The verb ``danx,'' must be
declared later:
\beginlines
|Verb "danx," * "conscience" -> Inv;|
\endlines
and now ``Dan, examine conscience'' will send him an |Inv| order:
but ``Dan, examine cow pie'' will still send |Examine cow_pie| as usual.}
\dangerexercise Make an alarm clock responding to ``alarm, off'',
``alarm, on'' and ``alarm, half past seven'' (the latter to
set its alarm time).^^{alarm clock}^^{exercises: alarm clock}
\answer{^^{alarm clock}^^{exercises: alarm clock}
\beginlines
|[ PrintTime x; print (x/60), ":", (x%60)/10, (x%60)%10; ];|
|Nearby alarm_clock "alarm clock"|
| with name "alarm" "clock",|
| number 480,|
| description|
| [; print "The alarm is ";|
| if (self has general) print "on, "; else print "off, but ";|
| print_ret "the clock reads ", (PrintTime) the_time,|
| " and the alarm is set for ", (PrintTime) self.number, ".";|
| ],|
| react_after|
| [; Inv: if (self in player) { new_line; <<Examine self>>; }|
| Look: if (self in location) { new_line; <<Examine self>>; }|
| ],|
| daemon|
| [; if (the_time >= self.number && the_time <= self.number+3|
| && self has general) "^Beep! Beep! The alarm goes off.";|
| ],|
| grammar [; return 'alarm,'; ],|
| orders|
| [; SwitchOn: give self general; StartDaemon(self); "~Alarm set.~";|
| SwitchOff: give self ~general; StopDaemon(self); "~Alarm off.~";|
| SetTo: self.number=noun; <<Examine self>>;|
| default: "~Commands are on, off or a time of day only, pliz.~";|
| ],|
| life|
| [; Ask, Answer, Tell:|
| "[Try ~clock, something~ to address the clock.]";|
| ],|
| has talkable;|
\endlines
and add a new verb to the grammar:
\beginlines
|Verb "alarm," * "on" -> SwitchOn|
| * "off" -> SwitchOff|
| * TimeOfDay -> SetTo;|
\endlines
(using the \cstok{TimeOfDay} token from the exercises of \S 23). Note
that since the word ``alarm,'' can't be matched by anything the player types,
this verb is concealed from ordinary grammar. The orders we produce here
are not used in the ordinary way (for instance, the action |SwitchOn| with
no |noun| or |second| would never ordinarily be produced by the parser) but this
doesn't matter: it only matters that the grammar and the |orders| property
agree with each other.}
\dangerexercise Implement a ^{tricorder} (from
Star Trek) which analyses nearby objects on a request like
``tricorder, the quartz stratum''.^^{exercises: tricorder}
\answer{^^{Star Trek: The Next Generation}^^{tricorder}
^^{exercises: tricorder}
\beginlines
|Nearby tricorder "tricorder"|
| with name "tricorder",|
| grammar [; return 'tc,'; ],|
| orders|
| [; Examine: if (noun==player) "~You radiate life signs.~";|
| print "~", (The) noun, " radiates ";|
| if (noun hasnt animate) print "no ";|
| "life signs.~";|
| default: "The tricorder bleeps.";|
| ],|
| life|
| [; Ask, Answer, Tell: "The tricorder is too simple.";|
| ],|
| has talkable;|
|...|
|Verb "tc," * noun -> Examine;|
\endlines}
\dangerexercise And, for good measure, a ^{replicator}
responding to commands like ``replicator, tea earl grey''
and ``replicator, aldebaran brandy''.^^{Earl Grey tea}
^^{Aldebaran brandy}^^{exercises: replicator}
\answer{^^{Star Trek: The Next Generation}^^{replicator}
^^{exercises: replicator}
\beginlines
|Object replicator "replicator"|
| with name "replicator",|
| grammar [; return 'rc,'; ],|
| orders|
| [; Give:|
| print_ret "The replicator serves up a cup of ",|
| (name) noun, " which you drink eagerly.";|
| default: "The replicator is unable to oblige.";|
| ],|
| life|
| [; Ask, Answer, Tell: "The replicator has no conversation skill.";|
| ],|
| has talkable;|
|Nearby earl_grey "Earl Grey tea" with name "earl" "grey" "tea";|
|Nearby brandy "Aldebaran brandy" with name "aldebaran" "brandy";|
|Nearby water "distilled water" with name "distilled" "water";|
|...|
|Verb "rc," * held -> Give;|
\endlines
The point to note here is that the \cstok{held} token means `held by the
replicator' here, as the |actor| is the replicator, so this is a neat way of
getting a `one of the following phrases' token into the grammar.}
\ddangerexercise And a ^{communications badge} in contact with the ship's
computer, which answers questions like
``computer, where is Admiral Lebling''.^^{P. David Lebling}
^^{Star Trek: The Next Generation}^^{exercises: communications badge}
\answer{^^{Star Trek: The Next Generation}^^{communications badge}
^^{exercises: communications badge}
This is similar to the previous exercises. One creates an attribute called
|crewmember| and gives it to the crew objects: the |orders| property is
\beginlines
| orders|
| [; Examine:|
| if (parent(noun)==0)|
| print_ret "~", (name) noun,|
| " is no longer aboard this demonstration game.~";|
| print_ret "~", (name) noun, " is in ", (name) parent(noun), ".~";|
| default: "The computer's only really good for locating the crew.";|
| ],|
\endlines
and the |grammar| simply returns |'stc,'| which is defined as
\beginlines
|[ Crew i;|
| switch(scope_stage)|
| { 1: rfalse;|
| 2: for (i=selfobj+1:i<=top_object:i++)|
| if (i has crewmember) PlaceInScope(i); rtrue;|
| }|
|];|
|Verb "stc," * "where" "is" scope=Crew -> Examine;|
\endlines
An interesting point is that the scope routine doesn't need to do anything
at stage 3 (usually used for printing out errors) because the normal
error-message printing system is never reached. Something like ``computer,
where is Comminder Doto'' causes a |##NotUnderstood| order.}
\ddangerexercise Finally, construct the formidable flight computer
Zen.^^{exercises: Zen flight computer}
\answer{^^{Zen}^^{flight computer}^^{Blake's 7}
^^{exercises: Zen flight computer}
\beginlines
|Object Zen "Zen" Flight_Deck|
| with name "zen" "flight" "computer",|
| initial "Square lights flicker unpredictably across a hexagonal \|
| fascia on one wall, indicating that Zen is on-line.",|
| grammar [; return 'zen,'; ],|
| orders|
| [; Show: print_ret "The main screen shows a starfield, \|
| turning through ", noun, " degrees.";|
| Go: "~Confirmed.~ The ship turns to a new bearing.";|
| SetTo: if (noun==0) "~Confirmed.~ The ship comes to a stop.";|
| if (noun>12) print_ret "~Standard by ", (number) noun,|
| " exceeds design tolerances.~";|
| print_ret "~Confirmed.~ The ship's engines step to \|
| standard by ", (number) noun, ".";|
| Take: if (noun~=force_wall) "~Please clarify.~";|
| "~Force wall raised.~";|
| Drop: if (noun~=blasters) "~Please clarify.~";|
| "~Battle-computers on line. \|
| Neutron blasters cleared for firing.~";|
| default: "~Language banks unable to decode.~";|
| ],|
| has talkable proper static;|
|Nearby force_wall "force wall" with name "force" "wall" "shields";|
|Nearby blasters "neutron blasters" with name "neutron" "blasters";|
|...|
|Verb "zen," * "scan" number "orbital" -> Show|
| * "set" "course" "for" Planet -> Go|
| * "speed" "standard" "by" number -> SetTo|
| * "raise" held -> Take|
| * "clear" held "for" "firing" -> Drop;|
\endlines
Dealing with |Ask|, |Answer| and |Tell| are left to the reader.}
\medskip\par\noindent
The next two exercises really belong to \S 24, but are too useful
(for the ``someone on the other end of a phone'' situation) to
bury far away. Note that an alternative to these scope-hacking
tricks, if you just want to implement something like ``michael,
tell me about the crystals'' (when Michael is at the other end of the
line), is to make the phone a |talkable| object and make the word
|'michael'| refer to the phone (using a |parse_name| routine).
For more on scope hacking, see \S 24. Note that the variable |scope_reason|
is always set to the constant value |TALKING_REASON| when the game is trying
to work out who you wish to talk to: so it's quite easy to make the
scope different for conversational
purposes.^^|TALKING REASON|^^|scope reason|
\dangerexercise Via the main ^{screen} of the
^{Starship Enterprise}, ^{Captain Picard} wants to see and talk to
^{Noslen Maharg}, the notorious tyrant, who is down on the planet
^{Mrofni}. Make it so.^^{Star Trek: The Next Generation}
^^{exercises: Picard and Maharg}
\answer{^^{screen}^^{Starship Enterprise}^^{Captain Picard}^^{Noslen Maharg}
^^{Star Trek: The Next Generation}^^{Mrofni}^^{exercises: Picard and Maharg}
\beginstt
[ InScope;
if (action_to_be == ##Examine or ##Show or ##ShowR)
PlaceInScope(noslen_maharg);
if (scope_reason == TALKING_REASON)
PlaceInScope(noslen_maharg);
];
\endtt
Note that ^|ShowR| is a variant form of |Show| in which the parameters
are `the other way round': thus ``show maharg the phaser'' generates
|ShowR maharg phaser| internally, which is then converted to the more
usual |Show phaser maharg|.}
\ddangerexercise Put the player in ^{telepathic contact} with
^{Martha}, who is in a ^{sealed room} some distance away, but who has
a talent for ^{telekinesis}. Martha should respond well to
``martha, look'', ``ask martha about...'', ``say yes to martha'',
``ask martha for red ball'', ``martha, give me the red ball'' and
the like.^^{exercises: Martha the telepath}
\answer{^^{telepathic contact}^^{Martha}^^{sealed room}^^{telekinesis}
^^{exercises: Martha the telepath}
Martha and the sealed room are defined as follows:
\beginlines
|Object sealed_room "Sealed Room"|
| with description|
| "I'm in a sealed room, like a squash court without a door, \|
| maybe six or seven yards across",|
| has light;|
|Nearby ball "red ball" with name "red" "ball";|
|Nearby martha "Martha"|
| with name "martha",|
| orders|
| [ r; r=parent(self);|
| Give:|
| if (noun notin r) "~That's beyond my telekinesis.~";|
| if (noun==self) "~Teleportation's too hard for me.~";|
| move noun to player;|
| print_ret "~Here goes...~ and Martha's telekinetic talents \|
| magically bring ", (the) noun, " to your hands.";|
| Look:|
| print "~", (string) r.description;|
| if (children(r)==1) ". There's nothing here but me.~";|
| print ". I can see ";|
| WriteListFrom(child(r),CONCEAL_BIT+ENGLISH_BIT);|
| ".~";|
| default: "~Afraid I can't help you there.~";|
| ],|
| life|
| [; Ask: "~You're on your own this time.~";|
| Tell: "Martha clucks sympathetically.";|
| Answer: "~I'll be darned,~ Martha replies.";|
| ],|
| has animate female concealed proper;|
\endlines
but the really interesting part is the ^|InScope| routine to fix
things up:
\beginlines
|[ InScope actor;|
| if (actor==martha) PlaceInScope(player);|
| if (actor==player && scope_reason==TALKING_REASON)|
| PlaceInScope(martha);|
| rfalse;|
|];|
\endlines
Note that since we want two-way communication, the player has to
be in scope to Martha too: otherwise Martha won't be able to
follow the command ``martha, give me the fish'', because ``me''
will refer to something beyond her scope.}
\tenpoint
\refs
A much fuller example of a `non-player character' is given in
the example game ^{`The Thief'}, by ^{Gareth Rees} (though it's
really an implementation of the gentleman in ^{`Zork'}, himself
an imitation of the pirate in ^{`Advent'}). The thief is
capable of walking around, being followed, stealing things,
picking locks, opening doors and so on.
\nextref Other good definitions of |animate| objects to look at
are Christopher in ^{`Toyshop'}, who will stack up building blocks
on request; the kittens in ^{`Alice Through The Looking-Glass'}; the
barker in ^{`Balances'}, and the cast of ^{`Advent'}: the little
bird, the snake, bear and dragon, the pirate and of course the
threatening little dwarves.
\nextref Following people means being able to refer to them after
they've left the room: see ^{`Follow my leader'}, also by Mr Rees,
or the library extension ^{``follower.h''} by ^{Andrew Clover}.
\nextref See the Inform home page for a way round the |Yes|
awkwardness.
\nextref |orders| and |grammar| are newly introduced into
Inform, and so are not much seen in existing games.
\nextref For parsing topics of conversation in advanced ways,
see the example game ^{`Encyclopaedia Frobozzica'}
by ^{Gareth Rees}.
\nextref To see how much a good set of characters can do for a
game, try playing the prologue of ^{`Christminster'}.
\newpage
\section{13}{The light and the dark}
\noindent^^{light}^^{darkness}^^{C. P. Snow}
The library maintains light by itself, and copes with events like:
\begindisplay
a total eclipse of the sun;\cr
fusing all the lights in the house;\cr
your lamp going out;\cr
a dwarf stealing it and running away;\cr
dropping a lit match which you were seeing by;\cr
putting your lamp into an opaque box and shutting the lid;\cr
black smoke filling up the glass jar that the lamp is in;\cr
the dwarf with your lamp running back into your now-dark room.\cr
\enddisplay
The point of this list is to demonstrate that light versus darkness is
tricky to get right, and that it is best left to the library. Your code
needs only to do something like
\begintt
give lamp light;
remove match;
give glass_jar ~transparent;
move dwarf to Dark_Room;
\endtt
and can leave the library to sort out the consequences. As the above
suggests, the |light| attribute means that an object is giving off light,
or that a room is currently lit, e.g. by being out of doors in day-time.
If you simply never want to have darkness, a
sneaky way of doing it is to put the line
\begintt
give player light;
\endtt^^{darkness: abolition of}
in |Initialise|. The game works as if the player herself were glowing
enough to provide light to see by. So there's never darkness near the
player.
\medskip
The definition of ``when there is light" is complicated, involving
recursion both up and down. Remember that the parent of the player
object may not be a room; it may be, say, a red car whose parent is a
room.\medskip
\noindent{\bf Definition.}\quad^^{darkness: when it occurs}
^^{light: when it occurs}
There is light exactly when the parent of the player `offers light'.
An object ^{`offers light'} if:
\begindisplay
it itself has the |light| attribute set, {\bf or}\cr
any of its immediate possessions `have light', {\bf or}\cr
it is see-through and its parent offers light, {\bf or}\cr
it is enterable and its parent offers light;\cr
\enddisplay
while an object ^{`has light'} if:
\begindisplay
it currently has the |light| attribute set, {\bf or}\cr
it is see-through and one of its immediate possessions has light.\cr
\enddisplay
The process of checking this stops as soon as light is discovered. The
routines
\begindisplay
|OffersLight(object)| and |HasLightSource(object)|
\enddisplay^^|OffersLight|^^|HasLightSource|
return true or false and might occasionally be useful.
\danger So light is cast up and down the tree of objects. In certain
contrived circumstances this might be troublesome: perhaps an opaque box,
whose outside is fluorescent but whose interior is dark, and which contains
an actor who needs not to have other contents of the box in scope$\ldots$
The dilemma could be solved by putting an inner box in the outer one.
\exercise How would you code a ^{troll} who is afraid of the dark, and needs
to be bribed but will only accept a light source$\ldots$ so that the troll will
be as happy with a ^{goldfish bowl} containing a ^{fluorescent jellyfish} as he
would be with a lamp?^^{exercises: troll afraid of the dark}
\answer{^^{exercises: troll afraid of the dark}
Just test if |HasLightSource(gift)==1|.}
\noindent
Each turn, light is reconsidered. The presence or absence of light affects
the |Look|, |Search|, |LookUnder| and |Examine| actions, and
(since this is a common puzzle) also the |Go| action: you can provide
a routine called
\begintt
DarkToDark()
\endtt^^|DarkToDark|^^{darkness: moving through}
and if you do then it will be called when the player goes from one dark
room into another dark one (just before the room description for the new
dark room, probably ``Darkness'', is printed). If you want, you can take
the opportunity to kill the player off or extract some other forfeit.
If you provide no such routine, then the player can move about freely
(subject to any rules which apply in the places concerned).
\danger When the player is in darkness, the current |location| becomes
|thedark|, a special object which acts like a room and has the short name
``Darkness''. You can change the |initial|, |description| or |short_name|
properties for this. For example, your |Initialise| routine might set
\beginstt
thedark.short_name = "Creepy, nasty darkness";
\endtt^^{darkness: special object}
See \S 14 for how `Ruins' makes darkness menacing.
\dangerexercise Implement a ^{pet moth} which escapes if it's ever
taken into darkness.^^{exercises: pet moth escapes in the dark}
\answer{^^{pet moth}^^{exercises: pet moth escapes in the dark}
We could solve this using a daemon, but for the
sake of demonstrating a feature of |thedark| we won't.
In |Initialise|, write |thedark.initial = #r$GoMothGo;|
and add the routine:
\beginstt
[ GoMothGo;
if (moth in player)
{ remove moth;
"As your eyes try to adjust, you feel a ticklish sensation \
and hear a tiny fluttering sound.";
}
];
\endtt}
\refs For a |DarkToDark| routine which discourages wandering about caves
in the dark, see ^{`Advent'}.
\newpage
\section{14}{Daemons and the passing of time}
\widequote
Some, such as Sleep and Love, were never human. From this
class an individual daemon is allotted to each human being
as his `witness and guardian' through life.
\poemby{^{C. S. Lewis} ({\oldstyle1898}--{\oldstyle1963})}{The Discarded Image}
\widequote
A great Daemon$\ldots$ Through him subsist all
divination, and the science of sacred things as it relates
to sacrifices, and expiations, and disenchantments, and
prophecy, and magic$\ldots$ he who is wise in the science
of this intercourse is supremely happy$\ldots$\
\tlwidequoteby{^{Plato} (c.{\oldstyle427}--{\oldstyle347} BC),
{\it The Symposium}}{translated by ^{Percy Bysshe Shelley}
({\oldstyle1792}--{\oldstyle1822})}
\noindent
In medieval ^{neo-Platonist philosophy}, daemons are the intermediaries
of God, hovering invisibly over the world and interfering with it.
They may be guardian spirits of places or people. So, here, a daemon is
a meddling spirit, associated with a particular game object, which
gets a chance to interfere once per turn while it is `active'.
The classic example is of the dwarves of ^{`Advent'}, who
appear in the cave from time to time: a daemon routine attached to
the dwarf object moves it about, throws knives at the player and
so on.^^{daemons}\
Each object can have a ^|daemon| routine of its own. This is set
going, and stopped again, by calling the (library) routines
\begintt
StartDaemon(object);
StopDaemon(object);
\endtt^^{daemons: starting and stopping}
Once active, the |daemon| property of the object is called as a routine
each turn. Daemons are often started by a game's |Initialise| routine
and sometimes remain active throughout. For instance, a lamp-battery
daemon might do something every turn, while others may hide for many
turns before pouncing: such as the daemon in ^{`Advent'} which waits
until the player has found all the treasures.^^|StartDaemon|^^|StopDaemon|
\danger In particular, a daemon doesn't stop running just because the player
has moved on to somewhere else. (Indeed, the library never stops a daemon
unless told to.) Actually this is very useful, as it means daemons can be
used for `^{tidying-up operations}', or for the consequences of the player's
actions to catch up with him.
\exercise Many games contain ^{`wandering monsters'}, characters who walk
around the map. Use a daemon
to implement one who wanders as freely as the player, like the
gentleman ^{thief in `Zork'}^^{`Zork'}.^^{gentleman thief}
^^{exercises: thief who wanders}
\answer{^^{exercises: thief who wanders}
This is a crude implementation, for brevity (the real Zork
thief has an enormous stock of attached messages). A |life| routine
is omitted, and of course this particular thief steals
nothing. See ^{`The Thief'} for a much fuller,
annotated implementation.^^{thief in `Zork'}^^{gentleman thief}
\beginlines
|Nearby thief "thief"|
| with name "thief" "gentleman" "mahu" "modo",|
| each_turn "^The thief growls menacingly.",|
| daemon|
| [ i p j n k;|
| if (random(3)~=1) rfalse;|
| p=parent(thief);|
| objectloop (i in compass)|
| { j=p.(i.door_dir);|
| if (ZRegion(j)==1 && j hasnt door) n++;|
| }|
| if (n==0) rfalse;|
| k=random(n); n=0;|
| objectloop (i in compass)|
| { j=p.(i.door_dir);|
| if (ZRegion(j)==1 && j hasnt door) n++;|
| if (n==k)|
| { move self to j;|
| if (p==location) "^The thief stalks away!";|
| if (j==location) "^The thief stalks in!";|
| rfalse;|
| }|
| }|
| ],|
| has animate;|
\endlines
|ZRegion(j)| works out what kind of value |j| is: 1 means `is a valid
object number'. So the thief walks at random but never via doors,
bridges and the like (because these may be locked or have rules attached);
it's only a first approximation, and in a good game one should
occasionally see the thief do something surprising, such as open a
secret door. As for the |name|, note that `The ^{Prince of darkness} is
a gentleman. ^{Modo} he's called, and ^{Mahu}'
(^{William Shakespeare}, {\it King Lear} III iv).}
\dangerexercise
Use a ^{background daemon} to implement a system of ^{weights}, so
that the player can only carry a certain weight before her strength gives
out and she is obliged to drop something. It should allow for feathers to
be lighter than lawn-mowers.^^{exercises: weight--watching daemon}
\answer{^^{exercises: weight--watching daemon}
First define a new property for object weight:^^{weights}
\beginlines
|Property weight 10;|
\endlines
(10 being an average sort of weight). Containers weigh more when
they hold things, so we will need:
\beginlines
|[ WeightOf obj t i;|
| t = obj.weight;|
| objectloop (i in obj) t=t+WeightOf(i);|
| return t;|
|];|
\endlines
Now for the daemon which monitors the player's fatigue:^^{fatigue daemon}
\beginlines
|Object weigher "weigher"|
| with number 500,|
| time_left 5,|
| daemon|
| [ w s b bw;|
| w=WeightOf(player)-100-player.weight;|
| s=self.number; s=s-w; if (s<0) s=0; if (s>500) s=500;|
| self.number = s;|
| if (s==0)|
| { bw=-1;|
| objectloop(b in player)|
| if (WeightOf(b)>bw) { bw=WeightOf(b); w=b; }|
| print "^Exhausted with carrying so much, you decide \|
| to discard ", (the) w, ": "; <<Drop w>>;|
| }|
| w=s/100; if (w==self.time_left) rfalse;|
| if (w==3) print "^You are feeling a little tired.^";|
| if (w==2) print "^You possessions are weighing you down.^";|
| if (w==1) print "^Carrying so much weight is wearing you out.^";|
| self.time_left = w;|
| ];|
\endlines
Notice that items are actually dropped with |Drop| actions: one of them
might be, say, a ^{wild boar}, which would bolt away into the forest when
released. The daemon tries to drop the heaviest item. (Obviously a little
improvement would be needed if the game contained, say, an un-droppable
but very heavy ^{ball and chain}.) Now the daemon is going to run every turn
forever, but needs to be started: so put |StartDaemon(weigher);| into the
game's |Initialise| routine.}
\medskip
\noindent
A `timer' (these are traditionally called `^{fuses}' but the author can stand
only so much tradition) can alternatively be attached to an object.
Alternatively, because an object can't have both a |timer| and a
|daemon| going at the same time. A timer is started with
\begintt
StartTimer(object, time);
\endtt^^{timers}^^|StartTimer|
^^{daemons: clash with timers}^^{timers: clash with daemons}
in which case it will `go off', alarm clock-style, in the given number of
turns. This means that its |time_out|
^^|time out|
property will be called, once and once only, when the time comes.
The timer can be deactivated (so that it will never go off) by calling
\begintt
StopTimer(object);
\endtt^^|StopTimer|^^{timers: starting and stopping}
A timer is required to provide a |time_left| property, to hold the
amount of time left. (If it doesn't, an error message is printed
at run-time.) You can alter |time_left| yourself: a value of 0 means `will
go off at the end of this turn', so setting |time_left| to 0 triggers
immediate activation.
\danger Normally, you can only have 32 timers or daemons active at the same
time as each other (plus any number of inactive ones). But this
limit is easily raised: just define the constant |MAX_TIMERS|
^^|MAX TIMERS|
to some larger value, putting the definition in your code before the
|Parser| file is included.^^{daemons: maximum number active}
^^{timers: maximum number active}
\medskip\noindent
There is yet a third form of timed event. If a room provides an |each_turn|
routine, then this will be called at the end of each turn while the player
is there; if an object provides |each_turn|, this is called while the object is
nearby.^^|each turn|\ For instance, a ^{radio} might blare out music
whenever it is nearby; a ^{sword} might glow whenever monsters are nearby;
or a stream running through several forest locations might occasionally
float objects by.^^{stream running through forest}\
`Each turn' is entirely separate from daemons and timers. Although an object
can't have both a timer and a daemon at the same time, it can have an |each_turn|
at the same time, and this is quite useful, especially to run creatures.
An ^{ogre with limited patience} can therefore have an |each_turn| routine
which worries the player (``The ogre stamps his feet angrily!'', etc.)
while also having a timer set to go off when his patience runs out.
\danger `Nearby' actually means `in scope', a term which will be properly
explained later. The idea is based on ^{line of sight}, which works well
in most cases.
\ddanger But it does mean that the radio will be inaudible when shut up
inside most containers -- which is arguably fair enough -- yet audible when
shut up inside transparent, say glass, ones. You can always change the
scope rules using an |InScope| routine to get around this. In case you
want to tell whether scope is being worked out for ordinary parsing reasons
or instead for |each_turn| processing, look at the |scope_reason| variable
(see \S 24). Powerful effects are available
this way -- you could put the radio in scope within all nearby rooms so as
to allow sound to travel. Or you could make a thief audible throughout
the maze he is wandering around in, as in ^{`Zork I'}.
^^|scope reason|^^{audibility}^^{earshot}^^{thief in `Zork'}
\exercise (Why the ^{`Ruins'} are claustrophobic.) Make
``the ^{sound of scuttling claws}'' approach the player in darkness and,
after 4 consecutive turns in darkness, kill him.^^{scuttling claws}
^^{exercises: scuttling claws}
\answer{^^{exercises: scuttling claws}See the next answer.}
\dangerexercise A little harder: implement the scuttling claws in a single
object definition, with no associated code anywhere else in the program
(not even a line in |Initialise|) and without running its daemon all the
time.
\answer{^^{scuttling claws}^^{sound of scuttling claws}^^{`Ruins'}
\beginlines
|Object tiny_claws "sound of tiny claws" thedark|
| with article "the",|
| name "tiny" "claws" "sound" "of" "scuttling" "scuttle"|
| "things" "creatures" "monsters" "insects",|
| initial "Somewhere, tiny claws are scuttling.",|
| before|
| [; Listen: "How intelligent they sound, for mere insects.";|
| Touch, Taste: "You wouldn't want to. Really.";|
| Smell: "You can only smell your own fear.";|
| Attack: "They easily evade your flailing about in the dark.";|
| default: "The creatures evade you, chittering.";|
| ],|
| each_turn [; StartDaemon(self); ],|
| number 0,|
| daemon|
| [ i; if (location~=thedark) { self.number=0; StopDaemon(self); rtrue; }|
| i=self.number+1; self.number=i;|
| switch(i)|
| { 1: "^The scuttling draws a little nearer, and your breathing \|
| grows loud and hoarse.";|
| 2: "^The perspiration of terror runs off your brow. The \|
| creatures are almost here!";|
| 3: "^You feel a tickling at your extremities and kick outward, \|
| shaking something chitinous off. Their sound alone \|
| is a menacing rasp.";|
| 4: deadflag=1;|
| "^Suddenly there is a tiny pain, of a hypodermic-sharp fang \|
| at your calf. Almost at once your limbs go into spasm, \|
| your shoulders and knee-joints lock, your tongue swells...";|
| }|
| ];|
\endlines}
\bigskip
\noindent
The library also has the (limited) ability to keep track of ^{time of day}
as the game goes on. The current time is held in the variable |the_time|
and runs on a 24-hour clock: this variable holds minutes since midnight,
so it has values between 0 and 1439. The time can be set by
\begindisplay
|SetTime(| 60$\times$\<hours>$+$\<minutes>|,| \<rate> |);|
\enddisplay^^|SetTime|
The |rate| controls how rapidly time is moving: a |rate| of 0 means it is
standing still (that is, that the library doesn't change it: your routines
still can). A positive |rate| means that that many minutes pass between
each turn, while a negative |rate| means that many turns pass between each
minute. (It's usual for a timed game to start off the clock by calling
|SetTime| in its ^|Initialise| routine.)
The time only (usually) appears on the game's status line if you set
\begintt
Statusline time;
\endtt^^|Statusline|
as a directive somewhere in your code.
\exercise How could you make your game take notice of the time passing
^{midnight}, so that the day of the week could be nudged
on?^^{exercises: midnight}
\answer{^^{exercises: midnight}
Either set a daemon to watch for |the_time| suddenly dropping, or
put such a watch in the game's |TimePasses| routine.}
\dangerexercise (Cf. ^{Sam Hulick}'s ^{vampire} game, ^{`Knight of Ages'}.)
Make the lighting throughout the game change at
^{sunrise and sunset}.^^{daylight}^^{light: daylight}
^^{nightfall}^^{darkness: nightfall}^^{exercises: nightfall and daybreak}
\answer{^^{sunrise and sunset}^^{daylight}^^{nightfall}^^{darkness: nightfall}
^^{light: daylight}^^{exercises: nightfall and daybreak}
A minimal solution is as follows:
\beginlines
|Constant SUNRISE 360; ! i.e., 6 am|
|Constant SUNSET 1140; ! i.e., 7 pm|
|Attribute outdoors; ! Give this to external locations|
|Attribute lit; ! And this to artificially lit ones|
|Global day_state = 2;|
|[ TimePasses f obj;|
| if (the_time >= SUNRISE && the_time < SUNSET) f=1;|
| if (day_state == f) rfalse;|
| for (obj=1: obj<=top_object: obj++)|
| { if (obj has lit) give obj light;|
| if (obj has outdoors && obj hasnt lit)|
| { if (f==0) give obj ~light; else give obj light;|
| }|
| }|
| if (day_state==2) { day_state = f; return; }|
| day_state = f; if (location hasnt outdoors) return;|
| if (f==1) "^The sun rises, illuminating the landscape!";|
| "^As the sun sets, the landscape is plunged into darkness.";|
|];|
\endlines
In the |Initialise| routine, set the time (using |SetTime|)
and then call |TimePasses| to set all the |light| attributes
accordingly. Note that with this system, there's no need to
set |light| at all: that's automatic.}
\ninepoint
\danger Exactly what happens at the end of each turn is:^^{time sequence}
\smallskip
\item{1.} The turns counter is incremented.
\item{2.} The 24-clock is moved on.
\item{3.} Daemons and timers are run (in no guaranteed order).
\item{4.} |each_turn| takes place for the current room, and then for
everything nearby (that is, in scope).
\item{5.} The game's global |TimePasses| routine is called.
\item{6.} Light is re-considered (it may have changed as a result
of events since this time last turn).
\PAR\smallskip\noindent
The sequence is abandoned if at any stage the player
dies or wins.\tenpoint
\dangerexercise Suppose the player is magically suspended in mid-air,
but that anything let go of will fall out of sight. The natural way
to code this is to use a daemon which gets rid of anything it finds
on the floor (this is better than just trapping |Drop| actions because
objects might end up on the floor in many different ways). Why is
using |each_turn| better?^^{mid-air location}
^^{exercises: mid-air location}
\answer{^^{exercises: mid-air location}
Because you don't know what order daemons will run in. A
`fatigue' daemon which makes the player drop something might come
after the `mid-air' daemon has run for this turn. Whereas |each_turn|
happens after daemons and timers have run their course, and can fairly
assume no further movements will take place this
turn.^^{daemons: running order}}
\exercise How would a game work if it involved a month-long
^{archaeological dig}, where anything from days to minutes pass between
successive game turns?^^{exercises: long time-scale game}
\answer{^^{exercises: long time-scale game}
It would have to provide its own code to keep track of time,
and it can do this by providing a |TimePasses()| routine. Providing
``time'' or even ``date'' verbs to tell the player would also be a
good idea.}
\refs Daemons abound in most games. ^{`Advent'} uses them to run
down the lamp batteries, make the bear follow you, animate the
dwarves and the pirate and watch for the treasure all being found.
See also the flying tortoise from ^{`Balances'} and the chiggers
from ^{`Adventureland'}. For more ingenious uses of |daemon|,
see the helium balloon, the matchbook and (particularly cunning)
the pair of white gloves in ^{`Toyshop'}.
\nextref
Classic timers include the burning match and the hand grenade
from ^{`Toyshop'}, the endgame timer from ^{`Advent'} and the
^{`Balances'} cyclops (also employing |each_turn|).
\nextref
^{`Adventureland'} makes good use of |each_turn|: see the
golden fish, the mud, the dragon and the bees.
\nextref
The library extension ^{`timewait.h'} by ^{Andrew Clover}
thoroughly implements time of day, allowing the player to ``wait until
quarter past three''.
\section{15}{Starting, moving, changing and killing the player}
\quote
There are only three events in a man's life; birth, life and death;
he is not conscious of being born, he dies in pain and he forgets
to live.
\quoteby{^{Jean de la Bruy\`ere} ({\oldstyle1645}--{\oldstyle1696})}
\poem
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more; it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
\poemby{^{William Shakespeare} ({\oldstyle1564}--{\oldstyle1616})}{^{Macbeth} V. v}
\noindent
The only compulsory task for a game's |Initialise| routine is to
set the |location| variable to the place where the player should begin.
This is usually a room (and is permitted to be one that's in darkness)
but could instead be an object inside a room, such as a chair or a bed.
If you would like to give the player some items to begin with, ^|Initialise|
should also |move| them to |player|.^^{player's origin}^^{initial possessions}
Games with a long opening sequence might want to start by offering the player
a chance to restore a saved game at once. They can do so by writing the
following in their |Initialise| routines:
\beginstt
print "Would you like to restore a game? >";
if (YesOrNo()==1) <Restore>;
\endtt
(If you want to make the status line invisible during an opening sequence, see
\S 29.) |Initialise| normally returns 0 or 1 (it doesn't matter which), but
if it returns 2 then no game banner will be printed at once. (This is for
games which, like ^{`Sorcerer'}, delay their banners until after the prologue.)
^{`Ruins'}, however, opens in classical fashion:
\beginlines
|[ Initialise;|
| TitlePage();|
| location = Forest;|
| move food_ration to player;|
| move sodium_lamp to player;|
| move dictionary to player;|
| thedark.description = "The darkness of ages presses in on you, and you \|
| feel claustrophobic.";|
| "^^^^^Days of searching, days of thirsty hacking through the briars of \|
| the forest, but at last your patience was rewarded. A discovery!^";|
|];|
\endlines
\medskip\noindent
(The ^|TitlePage| routine will be an exercise in \S 29: `Ruins' is really
too small a game to warrant one, but never mind.)
The ^|location| variable needs some explanation. It holds either the current
room, if there's light to see by, or the special value ^|thedark| (the
``Darkness'' object) if there isn't. In the latter case (but only in the
latter case) the actual current room is held in the variable |real_location|,
should you need to know it. Neither of these is necessarily the same as
the parent of the |player| object. For instance, if the player sits in a
jeep parked in a dark garage, then |location| is |thedark|, |real_location|
is |Garage| and |parent(player)| is |jeep|.^^|real location|\
Because of this, one shouldn't simply |move| the player object by hand.
Instead, to move the player about (for ^{teleportation} of some kind),
use the routine |PlayerTo(place);| (which automatically takes care of
printing the new room's description if there's enough light there to see
by).^^|PlayerTo|\
\danger |PlayerTo| can also be used to move the player to a |place| inside
a room (e.g., a cage, or a traction engine).
\danger Calling |PlayerTo(place, 1);| moves the player but prints
nothing (in particular, prints no room description).
\danger Calling |PlayerTo(place, 2);| will |Look| as if the player had
arrived in the room by walking in as usual, so only a short description
appears if the room is one that has been seen before.
\danger In a process called `scoring arrival', a room which the player has entered
for the first time is given the |visited| attribute. If it was listed
as |scored|, points are awarded. (See \S 16.)
\ddanger When a |Look| action takes place, or a call to |PlayerTo(place,1)|,
the library `notes arrival' as well as `scores arrival'.
`Noting arrival' consists of checking to see if the room has changed
since last time (darkness counting as a different room for this purpose).
If so, the following happens:
\ruleson
\item{1.} If the new location has an ^|initial| property, this is printed
if it's a string, or run if it's a routine.
\item{2.} The entry point ^|NewRoom| is called (if it exists).
\item{3.} Any `^{floating objects}', such as drifting mist, which are |found_in|
many places at once, are moved into the room.^^|found in|^^{moving room}^^{changing room}
\rulesoff
\medskip
\noindent
The player's whole persona can easily be changed, because the player object
can itself have an |orders| routine, just as the object for any non-player
character can. To replace the |orders| routine for the standard |player|
object,
\beginstt
player.orders = #r$MyNewRule;
\endtt^^{changing the player}^^{persona of player}^^|orders|
where |MyNewRule| is a new |orders| rule. Note that this is applied to
every action or order issued by the player. The variable |actor| holds the
person being told to do something, which may well be the player himself,
and the variables |action|, |noun| and |second| are set up as usual.
For instance, if a cannon goes off right next to the player,
a period of partial deafness might ensue:
\beginstt
[ MyNewRule;
if (actor~=player) rfalse;
Listen: "Your hearing is still weak from all that cannon-fire.";
];
\endtt^^{cannon-fire}^^{deafness, a period of}
The |if| statement needs to be there to prevent commands like
``helena, listen'' from being ruled out -- after all, the player
can still speak.
\dangerexercise Why not achieve the same effect by giving the player
a |react_before| rule instead?^^{exercises: player reacting before}
\answer{^^{exercises: player reacting before}
Two reasons. Firstly, there are times when we want to be able
to trap orders to other people, which |react_before| does not.
Secondly, the player's |react_before| rule is not necessarily
the first to react. In the case of the player's deafness, a ^{cuckoo}
may have already used |react_before| to sing. But it would have been
safe to use |GamePreRoutine|, if a little untidy (because a rule about
the player would not be part of the player's definition, which makes
for confusing source code). See \S 4 for the exact sequence of events
when actions are processed.}
\exercise (Cf. ^{`Curses'}.) Write an |orders| routine for the player
so that wearing the ^{gas mask} will prevent him from
talking.^^{silence, imposition on player}
^^{talking, preventing player from}
^^{exercises: silencing player}
\answer{^^{gas mask}^^{`Curses'}^^{silence, imposition on player}
^^{talking, preventing player from}^^{exercises: silencing player}
\beginlines
| orders|
| [; if (gasmask hasnt worn) rfalse;|
| if (actor==self && action~=##Answer or ##Tell or ##Ask) rfalse;|
| "Your speech is muffled into silence by the gas mask.";|
| ],|
\endlines}
\danger In fact a much more powerful trick is available: the |player| can
actually become a different character in the game, allowing the real player
at the keyboard to act through someone else.
Calling |ChangePlayer(obj)| will transform the player to |obj|. There's
no need for |obj| to have names like ^{``me''} or ^{``myself''}; the
parser understands these words automatically to refer to the
currently-inhabited |player| object. However, it must provide a |number|
property (which the library will use for workspace). The maximum number
of items the player can carry as that object will be its ^|capacity|. Finally,
since |ChangePlayer| prints nothing, you may want to conclude with a |<<Look>>;|
\ninepoint ^|ChangePlayer| has many possible applications. The player
who tampers with Dr ^{Frankenstein}'s ^{brain transference machine} may
suddenly become the Monster strapped to the table. A player who drinks
too much wine could become a ^{`drunk player object'} to whom many different
rules apply. The ^{``snavig'' spell} of ^{`Spellbreaker'}, which transforms
the player to an animal like the one cast upon, could be implemented thus.
More ambitiously, a game could have a stock of half a dozen main characters,
and the focus of play can switch between them. A player might have a ^{team
of four adventurers} to explore a dungeon, and be able to switch the one
being controlled by typing the name. In this case, an |AfterLife| routine
-- see below -- may be needed to switch the focus back to a still-living
member of the team after one has met a sticky end.^^{`focus' of game}
\danger Calling |ChangePlayer(object,1);| will do the same but make the
game print ``(as Whoever)'' during room descriptions.
\ddanger When the person to be changed into has an |orders| routine,
things start to get complicated. It may be useful to arrange such a
routine as follows:
\beginlines
| orders|
| [; if (player==self)|
| { ! I am the player object...|
| if (actor==self)|
| { ! ...giving myself an order, i.e., trying an action.|
| }|
| else|
| { ! ...giving someone else, the "actor", an order.|
| }|
| }|
| else|
| { ! The player is the "actor" and is giving me an order.|
| }|
| ],|
\endlines
\tenpoint
\dangerexercise In Central American legend, a sorceror can transform himself
into a {\it ^{nagual}}, a familiar such as a spider-monkey; indeed, each
individual has an animal self or {\it wayhel}, living in a volcanic land
over which the king, as a jaguar, rules. Turn the player into his
{\it wayhel}.^^{exercises: the player's wayhel}
\answer{^^{exercises: the player's wayhel}
The common man's {\it wayhel} was a lowly mouse. Since we think
much more highly of the player:
\beginlines
|Object hog "Warthog" Caldera|
| with name "wart" "hog" "warthog", description "Muddy and grunting.",|
| number 0,|
| initial "A warthog snuffles and grunts about in the ash.",|
| orders|
| [; if (action~=##Go or ##Look or ##Examine)|
| "Warthogs can't do anything as tricky as that!";|
| ],|
| has animate proper;|
\endlines^^{warthog}^^{nagual}
and we just |ChangePlayer(warthog);|. Note that the same |orders|
routine applies to the player-as-human typing ``warthog, listen''
as to the player-as-warthog typing just ``listen''.}
\ddangerexercise Write an |orders| routine for a ^{Giant with a conscience},
who will refuse to attack a mouse, but so that a player who becomes
the Giant can be as cruel as he likes.^^{exercises: Giant with conscience}
\answer{^^{Giant with a conscience}^^{exercises: Giant with conscience}
\beginlines
| orders|
| [; if (player==self)|
| { if (actor~=self)|
| "You only become tongue-tied and gabble.";|
| rfalse;|
| }|
| Attack: "The Giant looks at you with doleful eyes. \|
| ~Me not be so bad!~";|
| default: "The Giant is unable to comprehend your instructions.";|
| ],|
\endlines}
\medskip\noindent^^{death}
The player is still alive for as long as the variable |deadflag| is zero.
When set to 1, the player dies; when set to 2, the player wins; and all higher
values are taken as more ^{exotic forms of death}. Now Inform does not know
what to call these exotica: so if they should arise, it calls the
^|DeathMessage| routine, which is expected to look at ^|deadflag| and
can then print something like ``You have changed''.
Many games allow reincarnation (or, as ^{David M. Baggett} points out, in
fact ^{resurrection}^^{death: and resurrection}).
You too can allow this, by providing an ^|AfterLife|.
This routine gets the chance to do as it pleases before any ``You are
dead'' type message appears, including resetting |deadflag| back to 0 --
which causes the game to proceed in the normal way, rather than end.
|AfterLife| routines can be tricky to write, though, because the game
has to be set to a state which convincingly reflects what has happened.
\refs
The magic words ``xyzzy'' and ``plugh'' in ^{`Advent'} make use of
|PlayerTo|.
\nextref
^{`Advent'} has an amusing |AfterLife| routine: for instance,
try collapsing the bridge by leading the bear across, then returning
to the scene after resurrection. ^{`Balances'} has one which only
slightly penalises death.
\newpage
\section{16}{Miscellaneous constants and scoring}
\poem
For when the One Great Scorer comes
To write against your name,
He marks -- not that you won or lost --
But how you played the game.
\poemby{^{Grantland Rice} ({\oldstyle1880}--{\oldstyle1954})}{Alumnus Football}
\noindent
Some game rules can be altered by defining `constants' at the start of
the program. Two constants you {\it must} provide (and before including
any of the library files) are the strings |Story| and |Headline|:
\beginstt
Constant Story "ZORK II";
Constant Headline "^An Interactive Plagiarism^\
Copyright (c) 1995 by Ivan O. Ideas.^";
\endtt^^{plagiarism}^^{Ivan O. Ideas}
All the rest are optional, but should be defined before |Verblib|
is included if they're to take effect.
\medskip\noindent
The library won't allow the player to carry an indefinite number of
objects: the limit allowed is the constant |MAX_CARRIED|, which you
may define if you wish. If you don't define it, it's 100, which
nearly removes the rule. In fact you can change this during play,
since it is actually the |capacity| of the |player| which is
consulted; the only use of |MAX_CARRIED| is to set this up to
an initial value.^^|MAX CARRIED|\
If you define |SACK_OBJECT| to be some container, then the player will
automatically put old, least-used objects away in it as the game
progresses, provided it is being carried. This is a feature which
endears the designer greatly to players. For instance,
the following code appears (in between inclusion of |Parser|
and |Verblib|) in ^{`Toyshop'}:
\beginstt
Object satchel "satchel"
with description "Big and with a smile painted on it.",
name "satchel", article "your",
when_closed "Your satchel lies on the floor.",
when_open "Your satchel lies open on the floor.",
has container open openable;
Constant SACK_OBJECT satchel;
\endtt^^{satchel}^^|SACK OBJECT|
^{`Ruins'} isn't going to provide this feature, because there
are few portable objects and those there are would be incongruous
if described as being in a rucksack.
\medskip\noindent
Another constant is |AMUSING_PROVIDED|. If you define this, the library
knows to put an ``amusing" option on the menu after the game is won.
It will then call |Amusing| from your code when needed. You can
use this to roll closing credits, or tell the player various strange
things about the game, now that there's no surprise left to spoil.
^^|AMUSING PROVIDED|^^{closing credits}
\medskip
The other constants you are allowed to define help the score routines
along. There are two ^{scoring systems} provided by the library, side by
side: you can use both or neither. You can always do what you like to
the |score| variable in any case, though the ``fullscore'' verb might
then not fully account for what's happened.
One scores points for getting certain
items or reaching certain places; the other for completing certain
actions. These constants are:
\smallskip
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ &|MAX_SCORE| && the maximum game score (by default 0);\cr
\+ &|NUMBER_TASKS| && number of individual ``tasks" to perform (1);\cr
\+ &|OBJECT_SCORE| && bonus for first picking up a |scored| object (4);\cr
\+ &|ROOM_SCORE| && bonus for first entering a |scored| room (5)\cr
\smallskip
\noindent and then the individual tasks have scores, as follows:
\begintt
Array task_scores -> t1 t2 ... tn;
\endtt^^|task scores|^^|MAX SCORES|^^|NUMBER TASKS|^^|OBJECT SCORE|^^|ROOM SCORE|
As this is a byte array, the task scores must be between 0 and 255.
Within your code, when a player achieves something, call ^|Achieved(task)|
to mark that the task has been completed. It will only award points if
this task has not been completed before. There do not have to be any
``tasks": there's no need to use the scoring system provided. Tasks
(and the verb ``full" for full score) will only work at all if you define
the constant |TASKS_PROVIDED|.^^|TASKS PROVIDED|\
The entry point ^|PrintTaskName| prints the name of a game task (but, of
course, is only ever called in a game with |TASKS_PROVIDED| defined).
For instance, (^{`Toyshop'} again)
\beginstt
[ PrintTaskName ach;
if (ach==0) "eating a sweet";
if (ach==1) "driving the car";
if (ach==2) "shutting out the draught";
if (ach==3) "building a tower of four";
if (ach==4) "seeing which way the mantelpiece leans";
];
\endtt
\noindent
Another entry point, called ^|PrintRank|, gets the chance to print
something additional to the score (traditionally, though not
necessarily, rankings). For instance, we bid farewell to the
^{`Ruins'} with the following:
\beginstt
[ PrintRank;
print ", earning you the rank of ";
if (score >= 50) "Master Archaeologist.";
if (score >= 30) "Archaeologist.";
if (score >= 20) "Acquisitor.";
if (score >= 10) "Investigator.";
"humble rainforest Tourist.";
];
\endtt
\medskip
\noindent
Normally, an Inform game will print messages like
\begindisplay
[Your score has gone up by three points.]
\enddisplay^^{score notification}
when the score changes (by whatever means). The player can turn this on and
off with the ^{``notify'' verb}; by default it is on. (You can alter the flag
|notify_mode| yourself to control this.)^^|notify mode|
\medskip
\noindent
The verbs ``objects'' and ``places'' are usually provided, so the player
can get a list of all handled objects (and where they now are), and all
places visited. If you don't want these to be present, define the constant
|NO_PLACES| before inclusion of the
library.^^|NO PLACES|^^{``objects'' verb}^^{``places'' verb}
\dangerexercise Suppose one single room object is used internally for the
64 squares of a gigantic ^{chessboard}, each of which is a different location
to the player. Then ``places'' is likely to result in only the last-visited
square being listed. Fix this.^^{exercises: chessboard of rooms}
\answer{^^{exercises: chessboard of rooms}
Give the ``^{chessboard}'' room a |short_name| routine (it probably
already has one, to print names like ``Chessboard d6'') and make it change
the short name to ``the gigantic Chessboard'' if and only if |action| is
currently set to |##Places|.}
\refs `Advent' contains ranks and an |Amusing| reward (but doesn't use
either of these scoring systems, instead working by hand).
\nextref
`Balances' uses |scored| objects (for its cubes).
\nextref
`Toyshop' has tasks, as above.
\nextref
`Adventureland' uses its |TimePasses| entry point to recalculate the
score every turn (and watch for victory).
\section{17}{Extending and redefining the Library}
\quote
A circulating library in a town is as an ever-green
tree of diabolical knowledge! It blossoms through the
year!
\poemby{^{R. B. Sheridan} ({\oldstyle1751}--{\oldstyle1816})}{The Rivals}
\noindent
Most large games will need to enrich the `model world': for
instance, by creating a new concept such as ``magic amulets''. The game
might contain a dozen of these, each with the power to cast a different
spell. So it will need routines which can tell whether or not a given
object is an amulet, and what to do when the spell is cast.
The former needs a new attribute. You can create this with the
directive^^{making attributes}
\beginstt
Attribute is_amulet;
\endtt
at the start of the program.
\ddanger In ^{Standard games} few spare attributes are available because
the library takes
most of them. To get around this limit there's a convenient dodge.
It sometimes happens that an attribute is only
meaningful for a particular kind of object: for instance, ``spell has been
read" might only be meaningful for a ``scroll". With care, therefore, one
may re-use the same attribute to have different meanings for different kinds
of object. The syntax to declare that an attribute is being reused is
^^|alias|^^{reusing attributes}^^|Attribute|
\beginstt
Attribute <new> alias <old>;
\endtt
Thereafter Inform will treat the new and old attribute names as
referring to the same attribute: it's up to the programmer to make sure this
does not lead to inconsistencies. (The library already indulges in a certain
amount of this chicanery.)
You can also define your own properties.^^{making properties}
\beginstt
Property door_to;
Property article "a";
Property amulet_spell NULL;
\endtt^^{properties: definition of}
are all examples of the ^|Property| directive, the first two from the
library files. In the case of |article|, we are saying that the value
|"a"| should be the default value for any object which doesn't declare
an |article|.^^{default value of properties}
\danger You can also change the default value during play. For
instance, objects with no explicit |cant_go| property of their own
normally have the value ``You can't go that way.'' You might change
this with
\beginstt
ChangeDefault(cant_go, "You're a Master Adventurer now, and still \
you walk into walls!");
\endtt^^|ChangeDefault|^^{walking into walls}
later on in the game. Explicitly given values of |cant_go| are
unaffected by this.
\ddanger Properties can also ^|alias| and can moreover be declared as
^|long| or ^|additive|. For |additive| see \S 5 on classes;
properties which might start as small numbers (less than 256) and be
changed into large ones in play, ought to be declared as |long|
in ^{Standard games} (for ^{Advanced games} there's no need).
\noindent
It's easy enough to write a class definition for amulets, with
a |before| rule for |Rub| so that when an amulet is rubbed, its spell
is cast. Suppose we want the |amulet_spell| property to be able to
hold either a string (which is to be printed out) or a routine (which
is to be run). The following does just that:
\beginstt
PrintOrRun(object, property, flag);
\endtt^^|PrintOrRun|
(The library makes extensive use of this function.) If the (optional) flag
is given and non-zero, a new-line is printed after a string (but only if it
was a string). For example, given |amulet_spell| values such as:
\beginstt
amulet_spell "The spell fizzles out with a dull phut! sound.",
amulet_spell
[; if (location~=thedark) "Nothing happens.";
give real_location light; "There is a burst of magical light!";
],
\endtt
then |PrintOrRun(object,amulet_spell,1)| is the right way to cast the spell.
\ddanger
Since internally routines and strings are stored as numbers (as their
packed addresses, in fact) it can be useful to find out what a property
value represents. For this purpose:
$$ |ZRegion(addr)| = \cases{1 & if |addr| is a valid object number\cr
2 & if a routine address\cr
3 & if a string address\cr
0 & otherwise.\cr} $$^^|ZRegion|
Inform guarantees that object numbers, routine addresses and string
addresses are all different (i.e., that no number can represent two of
these at once): {\sl but} dictionary or array addresses may coincide with
packed addresses of strings or routines.^^{regions of the machine}
^^{dictionary: addresses of words in}\
\noindent
An elaborate library extension will end up defining several new
properties and attributes, some grammar, actions and verb definitions.
These may neatly be packaged up into an |Include| file and placed
with the other library files.^^{Modular extensions}
^^{extensions of the library}\
\ddanger If the file contains the directive |System_file;| then it will
even be possible for games to |Replace| routines from it
(see below).^^|System file|\
\medskip
\noindent
More often, one would like a smaller-scale change to the Library:
to alter one of its ^{habitual messages}, such as ``Nothing is on
sale." printed in response to requests to buy something
(unless such requests have been trapped at the |before| stage).
The message-changing feature is provided in an unusual way.
To make use of it, you
must provide a special object called |LibraryMessages|, which must be
defined {\sl between} the inclusion of ``Parser" and of ``VerbLib".
Here is an example, changing two standard messages:
\begintt
Object LibraryMessages "lm"
with before
[; Jump: "You jump and float uselessly for a while in \
the zero gravity here on Space Station Alpha.";
SwitchOn:
if (lm_n==3)
{ print "You power up ", (the) lm_o, "."; }
];
\endtt^^|LibraryMessages|^^{changing library messages}
The object never appears in the game, of course (so it doesn't matter
what its short name is), and it exists solely to have a |before|
routine. As usual, returning false (0) causes the library to carry
on as normal, while returning true (1) indicates that you've printed
the message.
The |Jump| action only ever prints one message, but more elaborate
actions such as |SwitchOn| have several (the extreme case is |Take|, with
13). |lm_n| holds the message number, which counts upwards from 1
essentially in order of use. The messages and numbers are given
in \S 39. New ^{message numbers} may possibly be added in future,
but old ones will not be renumbered.
An especially useful library message to change is the prompt, usually
set to |"^>"| (new-line followed by |>|). This is printed under the
fake action |Prompt| (which exists only for use by |LibraryMessages|).
Thus you can make the game's prompt context-sensitive, or remove the
``skipped line on screen each turn'' convention.
\danger
This prompt is only used in ordinary game play, and not at such keyboard
inputs as yes/no questions or the RESTART/RESTORE/QUIT game over
choice.^^{Game Over choice}\
\exercise Infocom's game ^{`The Witness'} has the prompt ``What should you,
the detective, do next?'' on turn one and ``What next?'' subsequently.
Implement this.^^{`Witness'}^^{prompt}^^{changing the prompt}
^^{``What next?''}^^{exercises: varying the prompt}
\answer{^^{`Witness'}^^{prompt}^^{changing the prompt}^^{``What next?''}
^^{exercises: varying the prompt}
Put the following definition between inclusion of ``Parser'' and
``Verblib'':
\begintt
Object LibraryMessages "lm"
with before
[; Prompt: if (turns==1)
print "What should you, the detective, do now?^>";
else
print "What next?^>";
rtrue;
];
\endtt}
\noindent
An amusing way to see the system in action is to put
\begintt
Object LibraryMessages "lm"
with before
[; print "[", sw__var, ", ", lm_n, "] ";
];
\endtt
into your game (arcane note: |sw__var|, the ``switch variable", in
this case holds the action number). Another amusing effect is to
simply write |rtrue;| for the |before| routine, which results in an
alarmingly silent game -- ^{blindfold Adventure}, perhaps.
\ddanger
Note that |LibraryMessages| can be used as a sneaky way to add extra
rules onto the back of actions, since there's nothing to stop you
doing real processing in a call to it; or, more happily,
to make messages more sensistive to game context, so that ``Nothing is
on sale'' might become ``That's not one of the goods on sale''
inside a ^{shopping mall}.
\ddangerexercise
Write an Inform game in ^{Occitan} (a dialect of ^{medieval French}
spoken in Provence).^^{foreign languages}
^^{translating Inform to foreign languages}
\answer{The details are left to the reader. One must provide a new
grammar file (generating the same actions but from different syntax)
and a very large |LibraryMessages| object.}
\medskip\noindent
The Library is itself written in high-level Inform (with a few input-output
routines dipping into assembly language) which is compiled at the same
time as the rest of the game. The source files are perfectly accessible
and could easily be modified. But this would make it necessary to keep a
copy of the library for every game, and to make the changes afresh whenever
the library is updated; and it means your modifications are not gathered
together in any convenient form.
A somewhat crude method, something of a ^{last resort} (though most large
games contain two or three uses of this), is to work out which routine is
giving trouble and ``replace'' it. For example, if the directive
\beginstt
Replace BurnSub;
\endtt^^|Replace|
is placed in your file {\it before the library files are included},
Inform ignores the definition of |BurnSub| in the library files.
You then have to define a routine called |BurnSub| yourself, or Inform
will complain that the program refers to a routine which isn't there.
It would be normal to copy the definition of |BurnSub| to your own code,
and make such alterations as you need.
The favourite routine to replace is |DrawStatusLine|: see \S 29 for
several examples.
\ddanger
Inform even allows you to |Replace| ``hardware'' functions like |random|,
which would normally be translated directly to machine opcodes. Obviously,
replacing something like |sibling| with a software routine will impose an
appreciable speed penalty and slightly increase object code size. Replacing
|random| may however be useful when fixing the random number generator for
game-testing purposes.
\tenpoint
\refs
^{`Balances'} contains a section of code (easily extractable to
other games) implementing the ^{`Enchanter' trilogy}'s magic
system by methods like the above.
\nextref
There are several formal library extension files in existence,
mostly small: see the ^{Inform home page} on the WWW.
\nextref ^{``pluralobj.h''}
by ^{Andrew Clover} makes large-scale use of |LibraryMessages|
to ensure that the library always uses words like ``those''
instead of ``that'' when talking about objects with names like
``a heap of magazines''.
\chapter{Chapter III: Describing and Parsing}
\vskip 0.5in
\quote
Language disguises thought$\ldots$ The tacit conventions on which
the understanding of everyday language depends are enormously
complicated.
\poemby{^{Ludwig Wittgenstein} ({\oldstyle1889}--{\oldstyle1951})}{Tractatus}
\section{18}{Describing objects and rooms}
\poem
And we were angry and poor and happy,
And proud of seeing our names in print.
\poemby{^{G. K. Chesterton} ({\oldstyle1874}--{\oldstyle1936})}{A Song of Defeat}
\noindent
Talking to the player about the state of the world is much easier
than listening to his intentions for it, and Inform's rules for describing
places and items are considerably simpler than its rules for
understanding what the player types. Despite this, the business of
description takes up a fair part of Chapter III since the
designer eventually needs to know almost every rule involved,
whereas nobody would want to know everything about the parser.
To begin, the simplest description happens when a single object is
named by the game, for instance when the statement
\beginstt
print (a) brass_lamp;
\endtt
results in ``an old brass lamp'' being printed. There are four such
forms of |print|:
\smallskip{
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ &^|print (the) obj| &&& Print the object with its definite article\cr
\+ &^|print (The) obj| &&& The same, but capitalised\cr
\+ &^|print (a) obj| &&& Print the object with indefinite article\cr
\+ &^|print (name) obj| &&& Print the object's short name alone\cr
}
\smallskip\par\noindent^^{objects: short names of}
and these can be freely mixed into lists of things to |print| or
|print_ret|, as for example:
\beginstt
print_ret "The ogre declines to eat ", (the) noun, ".";
\endtt
\exercise (By ^{Gareth Rees}.) When referring to ^|animate| objects, one
usually needs to use ^{pronouns} such as ^{``his''}. Define new
^{printing routines} so that, say,
|print "You throw the book at ", (PronounAcc) obj, "!";| will insert
the right ^{accusative pronoun}.^^{nominative pronoun}
^^{exercises: printing pronouns}
\answer{^^{accusative pronoun}^^{nominative pronoun}^^{pronouns}
^^{exercises: printing pronouns}Simply
define the following (for accusative, nominative and capitalised
nominative pronouns, respectively):
\beginlines
|[ PronounAcc i;|
| if (i hasnt animate) print "it";|
| else { if (i has female) print "her"; else print "him"; } ];|
|[ PronounNom i;|
| if (i hasnt animate) print "it";|
| else { if (i has female) print "she"; else print "he"; } ];|
|[ CPronounNom i;|
| if (i hasnt animate) print "It";|
| else { if (i has female) print "She"; else print "He"; } ];|
\endlines}
\danger There is also a special syntax ^|print object| for printing object
names, but {\it do not use it without good reason}: it doesn't understand
some of the features below and is not protected against crashing if you
mistakenly try to print the name for an out of range object number.
\medskip
\noindent
The ^{indefinite article} for an object is held in the property ^|article|
and is assumed to be `a' if none is declared. That means that if the
short name starts with a vowel, you need to set it to `an'. But |article|
offers much more amusement:
\begindisplay
a / platinum bar, an / orange balloon, your / Aunt Jemima,\cr
some bundles of / reeds, far too many / marbles, The / London Planetarium\cr
\enddisplay
If the object is given the attribute |proper| then its name is treated as
a ^{proper noun} with no indefinite article, so the value of |article| is
ignored.
\danger The |article| property can also hold a routine to print one, in
case ``a ^{pregnant mouse}" has to change to
``some mice".^^{changing articles}^^{objects: articles of}\
\noindent
Definite articles are always ``the'' (except for |proper| nouns). Thus
\begindisplay
the platinum bar, Aunt Jemima, Elbereth\cr
\enddisplay
are all printed by |print (the) ...|; the latter two objects
being ^|proper|.
\danger There's usually no need to worry about definite and indefinite
articles for room objects, as Inform never has cause to print them.
\noindent
The short name of an object is normally the text given in double-quotes
at the head of its definition. This is very inconvenient to change
during play when, for example, ``blue liquid'' becomes
``purple liquid'' as a result of a
^{chemical reaction}.^^{changing short names}\ A more flexible way
to specify an object's short name is with the |short_name|
property.^^|short name|\
To print the name of such an object, Inform does the following:
\ruleon
\item{1.} If the |short_name| is a string, it's printed and that's all.
\item{2.} If it is a routine, then it is called. If it returns true,
that's all.
\item{3.} The text given in the header of the object definition is printed.
\ruleoff
\par\noindent For example, the ^{dye} might be given:
\beginstt
short_name
[; switch(self.number)
{ 1: print "blue ";
2: print "purple ";
3: print "horrid sludge"; rtrue;
}
],
\endtt
with |"liquid"| as the short name in its header. According to whether
its |number| property is 1, 2 or 3, the printed result is ``^{blue liquid}'',
``^{purple liquid}'' or ``^{horrid sludge}''.
\danger Alternatively, define the dye with |short_name "blue liquid"| and then
simply execute |dye.short_name = "purple liquid";| when the time comes.
\danger Note that rooms can also be given a |short_name| routine, which might
be useful to code, say, a grid of four hundred similar
locations called ``Area 1" up to ^{``Area 400"}.
\bigskip\noindent
For many objects the indefinite article and short name will most often be
seen in inventory lists, such as
\beginstt
>i
You are carrying:
a leaf of mint
a peculiar book
your satchel (which is open)
a green cube
\endtt^^{objects: inventory entries of}
Some objects, though, ought to have fuller entries in an inventory:
a wine bottle should say how much wine is left, for instance. The |invent|
property is designed for this.
The simplest way to use |invent| is as a string. For instance, declaring
a ^{peculiar book} with
\beginstt
invent "that harmless old book of Geoffrey's",
\endtt^^{Geoffrey's book}
will make this the inventory line for the book. In the light of events, it
could later be changed to
\beginstt
geoffreys_book.invent = "that lethal old book of Geoffrey's";
\endtt
\danger Note that this string becomes the whole inventory entry: if the
object were an open container, its contents wouldn't be listed, which might
be unfortunate. In such circumstances it's better to write an |invent|
routine, and that's also the way to append text like ``(half-empty)''.
\danger Each line of an inventory is produced in two stages.
First, the basic line:
\ruleson
\item{1a.} The global variable |inventory_stage| is set to 1.
\item{1b.} The |invent| routine is called (if there is one).
If it returns true, stop here.
\item{1c.} The object's indefinite article and short-name are printed.
\rulesoff
\ninepoint\noindent
Second, little informative messages like ``(which is open)" are printed,
and ^{inventories} are given for the contents of open containers:
\ruleson
\item{2a.} The global variable |inventory_stage| is set to 2.
\item{2b.} The |invent| routine is called (if there is one).
If it returns true, stop here.
\item{2c.} A message such as ``(closed, empty and providing light)''
is printed, as appropriate.
\item{2d.} If it is an |open container|, its contents are inventoried.
\rulesoff^^|inventory stage|\ninepoint
After each line is printed, linking text such as a new-line or a comma
is printed, according to the current style.
For example, here is the |invent| routine used by the ^{matchbook} in
^{`Toyshop'}:
\beginstt
invent
[ i; if (inventory_stage==2)
{ i=self.number;
if (i==0) print " (empty)";
if (i==1) print " (1 match left)";
if (i>1) print " (",i," matches left)";
}
],
\endtt
\ddangerexercise Suppose you want to change the whole inventory line for
an ^{ornate box} but you can't use an |invent| string, or return true from
stage 1, because you still want stage 2d to happen properly (so that its
contents will be listed). How can you achieve
this?^^{exercises: ornate box (inventory inside)}
\answer{^^{ornate box}^^{exercises: ornate box (inventory inside)}
Use the |invent| routine to signal to |short_name|
and |article| routines to change their usual habits:
\beginlines
| invent|
| [; if (inventory_stage==1) give self general;|
| else give self ~general;|
| ],|
| short_name|
| [; if (self has general) { print "box"; rtrue; } ],|
| article|
| [; if (self has general) { print "that hateful"; rtrue; }|
| else print "a"; ],|
\endlines}
\tenpoint\bigskip\noindent
The largest and most complicated messages Inform ever prints on its own
initiative are ^{room descriptions}, printed when the ^|Look| action is carried
out (so that the statement |<Look>;| triggers a room description). This
is basically simple: the room's short name is printed (usually in bold-face)
on a line of its own, then its |description| followed by a list of the objects
lying about in it which aren't |concealed| or |scenery|.
Chapter II mentions many different properties -- |initial|, |when_on|,
|when_off| and so on -- which contain descriptions of an object inside a
room; some apply to doors, others to switchable objects and so on. All
of them can be routines to print something, instead of strings to print.
The full rules are given below.
This whole system can be bypassed using the ^|describe| property. If an
object gives a |describe| routine then this is called first: if it returns
true, then Inform assumes that the object has already been described,
so it doesn't describe it later on. For example,
\beginstt
describe
[; "^The platinum pyramid catches the light beautifully.";
];
\endtt^^{platinum pyramid}
means that even when the pyramid has been |moved| (i.e. held by the player
at some stage) it will always have its own line of room description.
\danger Note the initial |^| (new-line) character. Inform doesn't print
a skipped line itself before calling |describe| because it doesn't know
yet whether the routine will want to say anything. A |describe| routine
which prints nothing and returns true makes an object invisible, as if
it were |concealed|.
\bigskip\ninepoint
\ddanger The |Look| action does three things: it `notes arrival', prints
the room description then `scores arrival'. Only the printing rules are given
here (see \S 15 for the others), but they're given in full. In what follows,
the word `location' means the room object if there's light to see by,
and the special ``Darkness'' object otherwise. First the top line:
\ruleon
\item{1a.} A new-line is printed. The location's short name is printed
(in bold-face, if the host machine can do so).
\item{1b.} If the player is on a |supporter|, then
`` (on \<something>)'' is printed; if inside anything else, then
`` (in \<something>)''.
\item{1c.} `` (as \<something>)'' is printed if this was requested by the game's most
recent call to ^|ChangePlayer|, if any.
\item{1d.} A new-line is printed.
\ruleoff\ninepoint%
Now the `^{long description}'. This step is skipped if the player has just
moved of his own will into a location already visited, unless the game is in ^{``verbose"}
mode.
\ruleon
\item{2.} If the location has a ^|describe| property, then run it. If not,
look at the location's |description| property: if it's a string, print it;
if it's a routine, run it.
\ruleoff\ninepoint%
All rooms must provide {\sl either} a |describe| property {\sl or} a
|description| of themselves. Now for items nearby:
\ruleon
\item{3a.} List any objects on the floor.
\item{3b.} If the player is in or on something, list the other
objects in that.
\ruleoff\ninepoint%
Inform has now finished, but your game gets a chance to add a postscript:
\ruleon
\item{4.} Call the entry point ^|LookRoutine|.
\ruleoff
\danger The |visited| attribute is only given to a room after its description
has been printed for the first time (this happens during `scoring arrival').
This is convenient for making the description different after the first time.
\danger
`Listing objects' (as in 3a and 3b) is a complicated business. Some objects
are given a line or paragraph to themselves; some are lumped together
in a list at the end. The following objects are not mentioned at all:
the player, what the player is in or on (if anything) and
anything which is ^|scenery| or ^|concealed|.^^{objects: listed in room
descriptions}\ The remaining objects are looked through (eldest first) as
follows:
\ruleon
\item{1.} If the object has a |describe| routine, run it. If it returns true,
stop here and don't mention the object at all.
\item{2.} Work out the ``description property'' for the object:
\itemitem{a.} For a |container|, this is |when_open| or |when_closed|;
\itemitem{b.} Otherwise, for a |switchable| object this is |when_on| or |when_off|;
\itemitem{c.} Otherwise, for a |door| this is |when_open| or |when_closed|;
\itemitem{d.} Otherwise, it's |initial|.
\item{3.} If {\ninebf either} the object doesn't have this property
{\ninebf or} the object has been held by the player before (i.e., has |moved|)
and the property isn't |when_off| or |when_closed| {\ninebf then} then
the object will be listed at the end.
\item{4.} Otherwise a new-line is printed and the property is printed
(if it's a string) or run (if it's a routine).
\ruleoff
\danger A |supporter| which is |scenery| won't be mentioned,
but anything on top of it which is not |concealed| will
be.^^{supporting scenery}\
\danger Objects which have just been pushed into a new room are not listed
in that room's description on the turn in question. This is not because of
any rule about room descriptions, but because the pushed object is moved
into the new room only after the room description is made. This means
that when a wheelbarrow is pushed for a long distance, the player does not
have to keep reading ``You can see a wheelbarrow here.'' every move, as
though that were a surprise.
\danger You can use a library routine called ^|Locale| to perform
`object listing'. See \S 36 for details: suffice to say here that
the process above is equivalent to executing
\beginstt
if (Locale(location, "You can see", "You can also see")~=0)
" here.";
\endtt
|Locale| is useful for describing areas of a room which are sub-divided
off, such as the stage of a theatre.
\tenpoint
\exercise The library implements ``superbrief'' and ``verbose'' modes for
room description (one always omits long room descriptions, the other
never does). How can ^{verbose mode} automatically print room
descriptions every turn? (Some of the later Infocom games did
this.)^^{very verbose mode}^^{exercises: very verbose mode}
\answer{^^{exercises: very verbose mode}
This answer is cheating, as it needs to know about the
|lookmode| variable (set to 1 for normal, 2 for verbose or 3 for
superbrief). Simply include:
\beginlines
|[ TimePasses;|
| if (action~=##Look && lookmode==2) <Look>;|
|];|
\endlines^^{very verbose mode}}
\refs ^{`Balances'} often uses |short_name|, especially for
the white cubes (whose names change) and lottery tickets
(whose numbers are chosen by the player). ^{`Adventureland'}
uses |short_name| in simpler ways: see the bear and the
bottle, for instance.
\nextref The scroll class of ^{`Balances'} uses |invent|.
\nextref The library extension ^{``pluralobj.h''}
by ^{Andrew Clover} makes large-scale use of |LibraryMessages|
to ensure that the library always uses words like ``those''
instead of ``that'' when talking about objects with names like
``a heap of magazines''.
\nextref See the |ScottRoom| class of ^{`Adventureland'} for a radically
different way to describe rooms (in pidgin English, like
telegraphese).^^{Scott Adams}
\section{19}{Listing and grouping objects}
\widepoem
As some day it may happen that a victim must be found
I've got a little list -- I've got a little list
Of society offenders who might well be underground,
And who never would be missed
Who never would be missed!
\poemby{^{W. S. Gilbert} ({\oldstyle1836}--{\oldstyle1911})}{The Mikado}
\noindent
The library often needs to reel off a list of objects: when an |Inv|
(inventory) action takes place, for instance, or when describing the
contents of a container or the duller items in a room. Lists are difficult
to print out correctly `by hand', because there are many cases to get right,
especially when taking plurals into account. Fortunately, the library's
list-maker is open to the public. The routine to call is:
\beginstt
WriteListFrom(object, style);
\endtt^^|WriteListFrom|^^{objects: printing lists of}
where the list will start from the given object and go along its siblings.
Thus, to list all the objects inside |X|, list from |child(X)|. What the
list looks like depends on the style, which is a bitmap you can make by
adding some of the following constants:^^{style of list}
\smallskip
\settabs 8\columns
\+& |NEWLINE_BIT| && New-line after each entry\cr
\+& |INDENT_BIT| && Indent each entry according to depth\cr
\+& |FULLINV_BIT| && Full inventory information after entry\cr
\+& |ENGLISH_BIT| && English sentence style, with commas and `and'\cr
\+& |RECURSE_BIT| && Recurse downwards with usual rules\cr
\+& |ALWAYS_BIT| && Always recurse downwards\cr
\+& |TERSE_BIT| && More terse English style\cr
\+& |PARTINV_BIT| && Only brief inventory information after entry\cr
\+& |DEFART_BIT| && Use the definite article in list\cr
\+& |WORKFLAG_BIT| && At top level (only), only list objects\cr
\+& && which have the |workflag| attribute\cr
\+& |ISARE_BIT| && Prints `` is " or `` are " before list\cr
\+& |CONCEAL_BIT| && Misses out |concealed| or |scenery| objects\cr
\smallskip
\noindent The best way to use this is to experiment. For example, a `tall'
inventory is produced by:
\beginstt
WriteListFrom( child(player),
FULLINV_BIT + INDENT_BIT + NEWLINE_BIT + RECURSE_BIT );
\endtt^^{narrow inventory}
and a `wide' one by:
\beginstt
WriteListFrom( child(player),
FULLINV_BIT + ENGLISH_BIT + RECURSE_BIT );
\endtt^^{wide inventory}
which produce effects like:
\beginstt
>inventory tall
You are carrying:
a bag (which is open)
three gold coins
two silver coins
a bronze coin
four featureless white cubes
a magic burin
a spell book
\endtt\beginstt
>inventory wide
You are carrying a bag (which is open), inside which are three gold
coins, two silver coins and a bronze coin, four featureless white
cubes, a magic burin and a spell book.
\endtt
except that the `You are carrying' part is not done by the list-maker,
and nor is the final full stop in the second example.
The |workflag| is an attribute which the library scribbles over from time
to time as temporary storage, but you can use it with care. In this case
it makes it possible to specify any reasonable list.
\ddanger |WORKFLAG_BIT| and |CONCEAL_BIT| specify conflicting rules. If
they're both given, then what happens is: at the top level, but not below,
everything with |workflag| is included; on lower levels, but not at the
top, everything without |concealed| or |scenery| is included.
\exercise Write a |DoubleInvSub| action routine to produce an inventory
like so:^^{double inventory}^^{exercises: double inventory}
\beginstt
You are carrying four featureless white cubes, a magic burin and a
spell book. In addition, you are wearing a purple cloak and a miner's
helmet.
\endtt
\answer{^^{exercises: double inventory}
\beginlines
|[ DoubleInvSub i count1 count2;|
| print "You are carrying ";|
| objectloop (i in player)|
| { if (i hasnt worn) { give i workflag; count1++; }|
| else { give i ~workflag; count2++; }|
| }|
| if (count1==0) print "nothing.";|
| else|
| WriteListFrom(child(player),|
| FULLINV_BIT + ENGLISH_BIT + RECURSE_BIT + WORKFLAG_BIT);|
||
| if (count2==0) ".";|
| print ". In addition, you are wearing ";|
| objectloop (i in player)|
| { if (i hasnt worn) give i ~workflag; else give i workflag;|
| }|
| WriteListFrom(child(player),|
| ENGLISH_BIT + RECURSE_BIT + WORKFLAG_BIT);|
| ".";|
|];|
\endlines^^{double inventory}}
\danger Finally, there is a neat way to customise the grouping together
of non-identical items in lists, considerably enhancing the
presentation of the game. If a collection of game objects -- say,
all the edible items in the game -- have a common non-zero value of the
property |list_together|, say 1, they will always appear adjacently in
inventories, room descriptions and the
like.^^{objects: grouping of in lists}
\ninepoint
Alternatively, instead of being a small number the common value can be
a string such as |"foodstuffs"|. If so then lists will cite, e.g.,
\begindisplay
three foodstuffs (a scarlet fish, some lemmas and an onion)\cr
\enddisplay
in running text, or
\begindisplay
three foodstuffs:\cr
\qquad a scarlet fish\cr
\qquad some lemmas\cr
\qquad an onion\cr
\enddisplay^^{foodstuffs}^^{grouping of non-identical items in lists}
in indented lists. This only happens when two or more are gathered
together.
Finally, the common value can be a routine, such as:
\beginstt
list_together
[; if (inventory_stage==1) print "heaps of food, notably ";
else print ", which would do you no good";
],
\endtt^^|inventory stage|^^|c style|^^{heaps of food}
Typically this might be part of a class definition from which all the
objects in question inherit. A |list_together| routine
will be called twice: once, with |inventory_stage| set to 1, as
a preamble to the list of items, and once (with 2) to print any
postscript required. It is allowed to change |c_style| (the current
list style) without needing to restore the old value and may, by
returning 1 from stage 1, signal the list-maker not to print a list at
all. The simple example above results in
\begindisplay
heaps of food, notably a scarlet fish, some lemmas\cr
and an onion, which would do you no good\cr
\enddisplay
Such a routine may want to make use of the variables |parser_one| and
|parser_two|, which respectively hold the first object in the group
and the depth of recursion in the list (this might be needed to keep
indentation going properly). Applying |x=NextEntry(x,parser_two);|
moves |x| on from |parser_one| to the next item in the group.
Another helpful variable is |listing_together|, set up to the first
object of a group being listed or to 0 whenever no group is being listed.
The following list of 24 items shows some possible effects (see the
example game ^{`List Property'}):
\begindisplay
You can see a plastic fork, knife and spoon, three hats (a fez, a Panama\cr
and a sombrero), the letters X, Y, Z, P, Q and R from a Scrabble set, a\cr
defrosting Black Forest gateau, Punch magazine, a recent issue of the\cr
Spectator, a die and eight coins (four silver, one bronze and three gold)\cr
here.\cr
\enddisplay
\dangerexercise Implement the ^{Scrabble pieces}.^^{exercises: Scrabble pieces}
\answer{^^{Scrabble pieces}^^{exercises: Scrabble pieces}
\beginlines
|Attribute is_letter;|
|Class letter|
| with list_together|
| [; if (inventory_stage==1)|
| { print "the letters ";|
| if (c_style & ENGLISH_BIT == 0) c_style = c_style + ENGLISH_BIT;|
| if (c_style & NOARTICLE_BIT == 0) c_style = c_style + NOARTICLE_BIT;|
| if (c_style & NEWLINE_BIT ~= 0) c_style = c_style - NEWLINE_BIT;|
| if (c_style & INDENT_BIT ~= 0) c_style = c_style - INDENT_BIT;|
| }|
| else print " from a Scrabble set";|
| ],|
| short_name|
| [; if (listing_together has is_letter) rfalse;|
| print "letter ", object self, " from a Scrabble set"; rtrue;|
| ],|
| article "the",|
| has is_letter;|
\endlines
and then as many letters as desired, along the lines of
\beginlines
|Nearby s1 "X" class letter with name "x";|
\endlines}
\ddangerexercise Implement the
^{three denominations of coin}.^^{coins (listed together)}
^^{exercises: three denominations of coin}
\answer{^^{coins (listed together)}^^{three denominations of coin}
^^{exercises: three denominations of coin}
\beginlines
|Attribute is_coin;|
|Class coin_class|
| with name "coin",|
| description "A round unstamped disc, presumably local currency.",|
| parse_name|
| [ i j w;|
| if (parser_action==##TheSame)|
| { if ((parser_one.&name)-->0 == (parser_two.&name)-->0) return -1;|
| return -2;|
| }|
| w=(self.&name)-->0;|
| for (::i++)|
| { j=NextWord();|
| if (j=='coins') parser_action=##PluralFound;|
| else if (j~='coin' or w) return i;|
| }|
| ],|
| list_together "coins",|
| plural|
| [; print (string) (self.&name)-->0;|
| if (listing_together hasnt is_coin) print " coins";|
| ],|
| short_name|
| [; if (listing_together has is_coin)|
| { print (string) (self.&name)-->0; rtrue; }|
| ],|
| article|
| [; if (listing_together has is_coin) print "one"; else print "a";|
| ],|
| has is_coin;|
|Class gold_coin_class class coin_class with name "gold";|
|Class silver_coin_class class coin_class with name "silver";|
|Class bronze_coin_class class coin_class with name "bronze";|
|Nearby coin1 "silver coin" class silver_coin_class;|
|... and so on|
\endlines}
\ddangerexercise Implement the ^{I Ching} in the form of six coins,
three gold (goat, deer and chicken), three silver (robin, snake
and bison) which can be thrown to reveal gold and silver
^{trigrams}.^^{coins (in I Ching trigrams)}^^{exercises: I Ching coins}
\answer{^^{I Ching}^^{trigrams}^^{exercises: I Ching coins}
^^{coins (in I Ching trigrams)}For brevity, the following answer
omits the routines: |CoinsTogether(attr)| which finds if the three
coins with this |attr| (|is_gold| or |is_silver|) are together,
returning 0 if they aren't and otherwise the object of which they
are children; and |Trigram(attr)|
which prints out the trigram currently showing on the coins of that
|attr|, e.g., ``Tails, Tails, Heads (Chen)''.
\beginlines
|Attribute is_gold; Attribute is_silver;|
|[ Face x; if (x.number==1) print "Heads"; else print "Tails"; ];|
|[ CoinsLT attr k i c;|
| if (inventory_stage==1)|
| { if (attr==is_gold) print "the gold"; else print "the silver";|
| print " coins ";|
| k=CoinsTogether(attr);|
| if (k==location)|
| { for (i=selfobj+1:i<=top_object:i++)|
| { if (i has attr)|
| { print (name) i;|
| switch(++c)|
| { 1: print ", "; 2: print " and ";|
| 3: print " (showing the trigram ", (Trigram) attr, ")";|
| }|
| }|
| }|
| rtrue;|
| }|
| if (c_style & ENGLISH_BIT == 0) c_style = c_style + ENGLISH_BIT;|
| if (c_style & NOARTICLE_BIT == 0) c_style = c_style + NOARTICLE_BIT;|
| if (c_style & NEWLINE_BIT ~= 0) c_style = c_style - NEWLINE_BIT;|
| if (c_style & INDENT_BIT ~= 0) c_style = c_style - INDENT_BIT;|
| }|
| rfalse;|
|];|
|Class coin|
| with number 1, article "the",|
| parse_name|
| [ i j w;|
| if (parser_action==##TheSame) return -2;|
| w='gold'; if (self has is_silver) w='silver';|
| for (::i++)|
| { j=NextWord();|
| if (j=='coins') parser_action=##PluralFound;|
| else if (j~='coin' or w or self.name) return i;|
| }|
| ],|
| after|
| [ j; Drop, PutOn:|
| self.number=random(2); print (Face) self, ". ";|
| if (self has is_gold) j=is_gold; else j=is_silver;|
| if (CoinsTogether(j)~=0)|
| { print "The ";|
| if (j==is_gold) print "gold"; else print "silver";|
| print_ret " trigram is now ", (Trigram) j, ".";|
| }|
| new_line; rtrue;|
| ];|
|Class gold_coin class coin|
| has is_gold with list_together [; return CoinsLT(is_gold); ];|
|Class silver_coin class coin|
| has is_silver with list_together [; return CoinsLT(is_silver); ];|
|...|
|Nearby goat "goat" class gold_coin with name "goat";|
|Nearby deer "deer" class gold_coin with name "deer";|
|Nearby chicken "chicken" class gold_coin with name "chicken";|
|Nearby robin "robin" class silver_coin with name "robin";|
|Nearby snake "snake" class silver_coin with name "snake";|
|Nearby bison "bison" class silver_coin with name "bison";|
\endlines
There are two unusual points here. Firstly, the |CoinsLT| routine
is not simply given as the common |list_together| value in the |coin|
class since, if it were, all six coins would be grouped together:
we want two groups of three, so the gold and silver coins have to have
different |list_together| values. Secondly, if a trigram is together
and on the floor, it is not good enough to simply append text like
``showing Tails, Heads, Heads (Tui)'' at |inventory_stage| 2 since the
coins may be listed in a funny order: for example, in the order snake,
robin, bison. In that event, the order the coins are listed in
doesn't correspond to the order their values are listed in, which is
misleading. So instead |CoinsLT| takes over entirely at
|inventory_stage| 1 and prints out the list of three itself, returning
true to stop the list from being printed out by the library as well.}
\tenpoint
\refs A good example of |WriteListFrom| in action is the definition
of |CarryingClass| from the example game ^{`The Thief'}, by
^{Gareth Rees}. This alters the examine description of a character
by appending a list of what that person is carrying and wearing.
\nextref Denominations of coin are also in evidence in ^{`Balances'}
and in \S 21.
\section{20}{How nouns are parsed}
\verywidepoem
The ^{Naming of Cats} is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
\poemby{^{T. S. Eliot} ({\oldstyle1888}--{\oldstyle1965})}{The Naming of Cats}
\quote
Bulldust, coolamon, dashiki, fizgig, grungy, jirble, pachinko,
poodle-faker, sharny, taghairm^^{catchrestic words}
\quoteby{Catachrestic words from ^{Chambers English Dictionary}}
\noindent\tenpoint
Suppose we have a tomato defined with
\beginstt
name "fried" "green" "tomato",
\endtt^^{fried green tomato}^^{tomato}
but which is going to redden later and need to be referred to as ``red
tomato''. It's perfectly straightforward to alter the ^|name| property of
an object, which is a ^{word array} of dictionary words. For example,
\beginstt
[ Names obj i;
for (i=0:2*i<obj.#name:i++) print (address) (obj.&name)-->i, "^";
];
\endtt^^{treating {\tt name} as a word array}^^{array of {\tt name}s}
prints out the list of dictionary words held in |name| for a given
object. We can write to this, so we could just set
\beginstt
(tomato.&name)-->1 = 'red';
\endtt^^{objects: names of}
but this is not a flexible or elegant solution, and it's time to
begin delving into the parser.
\danger Note that we can't change the size of the |name| array.
To simulate this, we could define the object with
|name| set to, say, 30 copies of an `untypeable word' (see below)
such as |'blank.'|.
\bigskip
\noindent
The Inform ^{parser} is designed to be as ``open-access'' as possible,
because a parser cannot ever be general enough for every game without
being extremely modifiable. The first thing it does
is to read in text from the keyboard and break it up into a
^{stream of words}^^{word stream}:
so the text ``wizened man, eat the grey bread'' becomes
\begindisplay
|wizened| / |man| / |,| / |eat| / |the| / |grey| / |bread|\cr
\enddisplay^^{wizened man}^^|NextWord|^^{word breaking}
^^{parser: breaking up text into word stream}
and these words are numbered from 1. At all times the parser keeps
a ``word number'' marker to keep its place along this line, and this
is held in the variable |wn|. The routine |NextWord()| returns
the word at the current position of the marker, and moves it forward,
i.e. adds 1 to |wn|. For instance, the parser may find itself at
word 6 and trying to match ``grey bread'' as the name of an object.
Calling |NextWord()| gives the value |'grey'| and calling it again
gives |'bread'|.
Note that if the player had mistyped ``grye bread'', ``grye'' being a word
which isn't mentioned anywhere in the program or created by the library,
|NextWord()| returns 0 for `misunderstood word'. Writing something like
|if (w=='grye') ...| somewhere in the program makes Inform put ``grye''
into the dictionary automatically.
\danger Remember that the game's dictionary only has 9-character
^{resolution}. Thus the values of |'polyunsaturate'| and
|'polyunsaturated'| are equal.^^{case sensitivity of dictionary}\
Also, upper case and lower case letters are considered the same;
and although a word can contain numerals or symbols, such as
|'mn8@home'|, it must begin with a
letter.^^{dictionary: characters which can be part of words in}
\ddanger A dictionary word can even contain spaces, full stops or commas,
but if so it is `untypeable'. For instance, |'in,out'| is an untypeable
word because if the player does type it then the parser cuts it into
three, never checking the dictionary for the entire word. Thus the
constant |'in,out'| can never be anything that |NextWord| returns.
This can be useful (as it was in \S
12).^^{untypeable words}^^{punctuation in dictionary words}
^^{dictionary: untypeable words in}
\danger It can also be useful to check for numbers. The library
routine |TryNumber(wordnum)|^^|TryNumber|\ tries to parse the word
at |wordnum| as a number (recognising decimal numbers and English
ones from ``one'' to ``twenty''), returning -1000 if it fails
altogether, or else the number. Values exceeding 10000 are rounded
down to 10000.
\ddanger Sometimes there is no alternative but to actually look at
the player's text one character at a time (for instance, to check
a 20-digit ^{phone number}). The routine |WordAddress(wordnum)|
returns a byte array of the characters in the word, and
|WordLength(wordnum)| tells you how many characters there are in it.
Thus in the above example,
\beginstt
thetext = WordAddress(4);
print WordLength(4), " ", (char) thetext->0, (char) thetext->2;
\endtt^^|WordAddress|^^|WordLength|^^{command buffer}
^^{text buffer (of buffer)}^^{parsing: text buffer holding commands}
^^{keyboard buffer}^^{text of a command}
prints the text ``3 et''.
\noindent
An object can affect how its name is parsed by giving a |parse_name|
routine. This is expected to try to match as many words as possible
starting from the current position of |wn|, reading them in one at
a time using the |NextWord()| routine. Thus it must not stop just because
the first word makes sense, but must keep reading and find out how many
words in a row make sense.^^|parse name|\
It should return:
\begindisplay
0\quad if the text didn't make any sense at all,\cr
$k$\quad if $k$ words in a row of the text seem to refer to the object, or\cr
$-1$\quad to tell the parser it doesn't want to decide after all.\cr
\enddisplay
The word marker |wn| can be left anywhere afterwards. For example:
\beginstt
Nearby thing "weird thing"
with parse_name
[ i; while (NextWord()=='weird' or 'thing') i++;
return i;
];
\endtt^^{weird thing}
This definition duplicates (very nearly) the effect of having defined:
\beginstt
Nearby thing "weird thing"
with name "weird" "thing";
\endtt
Which isn't very useful. But the tomato can now be coded up with
\beginstt
parse_name
[ i j; if (self has general) j='red'; else j='green';
while (NextWord()=='tomato' or 'fried' or j) i++;
return i;
],
\endtt
so that ``green" only applies until its |general| attribute has
been set, whereupon ``red'' does.
\exercise Rewrite this to insist that the adjectives
must come before the noun, which must be
present.^^{exercises: tomato in red or green}
\answer{^^{exercises: tomato in red or green}
\beginlines
|parse_name|
|[ i j w; if (self has general) j='red'; else j='green';|
| w=NextWord();|
| while (w==j or 'fried')|
| { w=NextWord(); i++;|
| }|
| if (w=='tomato') return i+1;|
| return 0;|
|],|
\endlines}
\exercise Create a musician called ^{Princess} who, when kissed,
is transformed into ``|/?%?/| (the
^{artiste formerly known as Princess})''.^^{exercises: the artiste formerly known as Princess}
\answer{^^{Princess}^^{artiste formerly known as Princess}
^^{exercises: the artiste formerly known as Princess}
\beginlines
|Nearby princess "/?%?/ (the artiste formerly known as Princess)"|
| with name "princess" "artiste" "formerly" "known" "as",|
| short_name|
| [; if (self hasnt general) { print "Princess"; rtrue; }|
| ],|
| parse_name|
| [ x; if (self hasnt general)|
| { if (NextWord()=='princess') return 1;|
| return 0;|
| }|
| x=WordAddress(wn);|
| if ( x->0 == '/' && x->1 == '?' && x->2 == '%'|
| && x->3 == '?' && x->4 == '/') return 1;|
| return -1;|
| ],|
| react_before|
| [; Listen: if (noun==0)|
| print_ret (name) self, " sings a soft siren song.";|
| ],|
| life|
| [; Kiss: give self general; self.life = NULL;|
| "In a fairy-tale transformation, the Princess \|
| steps back and astonishes the world by announcing \|
| that she will henceforth be known as ~/?%?/~.";|
| ],|
| has animate proper female;|
\endlines}
\exercise (Cf. ^{`Caf\'e Inform'}.) Construct a drinks machine capable
of serving cola, coffee or tea, using only one object for the buttons
and one for the possible drinks.^^{exercises: drinks machine}
\answer{^^{exercises: drinks machine}
Something to note here is that the button can't be called just ``coffee''
when the player's holding a cup of coffee: this means the game responds sensibly
to the sequence ``press coffee'' and ``drink coffee''. Also note the way |itobj|
is set to the delivered drink, so that ``drink it'' works nicely.
\beginlines
|Nearby drinksmat "drinks machine",|
| with name "drinks" "machine",|
| initial|
| "A drinks machine here has buttons for Cola, Coffee and Tea.",|
| has static;|
|Nearby thebutton "drinks machine button"|
| has scenery|
| with parse_name|
| [ i flag type;|
| for (: flag == 0: i++)|
| { flag = 1;|
| switch(NextWord())|
| { 'button', 'for': flag = 0;|
| 'coffee': if (type == 0) { flag = 0; type = 1; }|
| 'tea': if (type == 0) { flag = 0; type = 2; }|
| 'cola': if (type == 0) { flag = 0; type = 3; }|
| }|
| }|
| if (type==drink.number && i==2 && type~=0 && drink in player)|
| return 0;|
| self.number=type; return i-1;|
| ],|
| number 0,|
| before|
| [; Push, SwitchOn:|
| if (self.number == 0)|
| "You'll have to say which button to press.";|
| if (parent(drink) ~= 0) "The machine's broken down.";|
| drink.number = self.number; move drink to player; itobj = drink;|
| print_ret "Whirr! The machine puts ", (a) drink, " into your \|
| glad hands.";|
| Attack: "The machine shudders and squirts cola at you.";|
| Drink: "You can't drink until you've worked the machine.";|
| ];|
|Object drink "drink"|
| with parse_name|
| [ i flag type;|
| for (: flag == 0: i++)|
| { flag = 1;|
| switch(NextWord())|
| { 'drink', 'cup', 'of': flag = 0;|
| 'coffee': if (type == 0) { flag = 0; type = 1; }|
| 'tea': if (type == 0) { flag = 0; type = 2; }|
| 'cola': if (type == 0) { flag = 0; type = 3; }|
| }|
| }|
| if (type ~= 0 && type ~= self.number) return 0;|
| return i-1;|
| ],|
| short_name|
| [; print "cup of ";|
| switch (self.number)|
| { 1: print "coffee"; 2: print "tea"; 3: print "cola"; }|
| rtrue;|
| ],|
| number 0,|
| before|
| [; Drink: remove self;|
| "Ugh, that was awful. You crumple the cup and responsibly \|
| dispose of it.";|
| ];|
\endlines}
\danger |parse_name| is also used to spot plurals: see \S 21.
\noindent
Suppose that an object doesn't have a |parse_name| routine, or that
it has but it returned $-1$. The parser then looks at the |name|
words. It recognises any arrangement of some or all of these words
as a match (the more words, the better). Thus ``fried green tomato'' is
understood, as are ``fried tomato'' and ``green tomato''. On the other
hand, so are ``fried green'' and ``green green tomato green fried green''.
This method is quick and good at understanding a wide variety of
sensible inputs, though bad at throwing out foolish ones.
However, you can affect this by using the ^|ParseNoun| entry point.
This is called with one argument, the object in question, and should
work exactly as if it were a |parse_name| routine: i.e., returning
$-1$, 0 or the number of words matched as above. Remember that it
is called very often and should not be horribly slow. For example,
the following duplicates what the parser usually does:
\beginstt
[ ParseNoun obj n;
while (IsAWordIn(NextWord(),obj,name) == 1) n++; return n;
];
[ IsAWordIn w obj prop k l m;
k=obj.∝ l=(obj.#prop)/2;
for (m=0:m<l:m++)
if (w==k-->m) rtrue;
rfalse;
];
\endtt^^{{\tt IsAWordIn} (example)}
In this example |IsAWordIn| just checks to see if |w| is one of the
entries in the word array |obj.&prop|.
\dangerexercise Many adventure-game parsers split object names into
`^{adjectives}' and `nouns', so that only the pattern
\<0 or more adjectives> \<1 or more nouns>
is recognised. Implement this.^^{exercises: parsing adjectives}
\answer{^^{exercises: parsing adjectives}
Create a new property |adjective|, and move names which are
^{adjectives} to it: for instance,
\beginstt
name "tomato" "vegetable", adjective 'fried' 'green' 'cooked',
\endtt
(Recall that dictionary words can only be written in |"| quotes for
the |name| property.) Then (using the same |IsAWordIn| routine),
\beginstt
[ ParseNoun obj n m;
while (IsAWordIn(NextWord(),obj,adjective) == 1) n++; wn--;
while (IsAWordIn(NextWord(),obj,noun) == 1) m++;
if (m==0) return 0; return n+m;
];
\endtt}
\dangerexercise During debugging it sometimes helps to
be able to refer to objects by their internal numbers, so that
``put ^{object 31} on object 5'' would work. Implement
this.^^{objects: referred to by number}
^^{debugging: referring to objects by number}
^^{exercises: referring to objects by number}
\answer{^^{debugging: referring to objects by number}
^^{exercises: referring to objects by number}
\beginstt
[ ParseNoun obj;
if (NextWord() == 'object' && TryNumber(wn) == obj) return 2;
wn--; return -1;
];
\endtt^^{objects: referred to by number}}
\dangerexercise How could the word ``|#|'' be made a ^{wild-card},
meaning ``match any single object''?^^{``{\tt \#}''}
^^{exercises: wild-card for a single object}
\answer{^^{``{\tt \#}''}^^{wild-card}
^^{exercises: wild-card for a single object}
\beginstt
[ ParseNoun;
if (WordLength(wn)==1 && WordAddress(wn)-->0 == '#') return 1;
return -1;
];
\endtt}
\ddangerexercise And how could ``|*|'' be a wild-card for
``match any collection of objects''?^^{``{\tt *}''}
^^{exercises: wild-card for multiple objects}
\answer{^^{``{\tt *}''}^^{wild-card}
^^{exercises: wild-card for multiple objects}
\beginstt
[ ParseNoun;
if (WordLength(wn)==1 && WordAddress(wn)-->0 == '#') return 1;
if (WordLength(wn)==1 && WordAddress(wn)-->0 == '*')
{ parser_action = ##PluralFound; return 1; }
return -1;
];
\endtt}
\ddangerexercise There is no problem with a calling a container
``^{hole in wall}'', because the parser will understand
``put apple in hole in wall'' as ``put (apple) in (hole in wall)''.
But create a ^{fly in amber}, so that ``put fly in amber in
hole in wall'' works properly and isn't misinterpreted as
``put (fly) in (amber in hole in wall)''.
(Warning: you may need to know about the |BeforeParsing| entry
point (see \S 22) and the format of the |parse| buffer (see
\S 23).)^^{exercises: ``fly in amber''}
\answer{^^{fly in amber}The trick is to convert ``fly in amber''
into ``fly fly amber'' (a harmless name) before the parser gets
under way.^^{exercises: ``fly in amber''}
\beginlines
|[ BeforeParsing i j;|
| for (i=parse->1,j=2:j<i:j++)|
| { wn=j-1;|
| if (NextWord()=='fly' && NextWord()=='in' && NextWord()=='amber')|
| parse-->(j*2-1) = 'fly';|
| }|
|];|
\endlines}
\refs Straightforward |parse_name| examples are the chess-pieces object
and the kittens class of ^{`Alice Through The Looking-Glass'}. Lengthier
ones are found in ^{`Balances'}, especially in the white cubes class.
\section{21}{Plural names for duplicated objects}
\poem
Abiit ad plures.
\poemby{Petronius (?--c. {\oldstyle66})}{Cena Trimalchionis}
\noindent
A notorious problem for adventure game parsers is to handle a collection of,
say, ten gold coins, allowing the player to use them independently of each
other, while gathering them together into groups in descriptions and
inventories. This is relatively easy in Inform, and only in really hard
cases do you have to provide code.^^{plural objects}^^{objects: duplicate and plural}\
There are two problems to be overcome: firstly, the game has to be able
to talk to the player in plurals, and secondly vice versa. First, then,
game to player:
\beginstt
Class gold_coin_class
with name "gold" "coin",
plural "gold coins";
\endtt
\noindent (and similar silver and bronze coin classes here)
\beginstt
Object bag "bag"
with name "bag"
has container open openable;
\endtt\beginstt
Nearby co1 "gold coin" class gold_coin_class;
Nearby co2 "gold coin" class gold_coin_class;
Nearby co3 "gold coin" class gold_coin_class;
Nearby co4 "silver coin" class silver_coin_class;
Nearby co5 "silver coin" class silver_coin_class;
Nearby co6 "bronze coin" class bronze_coin_class;
\endtt
\noindent Now we have a ^{bag of six coins}. The player looking inside
the bag will get
\beginstt
>look inside bag
In the bag are three gold coins, two silver coins and a bronze coin.
\endtt
How does the library know that the three gold coins are the same as each
other, but the others different? It doesn't look at the classes but the
names. It will only group together things which:
\smallskip
\item{(a)} have a ^|plural| set,
\item{(b)} are ^{`indistinguishable'} from each other.
\smallskip\noindent
Indistinguishable means they have the same |name| words as each other,
possibly in a different order, so that nothing the player can type
will separate the two.
\danger Actually, the library is cleverer than this. What it groups
together depends slightly on the context of the list it's writing out. When
it's writing a list which prints out details of which objects are providing
light, for instance (like an inventory), it won't group together two objects
if one is lit and the other isn't. Similarly for objects with visible
possessions or which can be worn.
\ddanger This all gets even more complicated when the objects have a
|parse_name| routine supplied, because then the library can't use the |name|
fields to tell them apart. If they have different |parse_name| routines, it
decides that they're different. But if they have the same |parse_name|
routine, there is no alternative but to ask them. What happens is that
\begindisplay
1.\quad A variable called |parser_action| is set to |##TheSame|;\cr
2.\quad Two variables, called |parser_one| and |parser_two| are set to\cr
\phantom{2.}\quad the two objects in question;\cr
3.\quad Their |parse_name| routine is called. If it returns:\cr
\qquad $-1$ \quad the objects are declared ``indistinguishable",\cr
\qquad $-2$ \quad they are declared different.\cr
4.\quad Otherwise, the usual rules apply and the library looks at\cr
\qquad the ordinary |name| fields of the objects.\cr
\enddisplay^^{fake actions}^^|parser one, parser two, parser action|
|##TheSame| is a fake action.
^^|TheSame|
The implementation of the
^{`Spellbreaker cubes'} in the ^{`Balances'} game
is an example of such a routine, so that if
the player writes the same name on several of the cubes, they become
grouped together. Note that this whole set-up is such that if the
author of the |parse_name| routine has never read this paragraph, it doesn't
matter and the usual rules take their course.^^|parse name|
\ddanger You may even want to provide a |parse_name| routine just to speed
up the process of telling two objects apart -- if there were 30 gold coins
the parser would be doing a lot of work comparing all their names, but you
can make the decision much faster.
\bigskip
\noindent
Secondly, the player talking to the computer. This goes a little further
than just copies of the same object: many games involve collecting a number
of similar items, say a set of nine crowns in different colours. Then you'd
want the parser to recognise things like:
\beginstt
> drop all of the crowns except green
> drop the three other crowns
\endtt
even though the ^{crowns} are not identical. The simple way to do this is just
to put |"crowns"| in their |name| lists, and this works perfectly well most of
the time.
\ddanger But it isn't ideal, because then the parser will think ``take crowns''
refers to a single object, and won't realise that the player wants to pick
up all the sensibly available crowns.
So the complicated (but better) way is to make
the |parse_name| routine tell the parser that yes, there was a match, but
that it was a plural. The way to do this is to set |parser_action| to
|##PluralFound|, another fake action. So, for example:
\beginstt
Class crown_class
with parse_name
[ i j;
for (::)
{ j=NextWord();
if (j=='crown' or self.name) i++;
else
{ if (j=='crowns')
{ parser_action=##PluralFound; i++; }
else return i;
}
}
];
\endtt
This code assumes that the crown objects have just one |name| each,
their colours.
\exercise Write a `cherub' class so that if the player tries to call them
``cherubs", a message like ``I'll let this go by for now, but the plural of
cherub is cherubim" appears.^^{cherubim}^^{exercises: cherubim plural}
\answer{^^{exercises: cherubim plural}
\beginlines
|Global c_warned = 0;|
|Class cherub_class|
| with parse_name|
| [ i j flag;|
| for (flag=1:flag==1:flag=0)|
| { j=NextWord();|
| if (j=='cherub' or j==self.name) flag=1;|
| if (j=='cherubs' && c_warned==0)|
| { c_warned=1;|
| parser_action=##PluralFound; flag=1;|
| print "(I'll let this go once, but the plural of cherub is cherubim.)^";|
| }|
| if (j=='cherubim')|
| { parser_action=##PluralFound; flag=1; }|
| i++;|
| }|
| return i-1;|
| ];|
\endlines
Then again, Shakespeare even writes ``cherubins'' in `Twelfth Night',
so who are we to censure?^^{cherubim}^^{William Shakespeare}}
\refs See the coinage of ^{`Balances'}.
\section{22}{How verbs are parsed}
\poem
Grammar, which can govern even kings.
\poemby{^{Moli\`ere} ({\oldstyle1622}--{\oldstyle1673})}{Les Femmes savantes}
\noindent
The parser's fundamental method is simple. Given a stream of text like
\begindisplay
|saint| / |peter| / |,| / |take| / |the| / |keys| / |from| / |paul|\cr
\enddisplay^^{St Peter}
it first calls the entry point ^|BeforeParsing| (in case you want to
meddle with the text stream before it gets underway). It then
works out who is being addressed, if anyone, by looking for
a comma, and trying out the text up to there as a noun (anyone |animate|
or anything |talkable| will do): in this case St Peter. This person
is called the ``actor'', since he is going to perform the action, and
is usually the player himself (thus, typing ``myself, go north'' is
equivalent to typing ``go north'').
The next word, in this case |'take'|, is the ``verb word''. An
Inform verb usually has several ^{English verb words} attached, which
are called ^{synonyms} of each other: for instance, the library
is set up with^^{verbs (Inform and English)}
$$ \hbox{``take''} = \hbox{``get''} = \hbox{``carry''} = \hbox{``hold''} $$
all referring to the same Inform verb.
\danger The parser sets up global variables ^|actor| and |verb_word|
while working. (In the example above, their values would
be the St Peter object and |'take'|, respectively.)^^|verb word|\
\ddanger It isn't quite that simple: names of direction objects are
treated as implicit ``go'' commands, so that ``n'' is acceptable as
an alternative to ``go north''. There are also ``again'', ``oops'' and
``undo'' to grapple with.
\danger Also, a major feature (the |grammar| property for the person
being addressed) has been missed out of this description: see the latter
half of \S 12 for details.
\noindent
Teaching the parser a new synonym is easy. Like all of the directives
in this section, the following must appear {\sl after} the inclusion
of the library file |Grammar|:
\beginstt
Verb "steal" "acquire" "grab" = "take";
\endtt
This creates another three synonyms for ``take''.
\danger One can also prise synonyms apart, as will appear later.
\noindent
The parser is now up to word 5; i.e., it has ``the keys from paul'' left
to understand. Apart from a list of English verb-words which refer to
it, an Inform verb also has a ``^{grammar}''. This is a list of
1 or more ``^{lines}'', each a pattern which the rest of the text might
match. The parser tries the first, then the second and so on, and
accepts the earliest one that matches, without ever considering later
ones.
A line is itself a row of ``^{tokens}''. Typical tokens might mean
`the name of a nearby object', `the word |from|' or `somebody's name'.
To match a line, the parser must match against each token in sequence.
For instance, the line of 3 tokens
\begindisplay
\<a noun> \<the word |from|> \<a noun>\cr
\enddisplay^^{actions: how the parser chooses}^^{grammar: lines of}
matches the text. Each line has an action attached, which in this
case is |Remove|: so the parser has ground up the original
text into just four numbers, ending up with
\beginstt
actor = st_peter
action = Remove noun = gold_keys second = st_paul
\endtt
What happens then is that the St Peter's |orders| routine (if any)
is sent the action, and may if it wishes cooperate. If the actor
had been the player, then the action would have been processed in
the usual way.
\danger The action for the line which is currently being worked through
is stored in the variable |action_to_be|; or, at earlier stages when the
verb hasn't been deciphered yet, it holds the value |NULL|.^^|action to be|
\bigskip\noindent
The ^|Verb| directive creates Inform verbs, giving them some English verb
words and a grammar. The library's |Grammar| file consists almost
exclusively of |Verb| directives: here is an example simplified from one
of them.^^{``take'' verb}
\beginlines
|Verb "take" "get" "carry" "hold"|
| * "out" -> Exit|
| * multi -> Take|
| * multiinside "from" noun -> Remove|
| * "in" noun -> Enter|
| * multiinside "off" noun -> Remove|
| * "off" held -> Disrobe|
| * "inventory" -> Inv;|
\endlines^^{grammar: definition of verbs}
Each line of grammar begins with a |*|, gives a list of tokens as far
as |->| and then the action which the line produces. The first line
can only be matched by something like ``get out'', the second might
be matched by
\begindisplay
take the banana\cr
get all the fruit except the apple\cr
\enddisplay
and so on. A full list of tokens will be given later: briefly,
\cstok{"out"} means the literal word ``out'', \cstok{multi} means
one or more objects nearby, \cstok{noun} means just one and
\cstok{multiinside} means one or more objects inside the second
noun. In this book, grammar tokens are written in the style
\cstok{noun} to prevent confusion (as there is also a variable
called |noun|).
\ddanger As mentioned above, the parser thinks ``take" and ``get" are exactly
the same. Sometimes this has odd results: ``get in bed" is correctly
understood as a request to enter the bed, ``take in washing" is misunderstood
as a request to enter the washing. You might avoid this by using |Extend
only| to separate them into different grammars, or you could fix the |Enter|
action to see if the variable |verb_word=='take'| or |'get'|.
\danger Some verbs are ^|meta| - they are not really part of the game:
for example, ``save'', ``score'' and ``quit''. These are declared using
|Verb meta|, as in
\beginstt
Verb meta "score"
* -> Score;
\endtt^^{``score'' verb}\ninepoint
and any debugging verbs you create would probably work better this way,
since meta-verbs are protected from interference by the game and take
up no game time.\tenpoint
\noindent
After the ^|->| in each line is the name of an action. Giving a name
in this way is what creates an action, and if you give the name of one
which doesn't already exist then you must also write a routine
to execute the action, even if it's one which doesn't do very much.
The name of the routine is always the name of the action with |Sub|
appended. For instance:
\beginstt
[ XyzzySub; "Nothing happens."; ];
Verb "xyzzy" * -> Xyzzy;
\endtt
will make a new magic-word verb ``xyzzy'', which always says ``Nothing
happens'' -- always, that is, unless some |before| rule gets there first,
as it might do in certain magic places.^^{``xyzzy'' verb}\
|Xyzzy| is now an action just as good as all the standard ones:
|##Xyzzy| gives its action number, and you can write |before|
and |after| rules for it in |Xyzzy:| fields just as you would for, say,
|Take|.
\bigskip\noindent
The library defines grammars for the 100 or so English verbs most
often used by adventure games. However, in practice you very often
need to alter these, usually to add extra lines of grammar but
sometimes to remove existing ones. For example, consider an
array of ^{676 labelled buttons}, any of which could be pushed:
it's hardly convenient to define 676 button objects. It would be
more sensible to create a grammar line which understands things like
\begindisplay
``button j16",\quad ``d11",\quad ``a5 button"
\enddisplay
(it's easy enough to write code for a token to do this), and then
to add it to the grammar for the ``press'' verb.
The ^|Extend| directive is provided for exactly this purpose:
\beginstt
Extend "push" * Button -> PushButton;
\endtt^^{grammar: extension of}
The point of |Extend| is that it is against the spirit of the Library to
alter the standard library files -- including the grammar table -- unless
absolutely necessary.
\ddanger Another method would be to create a single button object
with a |parse_name| routine which carefully remembers what it was last
called, so that the object always knows which button it represents.
See ^{`Balances'} for an example.
\noindent
Normally, extra lines of grammar are added at the bottom of those already
there. This may not be what you want. For instance, ``take" has a grammar
line
\beginstt
* multi -> Take
\endtt
quite early on. So if you want to add a grammar line which diverts
``take something-edible" to a different action, like so:
\beginstt
* edible -> Eat
\endtt
(\cstok{edible} being a token matching anything which has the
attribute |edible|) then it's no good
adding this at the bottom of the |Take| grammar, because
the earlier line will always be matched first. Thus, you really want
to insert your line at the top, not the bottom, in this case. The right
command is
\beginstt
Extend "take" first
* edible -> Eat;
\endtt
You might even want to over-ride the old grammar completely, not
just add a line or two. For this, use^^{replacing grammar}
\beginstt
Extend "push" replace
* Button -> PushButton;
\endtt
and now ``push" can be used only in this way. To sum up, |Extend| can take
three keywords:
{\ninepoint\medskip\settabs 8\columns
\+& ^|replace| && completely replace the old grammar with this one;\cr
\+& ^|first| && insert the new grammar at the top of the old one;\cr
\+& ^|last| && insert the new grammar at the bottom of the old one;\cr
\medskip}\par\noindent^^{grammar: replacement of}
with |last| being the default (which doesn't need to be said explicitly).
\danger In library grammar, some verbs have many synonyms: for instance,
\beginstt
"attack" "break" "smash" "hit" "fight" "wreck" "crack"
"destroy" "murder" "kill" "torture" "punch" "thump"
\endtt
are all treated as identical. But you might want to distinguish between
murder and lesser crimes. For this, try
\beginstt
Extend only "murder" "kill" replace * animate -> Murder;
\endtt
The keyword ^|only| tells Inform to extract the two verbs ``murder" and
``kill". These then become a new verb which is initially an identical copy
of the old one, but then |replace| tells Inform to throw that away in favour
of an entirely new grammar. Similarly,
\beginstt
Extend only "get" * "with" "it" -> Sing;
\endtt
makes ``get" behave exactly like ``take" (as usual) except that it also
recognises ``with it", so that ``get with it" makes the player sing but
``take with it" doesn't. Other good pairs to separate might be ``cross''
and ``enter'', ``drop'' and ``throw'', ``give'' and ``feed'', ``swim''
and ``dive'', ``kiss'' and ``hug'', ``cut'' and
``prune''.^^{pairs of verbs to separate}
\ddanger Bear in mind that once a pair has been split apart like this, any
subsequent extension made to one will not be made to the other.
\ddanger There are (a few) times when verb definition commands are not
enough. For example, in the original ^{`Advent'} (or ^{`Colossal Cave'}),
the player could type the name of a not-too-distant place which had
previously been visited, and be taken there. There are several ways to code
this -- say, with 60 rather similar verb definitions, or with a single
``travel" verb which has 60 synonyms, whose action routine looks at the
parser's |verb_word| variable to see which one was typed, or even by restocking
the compass object with new directions in each room -- but here's
another. The library will call the ^|UnknownVerb| routine (if you provide one)
when the parser can't even get past the first word. This has two options:
it can return false, in which case the parser just goes on to complain as it
would have done anyway. Otherwise, it can return a verb word which is
substituted for what the player actually typed. Here is a foolish example:
\beginstt
[ UnknownVerb w;
if (w=='shazam') { print "Shazam!^"; return 'inventory'; }
rfalse;
];
\endtt^^{``shazam'' verb}^^{flexible verbs}
which responds to the magic word ``shazam" by printing |Shazam!| and then,
rather disappointingly, taking the player's inventory. But in the example
above, it could be used to look for the word |w| through the locations of
the game, store the place away in some global variable, and then return |'go'|.
The |GoSub| routine could then be fixed to look at this variable.
\ddangerexercise Why is it usually a bad idea to print text out in an
|UnknownVerb| routine?
\answer{Because the parser might go on to reject the line it's working on:
for instance, if the player typed ``inventory splurge'' then the message
``Shazam!'' followed by a parser complaint will be somewhat unedifying.}
\ddanger If you allow a flexible collection of verbs (say, names of
spells or places) then you may want a single `dummy' verb to stand for
whichever is being typed. This may make the parser produce strange
questions because it is unable to sensibly print the verb back at the
player, but you can fix this using the ^|PrintVerb| entry
point.^^{parser: tidying up questions asked by}
\ddangerexercise Implement the ^{Crowther and Woods} feature
of moving from one room to another by typing its name, using a
dummy verb.^^{named rooms}^^{`Advent'}
^^{exercises: moving to a room by typing its name}
\answer{^^{named rooms}
^^{exercises: moving to a room by typing its name}
Define two properties:
\beginlines
|Property place_name;|
|Property to_places;|
\endlines
The scheme will work like this: a named room should have the |place_name|
property set to a single dictionary word; say, the Bedquilt cave could
be called |'bedquilt'|. Then in any room, a list of those other rooms
which can be moved to in this way should appear in the |to_places| entry.
For instance,
\beginlines
|to_places Bedquilt Slab_Room Twopit_Room;|
\endlines
Now the code: see if a not-understood verb is a place name of a nearby room,
and if so store that room's object number in |goto_room|, converting
the verb to a dummy.
\beginlines
|Global goto_room;|
|[ UnknownVerb word p i;|
| p = location.&to_places; if (p==0) rfalse;|
| for (i=0:(2*i)<location.#to_places:i++)|
| if (word==(p-->i).place_name)|
| { goto_room = p-->i; return 'go#room';|
| }|
| rfalse;|
|];|
|[ PrintVerb word;|
| if (word=='go#room')|
| { print "go to "; PrintShortName(goto_room); rtrue; }|
| rfalse;|
|];|
\endlines
(The supplied |PrintVerb| is icing on the cake: so the parser can
say something like ``I only understood you as far as wanting to go to
Bedquilt.'' in reply to, say, ``bedquilt the nugget''.) It remains
only to create the ^{dummy verb}:
\beginlines
|[ GoRoomSub;|
| if (goto_room hasnt visited) "But you have never been there.";|
| PlayerTo(goto_room);|
|];|
|Verb "go#room" * -> GoRoom;|
\endlines
Note that if you don't know the way, you can't go there! A purist might
prefer instead to not recognise the name of an unvisited room, back at
the |UnknownVerb| stage, to avoid the player being able to deduce names
of nearby rooms from this `error message'.}
\bigskip
\dangerexercise Implement a lamp which, when rubbed, produces a
^{genie} who casts a spell over the player to make him confuse the
words ^{``white'' and ``black''}.^^{``black'' and ``white''}
^^{lamp (of genie)}^^{exercises: genie muddling black and white}
\answer{^^{``white'' and ``black''}^^{``black'' and ``white''}
^^{genie}^^{lamp (of genie)}^^{exercises: genie muddling black and white}
\beginlines
|Nearby genies_lamp "brass lamp"|
| with name "brass" "lamp",|
| before|
| [; Rub: if (self hasnt general) give self general;|
| else give self ~general;|
| print_ret "A genie appears from the lamp, declaring:^^\|
| ~Mischief is my sole delight:^ \|
| If white means black, black means white!~^^\|
| She vanishes away with a vulgar parting wink.";|
| ];|
|Nearby white_stone "white stone" with name "white" "stone";|
|Nearby black_stone "black stone" with name "black" "stone";|
|...|
|[ BeforeParsing;|
| if (genies_lamp hasnt general) return;|
| for (wn=1::)|
| { switch(NextWordStopped())|
| { 'white': parse->(wn*2-3) = 'black';|
| 'black': parse->(wn*2-3) = 'white';|
| -1: return;|
| }|
| }|
|];|
\endlines^^|BeforeParsing|}
\refs ^{`Advent'} makes a string of simple |Verb| definitions;
^{`Alice Through The Looking-Glass'} uses |Extend| a little.
\nextref ^{`Balances'} has a large extra grammar and also
uses the |UnknownVerb| and |PrintVerb| entry points.
\section{23}{Tokens of grammar}
\noindent
The complete list of grammar tokens is as
follows:^^{grammar: tokens of}^^{tokens}
{\smallskip
%$-1
\baselineskip=7 true mm
\settabs 8\columns
\+& \rstok{|"|\<word>|"|} && that literal word only\cr
\+& \cstok{noun} && any object in scope\cr
\+& \cstok{held} && object held by the player\cr
\+& \cstok{multi} && one or more objects in scope\cr
\+& \cstok{multiheld} && one or more held objects\cr
\+& \cstok{multiexcept} && one or more in scope, except the other\cr
\+& \cstok{multiinside} && one or more in scope, inside the other\cr
\+& \rstok{\<attribute>} && any object in scope which has the attribute\cr
\+& \cstok{creature} && an object in scope which is |animate|\cr
\+& \rstok{|noun = |\<Routine>} && any object in scope passing the given test\cr
\+& \rstok{|scope = |\<Routine>} && an object in this definition of scope\cr
\+& \cstok{number} && a number only\cr
\+& \rstok{\<Routine>} && any text accepted by the given routine\cr
\+& \cstok{special} && {\it any} single word or number\cr
\smallskip\par\noindent}^^{noun token}^^{held token}
^^{multiheld token}^^{multiexcept token}
^^{creature token}^^{special token}^^{number token}
These tokens are all described in this section except for
\rstok{|scope = |\<Routine>}, which is postponed to the next.
\bigskip\noindent\rstok{|"|\<word>|"|}\qquad
This matches only the literal word given, normally a preposition such
as |"into"|. Whereas most tokens produce a ``parameter'' (an object
or group of objects, or a number), this token doesn't. There can therefore
be as many or as few of them on a grammar line as desired.
\danger Prepositions like this are unfortunately sometimes called `adjectives'
inside the parser source code, and in Infocom hackers' documents: the usage
is traditional but has been avoided in this manual.
\bigskip\noindent\cstok{noun}\qquad
The definition of ``in scope'' will be given in the next section. Roughly,
it means ``visible to the player at the moment''.
\bigskip\noindent\cstok{held}\qquad
Convenient for two reasons. Firstly, many actions
only sensibly apply to things being held (such as |Eat| or |Wear|), and
using this token in the grammar you can make sure that the action is
never generated by the parser unless the object is being held. That
saves on always having to write ``You can't eat what you're not holding"
code. Secondly, suppose we have grammar
\beginstt
Verb "eat"
* held -> Eat;
\endtt
and the player types ``eat the banana''
while the ^{banana} is, say, in plain view on a shelf. It would be
petty of the game to refuse on the grounds that the banana is
not being held. So the parser will generate a |Take| action for the
banana and then, if the |Take| action succeeds, an |Eat| action. Notice
that the parser does not just pick up the object, but issues an action
in the proper way -- so if the banana had rules making it too slippery
to pick up, it won't be picked up. This is called ``^{implicit taking}''.
\bigskip\noindent
The \cstok{multi-} tokens indicate that a list of one or more objects can
go here. The parser works out all the things the player has asked
for, sorting out plural nouns and words like ``except" by itself, and
then generates actions for each one. A single grammar line can only
contain one \cstok{multi-} token: so ``hit everything with everything"
can't be parsed (straightforwardly, that is: you can parse {\sl anything}
with a little more effort). The reason not all nouns can be multiple
is that too helpful a parser makes too easy a game. You probably don't
want to allow ``unlock the mystery door with all the keys''
-- you want the player to suffer having to try them one at a time,
or else to be thinking.
\bigskip\noindent\cstok{multiexcept}\qquad
Provided to make commands like ``put everything in the rucksack''
parsable: the ``everything" is matched by all of the player's
possessions except the ^{rucksack}. This stops the parser from
generating an action to put the rucksack inside itself.
\bigskip\noindent\cstok{multiinside}\qquad
Similarly, this matches anything inside the other parameter on
the line, and is good for parsing commands like
``remove everything from the cupboard''.
\bigskip\noindent\rstok{\<attribute>}\qquad
This allows you to sort out objects according to attributes that they have:
\beginstt
Verb "use" "employ" "utilise"
* edible -> Eat
* clothing -> Wear
...and so on...
* enterable -> Enter;
\endtt^^{``use'' verb}^^{``employ'' verb}
though the library grammar does not contain such an
^{appallingly convenient verb}! Since you can define your own attributes,
it's easy to make a token matching only your own class of object.
\bigskip\noindent\cstok{creature}\qquad Same as \cstok{animate}
(a hangover from older editions of Inform).
\bigskip\noindent\rstok{|noun = |\<Routine>}\qquad
The last and most powerful of the ``a nearby object satisfying some condition''
tokens. When determining whether an object passes this test, the parser
sets the variable |noun| to the object in question and calls the routine.
If it returns true, the parser accepts the object, and otherwise it rejects it.
For example, the following should only apply to animals kept in a cage:
\beginstt
[ CagedCreature;
if (noun in wicker_cage) rtrue; rfalse;
];
Verb "free" "release"
* noun=CagedCreature -> FreeAnimal;
\endtt^^{``free'' verb}^^{caged animals}
So that only nouns which pass the |CagedCreature| test are allowed.
The |CagedCreature| routine can appear anywhere in the code, though
it's tidier to keep it nearby.
\bigskip\noindent\rstok{|scope = |\<Routine>}\qquad
An even more powerful token, which means ``an object in scope'' where
scope is redefined specially. See the next section.
\bigskip\noindent\cstok{number}\qquad Matches any decimal number from 0 upwards
(though it rounds off large numbers to 10000), and also matches the numbers
``one'' to ``twenty'' written in English. For example:
\beginstt
Verb "type"
* number -> TypeNum;
\endtt
causes actions like |Typenum 504| when the player types ``type 504''. Note
that |noun| is set to 504, not to an object.
\exercise (A beautiful feature stolen from ^{David M. Baggett}'s game
^{`The Legend Lives'}, which uses it to great effect.) Some games produce
^{footnotes} every now and then. Arrange matters so that these are
numbered |[1]|, |[2]| and so on in order of appearance, to be read by the
player when ``footnote 1'' is typed.^^{exercises: footnotes}
\answer{^^{footnotes}^^{exercises: footnotes}
\beginlines
|Constant MAX_FOOTNOTES 10;|
|Array footnotes_seen -> MAX_FOOTNOTES;|
|Global footnote_count;|
|[ Note n i pn;|
| for (i=0:i<footnote_count:i++)|
| if (n==footnotes_seen->i) pn=i;|
| if (footnote_count==MAX_FOOTNOTES) "** MAX_FOOTNOTES exceeded! **";|
| if (pn==0) { pn=footnote_count++; footnotes_seen->pn=n; }|
| print " [",pn+1,"]";|
|];|
|[ FootnoteSub n;|
| if (noun>footnote_count)|
| { print "No footnote [",noun,"] has been mentioned.^"; rtrue; }|
| if (noun==0) "Footnotes count upward from 1.";|
| n=footnotes_seen->(noun-1);|
| print "[",noun,"] ";|
| switch(n)|
| { 0: "This is a footnote.";|
| 1: "D.G.REG.F.D is inscribed around English coins.";|
| 2: "~Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz~, for example.";|
| }|
|];|
||
|Verb "footnote" "note" * number -> Footnote;|
\endlines^^{jackdaws}^^{The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog}
And then you can code, for instance,
\beginlines
| print "Her claim to the throne is in every pocket ", (Note) 1,|
| ", her portrait in every wallet.";|
\endlines}
\danger
The entry point ^|ParseNumber| allows you to provide your own
^{number-parsing} routine, which opens up many sneaky possibilities --
Roman numerals, coordinates like ``J4", very long telephone numbers
and so on. This takes the form
\beginstt
[ ParseNumber buffer length;
...returning 0 if no match is made, or the number otherwise...
];
\endtt
and examines the supposed `number' held at the byte address |buffer|,
a row of characters of the given |length|. If you provide a |ParseNumber|
routine but return 0 from it, then the parser falls back on its usual
number-parsing mechanism to see if that does any better.
\ddanger Note that |ParseNumber| can't return 0 to mean the number zero.
Probably ^{``zero''} won't be needed too often, but if it is you can
always return some value like 1000 and code the verb in question to
understand this as 0. (Sorry. This was a bad design decision made
too long ago to change now.)
\bigskip\noindent\rstok{\<Routine>}\qquad^^{general parsing routines}%
The most flexible token is simply the name of a ``general parsing routine''.
This looks at the word stream using |NextWord| and |wn| (see \S 20) and
should return:
\begindisplay
$-1$\quad if the text isn't understood,\cr
0\quad if it's understood but no parameter results,\cr
1\quad if a number results, or\cr
$n$\quad if the object $n$ results.\cr
\enddisplay
In the case of a number, the actual value should be put into the variable
|parsed_number|.^^|parsed number|\
On an unsuccessful match (returning $-1$) it doesn't matter what the final
value of |wn| is. On a successful match it should be left pointing to the next
thing {\it after} what the routine understood. Since ^|NextWord| moves
|wn| on by one each time it is called, this happens automatically unless
the routine has read too far. For example:
\beginstt
[ OnAtorIn w;
w=NextWord(); if (w=='on' or 'at' or 'in') return 0;
return -1;
];
\endtt^^{``on'', ``at'' or ``in''}
makes a token which accepts any of the words ``on", ``at" or ``in" as
prepositions (not translating into objects or numbers). Similarly,
\beginstt
[ Anything w; while (w~=-1) w=NextWordStopped(); return 0; ];
\endtt
accepts the entire rest of the line (ignoring it).
^|NextWordStopped| is a form of |NextWord| which returns $-1$ once the
original word stream has run out.
\bigskip\noindent\cstok{special}\qquad Now a rather obsolete feature, but
not withdrawn just in case it might still be useful. It's generally better
to write a \rstok{\<Routine>} token.
\bigskip
\exercise Write a token to detect ^{low numbers in French}, ``un''
to ``cinq''.^^{French numbers}^^{exercises: low numbers in French}
\answer{^^{low numbers in French}^^{French numbers}
^^{exercises: low numbers in French}
The general parsing routine needed is:
\beginlines
|[ FrenchNumber n;|
| switch(NextWord())|
| { 'un', 'une': n=1;|
| 'deux': n=2;|
| 'trois': n=3;|
| 'quatre': n=4;|
| 'cinq': n=5;|
| default: return -1;|
| }|
| parsed_number = n; return 1;|
|];|
\endlines}
\dangerexercise Write a token to detect ^{floating-point numbers}
like ``$21$'', ``$5.4623$'', ``two point oh eight''
or ``$0.01$'', rounding off to two
^{decimal places}.^^{exercises: floating-point numbers}
\answer{^^{exercises: floating-point numbers}
First we must decide how to store ^{floating-point numbers}
internally: in this case we'll simply store $100x$ to represent
$x$, so that ``$5.46$'' will be parsed as $546$.
\beginlines
|[ DigitNumber n type x;|
| x = NextWordStopped(); if (x==-1) return -1; wn--;|
| if (type==0)|
| { x = WordAddress(wn);|
| if (x->n>='0' && x->n<='9') return (x->n) - '0';|
| return -1;|
| }|
| if (x=='nought' or 'oh') { wn++; return 0; }|
| x = TryNumber(wn++); if (x==-1000 || x>=10) x=-1; return x;|
|];|
|[ FloatingPoint a x b w d1 d2 d3 type;|
| a = TryNumber(wn++);|
| if (a==-1000) return -1;|
| w = NextWordStopped(wn); if (w==-1) return a*100;|
| x = NextWordStopped(wn); if (x==-1) return -1; wn--;|
| if (w=='point') type=1;|
| else|
| { if (WordAddress(wn-1)->0~='.' || WordLength(wn-1)~=1)|
| return -1;|
| }|
| d1 = DigitNumber(0,type);|
| if (d1==-1) return -1;|
| d2 = DigitNumber(1,type); d3 = DigitNumber(2,type);|
| b=d1*10; if (d2>=0) b=b+d2; else d3=0;|
| if (type==1)|
| { x=1; while (DigitNumber(x,type)>=0) x++; wn--;|
| }|
| else wn++;|
| parsed_number = a*100 + b;|
| if (d3>=5) parsed_number++;|
| return 1;|
|];|
\endlines}
\dangerexercise Write a token to match a phone number,
of any length from 1 to 30 digits, possibly broken up
with spaces or hyphens (such as ``01245 666
737'' or ``123-4567'').^^{phone number parsing}
^^{telephone number parsing}^^{exercises: phone numbers}
\answer{^^{exercises: phone numbers}
Again, the first question is how to store the
number dialled: in this case, into a |string| array. The token
is:^^{phone number parsing}^^{telephone number parsing}
\beginlines
|Constant MAX_PHONE_LENGTH 30;|
|Array dialled_number string MAX_PHONE_LENGTH;|
|[ PhoneNumber f a l ch pp i;|
| pp=1; if (NextWordStopped()==-1) return 0;|
| do|
| { a=WordAddress(wn-1); l=WordLength(wn-1);|
| for (i=0:i<l:i++)|
| { ch=a->i;|
| if (ch>='0' && ch<='9')|
| { if (pp<MAX_PHONE_LENGTH) dialled_number->(pp++)=ch-'0';|
| }|
| else|
| { if (ch~='-') f=1; if (i~=0) return -1; }|
| }|
| if (f==1)|
| { if (pp==1) return -1; dialled_number->0 = pp-1; return 0; }|
| } until (NextWordStopped()==-1);|
| if (pp==1) return -1;|
| dialled_number->0 = pp-1;|
| return 0;|
|];|
\endlines
To demonstrate this in use,
\beginstt
[ DialPhoneSub i;
print "You dialled <";
for (i=1:i<=dialled_number->0:i++) print dialled_number->i;
">";
];
Verb "dial" * PhoneNumber -> DialPhone;
\endtt}
\ddangerexercise (Adapted from code in ^{Andrew Clover}'s
^{`timewait.h'} library extension.)
Write a token to match any description of a time of day,
such as ``quarter past five'', ``12:13 pm'', ``14:03'',
``six fifteen'' or ``seven o'clock''.^^{time of day (parsing)}
^^{exercises: parsing times of day}
\answer{^^{time of day (parsing)}
^^{exercises: parsing times of day}
The time of day will
be returned as a number in the usual Inform time format:
as hours times 60 plus minutes (on the 24-hour clock, so
that the `hour' part is between 0 and 23).
\beginlines
|Constant TWELVE_HOURS 720;|
|[ NumericTime hr mn word x;|
| if (hr>=24) return -1;|
| if (mn>=60) return -1;|
| x=hr*60+mn; if (hr>=13) return x;|
| x=x%TWELVE_HOURS; if (word=='pm') x=x+TWELVE_HOURS;|
| if (word~='am' or 'pm' && hr==12) x=x+TWELVE_HOURS;|
| return x;|
|];|
|[ MyTryNumber wordnum i j;|
| i=wn; wn=wordnum; j=NextWordStopped(); wn=i;|
| switch(j)|
| { 'twenty-five': return 25;|
| 'thirty': return 30;|
| default: return TryNumber(wordnum);|
| }|
|];|
|[ TimeOfDay i j k flag loop ch hr mn;|
| i=NextWord();|
| switch(i)|
| { 'midnight': parsed_number=0; return 1;|
| 'midday', 'noon': parsed_number=TWELVE_HOURS; return 1;|
| }|
| ! Next try the format 12:02|
| j=WordAddress(wn-1); k=WordLength(wn-1);|
| flag=0;|
| for (loop=0:loop<k:loop++)|
| { ch=j->loop;|
| if (ch==':' && flag==0 && loop~=0 && loop~=k-1) flag=1;|
| else { if (ch<'0') flag=-1; if (ch>'9') flag=-1; }|
| }|
| if (k<3) flag=0; if (k>5) flag=0;|
| if (flag==1)|
| { for (loop=0:j->loop~=':':loop++, hr=hr*10)|
| hr=hr+j->loop-'0';|
| hr=hr/10;|
| for (loop++:loop<k:loop++, mn=mn*10)|
| mn=mn+j->loop-'0';|
| mn=mn/10;|
| j=NextWordStopped();|
| parsed_number=NumericTime(hr, mn, j);|
| if (parsed_number<0) return -1;|
| if (j~='pm' or 'am') wn--;|
| return 1;|
| }|
| ! Next the format "half past 12"|
| j=-1; if (i=='half') j=30; if (i=='quarter') j=15;|
| if (j<0) j=MyTryNumber(wn-1); if (j<0) return -1;|
| if (j>=60) return -1;|
| k=NextWordStopped();|
| if (k==-1)|
| { hr=j; if (hr>12) return -1; jump TimeFound; }|
| if (k=='o^clock' or 'am' or 'pm')|
| { hr=j; if (hr>12) return -1; jump TimeFound; }|
| if (k=='to' or 'past')|
| { mn=j; hr=MyTryNumber(wn);|
| if (hr<=0)|
| { switch(NextWordStopped())|
| { 'noon', 'midday': hr=12;|
| 'midnight': hr=0;|
| default: return -1;|
| }|
| }|
| if (hr>=13) return -1;|
| if (k=='to') { mn=60-mn; hr=hr-1; if (hr==-1) hr=23; }|
| wn++; k=NextWordStopped();|
| jump TimeFound;|
| }|
| hr=j; mn=MyTryNumber(--wn);|
| if (mn<0) return -1; if (mn>=60) return -1;|
| wn++; k=NextWordStopped();|
| .TimeFound;|
| parsed_number = NumericTime(hr, mn, k);|
| if (parsed_number<0) return -1;|
| if (k~='pm' or 'am' or 'o^clock') wn--;|
| return 1;|
|];|
\endlines}
\dangerexercise Code a spaceship control panel with five
sliding controls, each set to a numerical value, so that
the game looks like:^^{spaceship control panel}
^^{exercises: spaceship control panel}
\beginlines
|>look|
|Machine Room|
|There is a control panel here, with five slides, each of which can be|
|set to a numerical value.|
|>push slide one to 5|
|You set slide one to the value 5.|
|>examine the first slide|
|Slide one currently stands at 5.|
|>set four to six|
|You set slide four to the value 6.|
\endlines
\answer{^^{exercises: spaceship control panel}
Here goes: we could implement the buttons with five
separate objects, essentially duplicates of each other. (And by using a
class definition, this wouldn't look too bad.) But if there were
500 slides this would be less reasonable.^^{spaceship control panel}
\beginlines
|[ ASlide w n;|
| if (location~=Machine_Room) return -1;|
| w=NextWord(); if (w=='slide') w=NextWord();|
| switch(w)|
| { 'first', 'one': n=1;|
| 'second', 'two': n=2;|
| 'third', 'three': n=3;|
| 'fourth', 'four': n=4;|
| 'fifth', 'five': n=5;|
| default: return -1; ! Failure!|
| }|
| w=NextWord(); if (w~='slide') wn--; ! (Leaving word counter at the|
| ! first misunderstood word)|
| parsed_number=n;|
| return 1; ! Success!|
|];|
|Global slide_settings --> 5; ! A five-word array|
|[ SetSlideSub;|
| slide_settings-->(noun-1) = second;|
| print_ret "You set slide ", (number) noun,|
| " to the value ", second, ".";|
|];|
|[ XSlideSub;|
| print_ret "Slide ", (number) noun, " currently stands at ",|
| slide_settings-->(noun-1), ".";|
|];|
|Extend "set" first|
| * ASlide "to" number -> SetSlide;|
|Extend "push" first|
| * ASlide "to" number -> SetSlide;|
|Extend "examine" first|
| * ASlide -> XSlide;|
\endlines}
\ddanger General parsing routines sometimes need to get at the ^{raw
text} originally typed by the player. Usually |WordAddress| and
|WordLength| (see \S 20) are adequate. If not, it's helpful to know
that the parser keeps a |string| array called ^|buffer| holding:
\begindisplay
|buffer->0| $=$ \<maximum number of characters which can fit in buffer>\cr
|buffer->1| $=$ \<the number $n$ of characters typed>\cr
|buffer->2|...|buffer->|$(n+1)$ $=$ \<the text typed>\cr
\enddisplay^^{text buffer (of parser)}
^^{parsing: text buffer holding commands}
and, in parallel with this, another one called ^|parse| holding:
\begindisplay
|parse->0| $=$ \<maximum number of words which can fit in buffer>\cr
|parse->1| $=$ \<the number $m$ of words typed>\cr
|parse->2|... $=$ \<a four-byte block for each word, as follows>\cr
\qquad |block-->0| $=$ \<the dictionary entry if word is known, 0 otherwise>\cr
\qquad |block->2| $=$ \<number of letters in the word>\cr
\qquad |block->3| $=$ \<index to first character in the ^|buffer|>\cr
\enddisplay
(However, for ``Standard'' games the format is slightly different:
in |buffer| the text begins at byte 1, not at byte 2, and its end
is indicated with a zero terminator byte.) Note that the raw text
is reduced to lower case automatically, even if within quotation marks.
Using these buffers directly is perfectly safe but not recommended
unless there's no other way, as it tends to make code rather illegible.
\ddangerexercise Try to implement the parser's routines ^|NextWord|,
^|WordAddress| and ^|WordLength|.^^{exercises: implementing parser primitives}
\answer{^^{exercises: implementing parser primitives}
(See the |Parser| file.) ^|NextWord| roughly returns
|parse-->(w*2-1)| (but it worries a bit about commas and
full stops).
\beginlines
|[ WordAddress w; return buffer + parse->(w*4+1); ];|
|[ WordLength w; return parse->(w*4); ];|
\endlines^^|WordAddress|^^|WordLength|}
\ddangerexercise (Difficult.) Write a general parsing routine accepting
any amount of text (including spaces, full stops and commas)
between double-quotes as a single token.^^{parser: parsing quoted strings}
^^{exercises: parsing any quoted text}
\answer{^^{exercises: parsing any quoted text}
^^{parser: parsing quoted strings}
(Cf. the ^{blackboard} code in ^{`Toyshop'}.)
\beginlines
|Global from_char; Global to_char;|
|[ QuotedText i j f;|
| i = parse->((++wn)*4-3);|
| if (buffer->i=='"')|
| { for (j=i+1:j<=(buffer->1)+1:j++)|
| if (buffer->j=='"') f=j;|
| if (f==0) return -1;|
| from_char = i+1; to_char=f-1;|
| if (from_char>to_char) return -1;|
| while (f> (parse->(wn*4-3))) wn++; wn++;|
| return 0;|
| }|
| return -1;|
|];|
\endlines^^{quoted text}
Note that in the case of success, the word marker |wn| is moved beyond the
last word accepted (since the Z-machine automatically tokenises
a double-quote as a single word). The text is treated as though it
were a preposition, and the positions where the quoted text starts and
finishes in the raw text ^|buffer| are recorded, so that an action routine
can easily extract the text and use it later. (Note that |""| with no
text inside is not matched by this routine but only because the last
|if| statement throws out that one case.)^^{double-quote}^^{tokenising}}
\exercise How would you code a general parsing routine which
never matches anything?^^{token never matching anything}
^^{exercises: tokens which never match}
\answer{^^{token never matching anything}
^^{exercises: tokens which never match}
\beginlines
|[ NeverMatch; return -1; ];|
\endlines}
\ddangerexercise Why would you code a general parsing routine which
never matches anything?
\answer{Perhaps to arrange better error messages when the text
has failed all the `real' grammar lines of a verb (see
^{`Encyclopaedia Frobozzica'} for an example).}
\dangerexercise An apparent restriction of the parser is that it only
allows two parameters (|noun| and |second|). Write a general parsing
routine to accept a |third|. (This final exercise with general parsing
routines is easier than it looks: see the specification of the |NounDomain|
library routine in \S 36.)^^{third parameter for parser}
^^{exercises: third noun for parser}
\answer{^^{third parameter for parser}
^^{exercises: third noun for parser}
(See the ^|NounDomain| specification in \S 36.) This routine passes
on any |REPARSE_CODE|, as it must, but keeps a matched object in
its own |third| variable, returning the `skip this text' code to
the parser. Thus the parser never sees any third parameter.
\beginlines
|Global third;|
|[ ThirdNoun x;|
| x=NounDomain(player,location,0);|
| if (x==REPARSE_CODE) return x; if (x==0) return -1; third = x;|
| return 0;|
|];|
\endlines^^|REPARSE CODE|}
\section{24}{Scope and what you can see}
\quote
He cannot see beyond his own nose. Even the fingers he outstretches
from it to the world are (as I shall suggest) often invisible to him.
\quoteby{^{Max Beerbohm} ({\oldstyle1872}--{\oldstyle1956}), of ^{George Bernard Shaw}}
\poem
Wherefore are these things hid?
\poemby{^{William Shakespeare} ({\oldstyle1564}--{\oldstyle1616})}{Twelfth Night}
\noindent
Time to say what ``in scope" means. This definition is one of the most
important rules of play, because it decides what the player is allowed
to refer to. You can investigate this in practice by compiling any game
with the debugging suite of verbs included and typing ``scope'' in
different places: but here are the rules in full. The following are in
scope:^^{scope}^^{in scope}
\begindisplay
the player's immediate possessions;\cr
the 12 compass directions;\cr
if there is light (see \S 13), the objects in the same room as the player;\cr
if not, any objects in the |thedark| object.\cr
\enddisplay\noindent
In addition, if an object is in scope then its immediate
possessions are in scope, {\bf if} it is ^{`see-through'}, which means that:
\begindisplay
the object has |supporter|, {\bf or}\cr
the object has |transparent|, {\bf or}\cr
the object is an |open| |container|.\cr
\enddisplay\noindent
In addition, if an object is in scope then anything which
it ``adds to scope'' is also in scope.
\medskip
\danger The player's possessions are in scope in a dark room -- so the
player can still turn his lamp on. On the other hand, a player who
puts the lamp on the ground and turns it off then loses the ability to
turn it back on again, because it is out of scope. This can be changed;
see below.^^{darkness: affecting scope}
\danger The compass direction objects make sense as objects. The player can
always type something like ``attack the south wall'' and the |before| rule
for the room could trap the action |Attack s_obj| to make something unusual
happen, if this is desired.
\danger The parser applies scope rules to all ^{actor}s, not just the
player. Thus ``dwarf, drop sword'' will be accepted if the dwarf can
see it, even if the player can't.
\danger The ^|concealed| attribute only hides objects from room
descriptions, and doesn't remove them from scope. If you want things to
be both concealed and unreferrable-to, put them somewhere else! Or
give them an uncooperative |parse_name| routine.^^|parse name|
\ddanger Actually, the above definition is not quite right, because
the compass ^{directions} are not in scope when the player asks for a plural
number of things, like ``take all the knives"; this makes some of the
parser's plural algorithms run faster. Also, for a \cstok{multiexcept}
token, the other object is not in scope; and for a \cstok{multiinside} token,
only objects in the other object are in scope. This makes ``take everything
from the cupboard'' work in the natural way.
\medskip
\noindent
Two library routines are provided to enable you to see what's in
scope and what isn't. The first, |TestScope(obj, actor)|, simply returns
true or false according to whether or not |obj| is in scope. The
second is |LoopOverScope(routine, actor)| and calls the given routine
for each object in scope. In each case the |actor| given is optional;
if it's omitted, scope is worked out for the player as
usual.^^{scope: looping over}^^{scope: testing}
\exercise Implement the debugging suite's ``scope'' verb,
which lists all the objects currently in
scope.^^{``scope'' verb exercise}^^{exercises: ``scope'' verb}
\answer{^^{``scope'' verb exercise}^^{exercises: ``scope'' verb}
\beginlines
|Global scope_count;|
|[ PrintIt obj; print_ret ++scope_count, ": ", (a) obj, " (", obj, ")"; ];|
|[ ScopeSub; LoopOverScope(#r$PrintIt);|
| if (scope_count==0) "Nothing is in scope.";|
|];|
|Verb meta "scope" * -> Scope;|
\endlines}
\exercise Write a ``megalook'' verb, which looks around and
examines everything nearby.^^{``megalook'' verb}^^{exercises: ``megalook'' verb}
\answer{^^{``megalook'' verb}^^{exercises: ``megalook'' verb}
\beginlines
|[ MegaExam obj; print "^", (a) obj, ": "; <Examine obj>; ];|
|[ MegaLookSub; <Look>; LoopOverScope(#r$MegaExam); ];|
|Verb meta "megalook" * -> MegaLook;|
\endlines}
\medskip
\noindent
The rest of this section is about how to change the scope rules. As usual
with Inform, you can change them globally, but it's more efficient and
safer to work locally. To take a typical example: how do we allow the
player to ask questions like the traditional
^{``what is a grue''}^^{grues}^^{parser: parsing the player's questions}
^^{questions, parsing the player's}^^{asking questions}?
The ``grue'' part ought to be parsed as if it were a noun, so that
we could distinguish between, say, a ``garden grue'' and a ``wild grue''.
So it isn't good enough to look only at a single word. Here is one
solution:
\beginlines
|Object questions "qs";|
|[ QuerySub; print_ret (string) noun.description;|
|];|
|[ Topic i;|
| switch(scope_stage)|
| { 1: rfalse;|
| 2: objectloop (i in questions) PlaceInScope(i); rtrue;|
| 3: "At the moment, even the simplest questions confuse you.";|
| }|
|];|
\endlines
where the actual questions at any time are the current children of
the |questions| object, like so:
\beginlines
|Object q1 "long count" questions|
| with name "long" "count",|
| description "The Long Count is the great Mayan cycle of time, \|
| which began in 3114 BC and will finish with the world's end \|
| in 2012 AD.";|
\endlines^^{Long Count}^^|scope stage|
and we also have a grammar line:
\beginlines
|Verb "what"|
| * "is" scope=Topic -> Query|
| * "was" scope=Topic -> Query;|
\endlines
Note that the |questions| and |q1| objects are out of the game for every
other purpose. The name ``qs'' doesn't matter, as it will never appear;
the individual questions are named so that the parser might be able to say
``Which do you mean, the long count or the short count?'' if the player
asked ``what is the count''.
When the parser reaches \cstok{scope=Topic}, it calls
the |Topic| routine with the variable |scope_stage| set to 1. The routine
should return 1 (true) if it is prepared to allow multiple objects to be
accepted here, and 0 (false) otherwise: as we don't want ``what is
everything'' to list all the questions and answers in the game, we return
false.
A little later on in its machinations, the parser again calls |Topic|
with |scope_stage| now set to 2. |Topic| is now obliged to
tell the parser which objects are to be in scope. It can call two
parser routines to do this.
\beginstt
ScopeWithin(object)
\endtt
puts everything inside the object into scope, though not the object itself;
\beginstt
PlaceInScope(object)
\endtt^^|PlaceInScope|
puts just a single object into scope. It is perfectly legal to declare
something in scope that ``would have been in scope anyway": or even something
which is in a different room altogether from the actor concerned, say at the
other end of a telephone line. Our scope routine |Topic| should then return
\smallskip
\item{0} (false) to carry on with the usual scope rules, so that everything
that would usually be in scope still is, or
\item{1} (true) to tell the parser not to put any more objects into scope.
\par\smallskip\noindent
So at |scope_stage| 2 it is quite permissible to do nothing but return false,
whereupon the usual rules apply. |Topic| returns true because it wants
only question topics to be in scope, not question topics together with
the usual miscellany near the player.
This is enough to deal with ``what is the long count''. If on the other
hand the player typed ``what is the lgon cnout'', the error message
which the parser would usually produce (``You can't see any such thing'')
would be unsatisfactory. So if parsing failed at this token, then
|Topic| is called at |scope_stage| 3 to print out a suitable error
message. It must provide one.
\danger Note that |ScopeWithin(object)| extends the scope down through
its possessions according to the usual rules, i.e., depending on their
transparency, whether they're containers and so on. The definition of
|Topic| above shows how to put just the direct possessions into scope.
\exercise Write a token which puts everything in scope, so that you could
have a debugging ^{``purloin'' verb} which could take anything, regardless
of where it was and the rules applying to
it.^^{exercises: putting everything in scope}
\answer{^^{exercises: putting everything in scope}
A slight refinement of such a ^{``purloin'' verb} is already defined
in the library (if the constant |DEBUG| is defined), so there's no need.
But here's how it could be done:
\beginlines
|[ Anything i;|
| if (scope_stage==1) rfalse;|
| if (scope_stage==2)|
| { for (i=1:i<=top_object:i++) PlaceInScope(i); rtrue; }|
| "No such in game.";|
|];|
\endlines^^{token for `any object'}
(This disallows multiple matches for efficiency reasons -- the parser has
enough work to do with such a huge scope definition as it is.) Now
the token |scope=Anything| will match anything at all, even things like
the abstract concept of `east'.}
\bigskip\noindent
Changing the global definition of scope should be done cautiously
(there may be unanticipated side effects); bear in mind that scope decisions
need to be taken often -- every time an object token is parsed, so perhaps
five to ten times in every game turn -- and hence moderately
quickly.^^{changing scope}\
The global definition can be tampered with by providing the entry point
\beginstt
InScope(actor)
\endtt
where the ^|actor| is usually the player, but not always. If the routine
decides that a particular object should be in scope for the actor,
it should execute |InScope| and |ScopeWithin| just as above, and return
true or false, as if it were at |scope_stage| 2. Thus, it is vital to
return false in circumstances when you don't want to intervene.
\danger The token \rstok{|scope=|\<Routine>} takes precedence over
|InScope|, which will only be reached if the routine returns
false to signify `carry on'.
\ddanger There are seven reasons why |InScope| might be being
called; the |scope_reason| variable is set to the current
one:^^|scope reason|^^{reasons for scope searching}
\smallskip\ninepoint
\stepin=150pt
\block{PARSING\_REASON}^^|PARSING REASON|
The usual one. Note that |action_to_be| holds
|NULL| in the early stages (before the verb has been decided)
and later on the action which would result from a successful match.
\block{TALKING\_REASON}^^|TALKING REASON|
Working out which objects are in scope for being spoken to (see
the end of \S 12 for exercises using this).
\block{EACHTURN\_REASON}^^|EACHTURN REASON|
When running |each_turn| routines for anything nearby, at the end of
each turn.
\block{REACT\_BEFORE\_REASON}^^|REACT BEFORE REASON|
When running |react_before|.
\block{REACT\_AFTER\_REASON}^^|REACT AFTER REASON|
When running |react_after|.
\block{TESTSCOPE\_REASON}^^|TESTSCOPE REASON|
When performing a |TestScope|.
\block{LOOPOVERSCOPE\_REASON}^^|LOOPOVERSCOPE REASON|
When performing a |LoopOverScope|.
\stepin=60pt
\medskip\noindent
Here are some examples. Firstly, as promised, how to change the
rule that ``things you've just dropped disappear in the dark":
\beginlines
|[ InScope person i;|
| if (person==player && location==thedark)|
| objectloop (i near player)|
| if (i has moved)|
| PlaceInScope(i);|
| rfalse;|
|];|
\endlines
With this routine added, the objects in the dark room the player
is in are in scope only if they have ^|moved| (that is, have been held by
the player in the past); and even then, are in scope only to the player.
\ddangerexercise Construct a long room divided by a ^{glass window}.
Room descriptions on either side should describe what's in view on
the other; the window should be lookable-through; objects on the far
side should be in scope, but not manipulable; and everything should
cope well if one side is in
darkness.^^{divided room}^^{room divided in half}
^^{exercises: room divided by glass window}
\answer{^^{divided room}^^{room divided in half}^^{glass window}
^^{exercises: room divided by glass window}
Note the sneaky way looking through the window is implemented, and that
the `on the other side' part of the room description isn't printed
in that case.
\beginlines
|Property far_side;|
|Class window_room|
| with description|
| "This is one end of a long east/west room.",|
| before|
| [; Examine, Search: ;|
| default:|
| if (inp1~=1 && noun~=0 && noun in self.far_side)|
| print_ret (The) noun, " is on the far side of \|
| the glass.";|
| if (inp2~=1 && second~=0 && second in self.far_side)|
| print_ret (The) second, " is on the far side of \|
| the glass.";|
| ],|
| after|
| [; Look:|
| if (ggw has general) rfalse;|
| print "^The room is divided by a great glass window";|
| if (location.far_side hasnt light) " onto darkness.";|
| print ", stretching from floor to ceiling.^";|
| if (Locale(location.far_side,|
| "Beyond the glass you can see",|
| "Beyond the glass you can also see")~=0) ".";|
| ],|
| has light;|
|Object window_w "West of Window" class window_room|
| with far_side window_e;|
|Object window_e "East of Window" class window_room|
| with far_side window_w;|
|Object ggw "great glass window"|
| with name "great" "glass" "window",|
| before|
| [ place; Examine, Search: place=location;|
| if (place.far_side hasnt light)|
| "The other side is dark.";|
| give self general;|
| PlayerTo(place.far_side,1); <Look>; PlayerTo(place,1);|
| give self ~general;|
| give place.far_side ~visited; rtrue;|
| ],|
| found_in window_w window_e,|
| has scenery;|
\endlines
A few words about ^|inp1| and ^|inp2| are in order. |noun| and
|second| can hold either objects or numbers, and it's sometimes useful
to know which. |inp1| is equal to |noun| if that's an object,
or 1 if that's a number; likewise for |inp2| and |second|. (In this
case we're just being careful that the action |SetTo eggtimer 35|
wouldn't be stopped if object 35 happened to be on the other side of
the glass.) We also need:
\beginlines
|[ InScope actor;|
| if (actor in window_w && window_e has light) ScopeWithin(window_e);|
| if (actor in window_e && window_w has light) ScopeWithin(window_w);|
| rfalse;|
|];|
\endlines}
\ddangerexercise Code the following puzzle.
In an initially dark room there is a ^{light switch}.
Provided you've seen the switch at some time in the past, you can turn
it on and off -- but before you've ever seen it, you can't. Inside the
room is nothing you can see, but you can hear a dwarf breathing. If you
tell the dwarf to turn the light on, he
will.^^{darkness: changing scope within}
^^{exercises: dwarf breathing in dark}
\answer{^^{exercises: dwarf breathing in dark}
For good measure, we'll combine this with the previous rule
about |moved| objects being in scope in the dark. The following
can be inserted into the `Shell' game:^^{light switch}
^^{darkness: changing scope within}
\beginlines
|Object coal "dull coal" Blank_Room|
| with name "dull" "coal";|
||
|Object Dark_Room "Dark Room"|
| with description "An empty room with a west exit.",|
| each_turn|
| [; if (self has general) self.each_turn=0;|
| else "^You hear the breathing of a dwarf.";|
| ],|
| w_to Blank_Room;|
||
|Nearby light_switch "light switch"|
| with name "light" "switch",|
| initial "On one wall is the light switch.",|
| after|
| [; SwitchOn: give Dark_Room light;|
| SwitchOff: give Dark_Room ~light;|
| ],|
| has switchable static;|
||
|Nearby diamond "shiny diamond"|
| with name "shiny" "diamond"|
| has scored;|
||
|Nearby dwarf "dwarf"|
| with name "voice" "dwarf",|
| life|
| [; Order: if (action==##SwitchOn && noun==light_switch)|
| { give Dark_Room light general;|
| give light_switch on; "~Right you are, squire.~";|
| }|
| ],|
| has animate; |
||
|[ InScope person i;|
| if (parent(person)==Dark_Room)|
| { if (person==dwarf || Dark_Room has general)|
| PlaceInScope(light_switch);|
| }|
| if (person==player && location==thedark)|
| objectloop (i near player)|
| if (i has moved || i==dwarf)|
| PlaceInScope(i);|
| rfalse;|
|];|
\endlines
Note that the routine puts the light switch in scope for the dwarf --
if it didn't, the dwarf would not be able to understand
``dwarf, turn light on", and that was the whole point.}
\noindent
As mentioned in the definition above, each object has the ability
to drag other objects into scope whenever it is in scope. This is
especially useful for giving objects component parts: e.g., giving a
^{washing-machine} a ^{temperature dial}. (The dial can't be a child
object because that would throw it in with the clothes: and it ought to be
attached to the machine in case the machine is moved from place to place.)
For this purpose, the property |add_to_scope| may contain a list of
objects to add.
^^|add to scope|^^{scope: addition to}^^{component parts of objects}^^{sub-objects}
\danger Alternatively, it may contain a routine. This routine can then
call |AddToScope(x)| to put any object |x| into scope. It may not,
however, call |ScopeWithin| or any other scoping routines.
\ddanger Scope addition does {\it not} occur for an object moved
into scope by an explicit call to |PlaceInScope|, since this must allow
complete freedom in scope selections. But it does happen when objects
are moved in scope by calls to |ScopeWithin(domain)|.
\exercise (From the tiny example game ^{`A Nasal Twinge'}.) Give the
player a ^{nose}, which is always in scope and can be held, reducing
the player's carrying capacity.^^{exercises: nose attached to player}
\answer{^^{exercises: nose attached to player}
In the |Initialise| routine, move |newplay| somewhere and
|ChangePlayer| to it, where:
\beginlines
|Object newplay "yourself"|
| with description "As good-looking as ever.", number 0,|
| add_to_scope nose,|
| capacity 5,|
| before|
| [; Inv: if (nose has general) print "You're holding your nose. ";|
| Smell: if (nose has general)|
| "You can't smell a thing with your nose held.";|
| ],|
| has concealed animate proper transparent;|
||
|Object nose "nose"|
| with name "nose", article "your",|
| before|
| [; Take: if (self has general)|
| "You're already holding your nose.";|
| if (children(player) > 1) "You haven't a free hand.";|
| give self general; player.capacity=1;|
| "You hold your nose with your spare hand.";|
| Drop: if (self hasnt general) "But you weren't holding it!";|
| give self ~general; player.capacity=5;|
| print "You release your nose and inhale again. ";|
| <<Smell>>;|
| ],|
| has scenery;|
\endlines^^{`A Nasal Twinge'}^^{nose}}
\exercise (Likewise.) Create a portable ^{sterilising machine}, with a
``go'' button, a top which things can be put on and an inside to hold
objects for sterilisation. (Thus it is a container, a supporter
and a possessor of sub-objects all at
once.)^^{exercises: sterilising machine}
\answer{^^{exercises: sterilising machine}
\beginlines
|Object steriliser "sterilising machine"|
| with name "washing" "sterilising" "machine",|
| add_to_scope top_of_wm go_button,|
| before|
| [; PushDir: AllowPushDir(); rtrue;|
| Receive:|
| if (receive_action==##PutOn)|
| <<PutOn noun top_of_wm>>;|
| SwitchOn: <<Push go_button>>;|
| ],|
| after|
| [; PushDir: "It's hard work, but the steriliser does roll.";|
| ],|
| initial|
| [; print "There is a sterilising machine on casters here (a kind of \|
| chemist's washing machine) with a ~go~ button. ";|
| if (children(top_of_wm)~=0)|
| { print "On top";|
| WriteListFrom(child(top_of_wm), ISARE_BIT + ENGLISH_BIT);|
| print ". ";|
| }|
| if (children(self)~=0)|
| { print "Inside";|
| WriteListFrom(child(self), ISARE_BIT + ENGLISH_BIT);|
| print ". ";|
| }|
| ],|
| has static container open openable;|
|Object top_of_wm "top of the sterilising machine",|
| with article "the",|
| has static supporter;|
|Object go_button "~go~ button"|
| with name "go" "button",|
| before [; Push, SwitchOn: "The power is off."; ],|
| has static;|
\endlines^^{`A Nasal Twinge'}^^{sterilising machine}}
\ddangerexercise Create a ^{red sticky label} which the player can affix
to any object in the game. (Hint: use |InScope|, not
|add_to_scope|.)^^{label, red sticky}^^{exercises: red sticky label}
\answer{^^{red sticky label}^^{label, red sticky}
^^{exercises: red sticky label}
The label object itself is not too bad:
\beginlines
|Nearby label "red sticky label"|
| with name "red" "sticky" "label",|
| number 0,|
| before|
| [; PutOn, Insert:|
| if (self.number~=0)|
| { print "(first removing the label from ",|
| (the) self.number, ")^"; self.number=0; move self to player;|
| }|
| if (second==self) "That would only make a red mess.";|
| self.number=second; remove self;|
| print_ret "You affix the label to ", (the) second, ".";|
| ],|
| react_after|
| [ x; x=self.number; if (x==0) rfalse;|
| Look: if (x in location)|
| print "^The red sticky label is stuck to ", (the) x, ".^";|
| Inv: if (x in player) |
| print "^The red sticky label is stuck to ", (the) x, ".^";|
| ],|
| each_turn|
| [; if (parent(self)~=0) self.number=0; ];|
\endlines
Note that |label.number| holds the object the label is stuck to, or
0 if it's unstuck: and that when it is stuck, it is removed from the
object tree. It therefore has to be moved into scope, so we need the
rule: if the labelled object is in scope, then so is the label.
\beginlines
|Global disable_self;|
|[ InScope actor i1 i2;|
| if (label.number==0) rfalse; if (disable_self==1) rfalse;|
| disable_self=1;|
| i1 = TestScope(label, actor);|
| i2 = TestScope(label.number, actor);|
| disable_self=0;|
| if (i1~=0) rfalse;|
| if (i2~=0) PlaceInScope(label);|
| rfalse;|
|];|
\endlines
This routine has two interesting points: firstly, it disables itself
while testing scope (since otherwise the game would go into an endless
recursion), and secondly it only puts the label in scope if it isn't
already there. This is just a safety precaution to prevent the label
reacting twice to actions (and isn't really necessary since the label
can't already be in scope, but is included for the sake of example).}
\refs ^{`Balances'} uses \rstok{|scope = |\<routine>} tokens
for legible spells and memorised spells.
\nextref See also the exercises at the end of \S 12 for further
scope trickery.
\newpage
\section{25}{Helping the parser out of trouble}
\danger
Once you begin programming the parser on a large scale, you soon
reach the point where the parser's ordinary error messages no longer appear
sensible. The ^|ParserError| entry point can change the rules even
at this last hurdle: it takes one argument, the error type, and should
return true to tell the parser to shut up, because a better error
message has already been printed, or false, to tell the parser to
print its usual message. The error types are all defined as
constants:
{\ninepoint\medskip
\settabs 8\columns
\+& |STUCK_PE| && I didn't understand that sentence.\cr
\+& |UPTO_PE | && I only understood you as far as$\ldots$\cr
\+& |NUMBER_PE| && I didn't understand that number.\cr
\+& |CANTSEE_PE| && You can't see any such thing.\cr
\+& |TOOLIT_PE| && You seem to have said too little!\cr
\+& |NOTHELD_PE| && You aren't holding that!\cr
\+& |MULTI_PE| && You can't use multiple objects with that verb.\cr
\+& |MMULTI_PE| && You can only use multiple objects once on a line.\cr
\+& |VAGUE_PE| && I'm not sure what `it' refers to.\cr
\+& |EXCEPT_PE| && You excepted something not included anyway!\cr
\+& |ANIMA_PE| && You can only do that to something animate.\cr
\+& |VERB_PE| && That's not a verb I recognise.\cr
\+& |SCENERY_PE| && That's not something you need to refer to$\ldots$\cr
\+& |ITGONE_PE| && You can't see `it' (the {\it whatever}) at the moment.\cr
\+& |JUNKAFTER_PE| && I didn't understand the way that finished.\cr
\+& |TOOFEW_PE| && Only five of those are available.\cr
\+& |NOTHING_PE| && Nothing to do!\cr
\+& |ASKSCOPE_PE| && {\it whatever the scope routine prints}\cr
\medskip\par\noindent\tenpoint}^^{error numbers used by parser}
^^{parser: error numbers}
Each unsuccessful grammar line ends in one of these conditions.
A verb may have many lines of grammar; so by the time the parser wants
to print an error, all of them must have failed. The error message
it prints is the most `interesting' one: meaning, lowest down this list.
\danger The |VAGUE_PE| and |ITGONE_PE| apply to all three ^{pronouns}
(^{``it''}, ^{``him''} and ^{``her''}). The variable |vague_word| contains
the dictionary address of which is involved (|'it'|, |'him'| or
|'her'|). Note that the variables ^|itobj|, ^|himobj| and ^|herobj|
hold the current settings of the pronouns.^^|vague word|^^|vague obj|
\danger The Inform parser resolves ^{ambiguous inputs} with a
complicated algorithm based on practical experience. However,
it can't have any expertise with newly-created verbs: here is
how to provide it. If you define a routine
\beginstt
ChooseObjects(object, code)
\endtt^^|ChooseObjects|^^{ambiguity}^^{``all''}^^{resolving ambiguity}
then it's called in two circumstances. If |code| is 0 or 1,
the parser is considering including the given object in an ``all'':
0 means the parser is intending not to include it, 1 means it
intends not to. The routine should reply
\begindisplay
0\qquad (or false) to say ``carry on'';\cr
1\qquad to force it to be included; or\cr
2\qquad to force it to be excluded.\cr
\enddisplay^^|verb word|^^|action to be|
It may want to decide using |verb_word| (the variable storing
the current verb word, e.g., |'take'|) and |action_to_be|, which
is the action which would happen if the current line of
grammar were successfully matched.
\ninepoint
The other circumstance is when |code| is 2. This means the parser
is sorting through a list of items (those in scope which best matched
the input), trying to decide which single
one is most likely to have been intended. If it can't choose a best
one, it will give up and ask the player. |ChooseObjects| should
then return a number from 0 to 9 (0 being the default) to give the
object a score for how appropriate it is.
For instance, some designers would prefer ^{``take all''} not to attempt
to take |scenery| objects (which Inform, and the original Infocom
parser, will do). Let us code this, and also teach the parser that
edible things are more likely to be eaten than inedible ones:
\beginstt
[ ChooseObjects obj code;
if (code<2) { if (obj has scenery) return 2; rfalse; }
if (action_to_be==##Eat && obj has edible) return 3;
if (obj hasnt scenery) return 2;
return 1;
];
\endtt^^{scenery penalised}^^{eating edible things for preference}
Scenery is now excluded from ``all'' lists; and is further
penalised in that non-scenery objects are always preferred over
scenery, all else being equal. Most objects score 2 but
edible things in the context of eating score 3, so ``eat black''
will now always choose a ^{Black Forest gateau} in preference to
a black rod with a rusty iron star on the end.
\dangerexercise Allow ``lock'' and ``unlock'' to infer their second
objects without being told, if there's an obvious choice (because
the player's only carrying one key), but to issue a disambiguation
question otherwise. (Use |Extend|, not
|ChooseObjects|.)^^{``lock'' and ``unlock'' disambiguation}
^^{disambiguation}^^{exercises: ``lock'' and ``unlock'' inferring keys}
\answer{^^{``lock'' and ``unlock'' disambiguation}^^{disambiguation}
^^{exercises: ``lock'' and ``unlock'' inferring keys}
Firstly, create an attribute |is_key| and give it to all the keys in
the game. Then:
\beginlines
|Global assumed_key;|
|[ DefaultLockSub;|
| print "(with ", (the) assumed_key, ")^"; <<Lock noun assumed_key>>;|
|];|
|[ DefaultLockTest i count;|
| if (noun hasnt lockable) rfalse;|
| objectloop (i in player)|
| if (i has is_key) { count++; assumed_key = i; }|
| if (count==1) rtrue; rfalse;|
|];|
|Extend "lock" first * noun = DefaultLockTest -> DefaultLock;|
\endlines
(and similar code for ``unlock''). Note that ``lock strongbox''
is matched by this new grammar line only if the player only has one
key: the |DefaultLock strongbox| action is generated: which is
converted to, say, |Lock strongbox brass_key|.}
\tenpoint
\refs See ^{`Balances'} for a usage of |ParserError|.
\chapter{Chapter IV: Testing and Hacking}
\section{26}{Debugging verbs and tracing}
\quote
If builders built buildings the way programmers write programs,
the first ^{woodpecker} that came along would destroy civilisation.
\quoteby{old computing adage}
\noindent^^{debugging}
Infocom claimed to have fixed nearly 2000 bugs in the course of writing
^{`Sorceror'}, which is a relatively simply game today. Adventure games are
exhausting programs to test and debug because of the huge number of states
they can get into, many of which did not occur to the author. (For
instance, if the player solves the ``last'' puzzle first, do the other
puzzles still work properly? Are they still fair?) The main source of
error is simply the designer not noticing that some states are possible. The
Inform library can't help with this, but it does contain features to help
the tester to quickly reproduce states (by moving objects around freely, for
instance) and to see what the current state actually is (by displaying the
tree of objects, for instance).
Inform provides a small suite of debugging verbs to this end, but
only if the game contains the line
\beginstt
Constant DEBUG;
\endtt
to define the constant ^|DEBUG|, before including the library
files. (Just in case you forget having done this, the letter |D|
appears in the game banner to stop you releasing such a version
by accident.)
You then get the following verbs, which can be used at any time in play:
\beginstt
purloin <anything>
abstract <anything> to <anything>
tree tree <anything>
scope scope <anything>
goto <number> gonear <anything>
actions actions on actions off
routines routines on routines off
timers timers on timers off
trace trace on trace off trace <1 to 5>
recording recording on recording off
replay
random
\endtt^^{debugging: suite of verbs}
You can ``purloin" any item or items in your game at any time, wherever
you are. This clears |concealed| for anything it takes, if necessary.
You can likewise ``abstract" any item to any other item (meaning:
move it to the other item). To get a listing of the objects in the game
and how they contain each other, use ``tree", and to see the possessions of
one of them alone, use ``tree \<that>". The command ``scope'' prints a
list of all the objects currently in scope, and can optionally be given
the name of someone else you want a list of the scope for (e.g., ``scope
pirate''). Finally, you can go anywhere, but since rooms don't have names
understood by the parser, you have to give either the object number, which
you can find out from the ``tree'' listing, or the name of some object in
the room you want to go to (this is what ``gonear'' does).
^^{``actions'' verb}^^{``tree'' verb}^^{``purloin'' verb}^^{``routines'' verb}
^^{``trace'' verb}^^{``abstract'' verb}^^{``goto'' verb}^^{``gonear'' verb}
^^{``scope'' verb}
Turning on ``actions" gives a trace of all the actions which take place in
the game (the parser's, the library's or yours); turning on ``routines"
traces every object routine (such as |before| or |life|) that is ever
called, except for |short_name| (as this would look chaotic, especially on
the status line). Turning on ``timers'' shows the state of all active timers
and daemons each turn.^^{``timers'' verb}
^^{tracing routines, actions, daemons and timers}\
The commands you type can be transcribed to a file with the
^{``recording'' verb}, and run back through with the ^{``replay'' verb}.
(This may not work under some implementations of the ITF interpreter.)
If you're going to use such recordings, you will need to fix the random
number generator, and the ^{``random'' verb} should render this
deterministic: i.e., after any two uses of ``random'', the same stream
of random numbers results. Random number generation is poor on some
machines: you may want to |Replace| the random-number generator in
software instead.
\medskip\noindent
A test version of ^{Infix}, a ^{source-level debugger} for Inform, is now
available from its author, Dilip Sequeira: it is an enhanced form of Mark Howell's
^{Zip} interpreter providing for breakpoints, tracing and so forth. It
should ultimately be publically archived with the rest of the Inform project.
\danger For Infix's benefit, Inform (if compiling with the option set) produces
a file of ``debugging information'' (cross-references of the game file with
the source code), and anyone interested in writing an Inform utility program
may want to know the format of this file: see the short C program ^{Infact}
which prints out the debugging information file in
English.^^{debugging: information file}^^{debugging: using Infix}
\noindent
On most interpreters, though, ^{run-time crashes} can be mysterious, since
the interpreters were written on the assumption that they would only ever
play Infocom game files (which are largely error-free). ^{Zip} is better
here and will usually tell you why and where the problem is; given a game
file address you can work back to the problem point in the source either
with Mark Howell's ^{txd (disassembler)} or by running Inform with the
assembler trace option on.
Here are all the ways I know to crash an interpreter at run-time (with
high-level Inform code, that is; if you insist on using
assembly language or the ^|indirect| function you're raising the stakes),
arranged in decreasing order of likelihood:
^^{crashing the interpreter}
\smallskip
\item{$\bullet$} Writing to a property which an object hasn't got;
\item{$\bullet$} Dividing by zero, possibly by calling |random(0)|;^^|random|
\item{$\bullet$} Giving a string or numerical value for a property which can
only legally hold a routine, such as |before|, |after| or |life|;
\item{$\bullet$} Applying ^|parent|, ^|child| or ^|children| to the ^|nothing|
object;
\item{$\bullet$} Using ^|print object| on the |nothing| object, or for some
object which doesn't exist (use |print (name)|, |print (the)| etc., instead
as these are safeguarded);
\item{$\bullet$} Using |print (string)| or |print (address)| to
print from an address outside the memory map of the game file, or an address
at which no string is present (this will result in random text appearing,
possibly including unprintable characters, which might crash the
terminal);^^|print (string)|^^|print (address)|
\item{$\bullet$} Running out of stack space in a recursive loop.
\smallskip
\danger^^{parser: tracing and levels}
There are times when it's hard to work out what the parser is up to and why
(actually, most times are like this). The parser is written in levels, the
lower levels of which are murky indeed. Most of the interesting things
happen in the middle levels, and these are the ones for which tracing is
available. The levels which can be traced are:
\smallskip\ninepoint
\settabs 8\columns
\+& Level 1 && Grammar lines\cr
\+& Level 2 && Individual tokens\cr
\+& Level 3 && Object list parsing\cr
\+& Level 4 && Resolving ambiguities and making choices of object(s)\cr
\+& Level 5 && Comparing text against an individual object\cr
\smallskip\noindent
``trace" or ``trace on" give only level 1 tracing. Be warned: ``trace five"
can produce reams of text when you try anything at all complicated: but you
do sometimes want to see it, to get a list of exactly everything that is in
scope and when. There are two levels lower than that but they're too busy
doing dull spade-work to waste time on looking at |parser_trace|. There's
also a level 0, but it consists mostly of making arrangements for level 1,
and isn't very interesting.^^{tracing the parser}\tenpoint
\ddanger
Finally, though this is a drastic measure, you can always compile your game
|-g| (^{`debugging code'}) which gives a listing of every routine ever
called and their parameters. This produces an enormous mel\'ee of output.
More usefully you can declare a routine with an asterisk ^|*| as its first
local variable, which produces such tracing only for that one routine.
For example,
\beginstt
[ ParseNoun * obj n m;
\endtt
results in the game printing out lines like
\beginstt
[ParseName, obj=26, n=0, m=0]
\endtt
every time the routine is called.^^{tracing a routine}^^{routines: tracing calls to}
\refs A simple debugging verb called ``xdeterm'' is defined in the
|DEBUG| version of ^{`Advent'}, to make the game deterministic (i.e.,
not dependant on what the random number generator produces).
\nextref
See ^{David Wagner}'s library extension ^{``showobj.h''} for a
debugging verb which prints out an object's current state (its property
values and attributes) in a neat Inform format. (This is unfortunately
slightly too long to include in the standard library.)
\newpage
\section{27}{Limitations on the run-time format}
\poem
How wide the limits stand
Between a splendid and an happy land.
\poemby{^{Oliver Goldsmith} ({\oldstyle1728}--{\oldstyle1774})}{The Deserted Village}
^^{limitations}\noindent
The Infocom ^{run-time format} is well-designed, and has three major
advantages: it is compact, widely portable and can be quickly executed.
Nevertheless, like any rigidly defined format it imposes limitations.
These are not by any means pressing. Inform itself has a flexible enough
memory-management system not to impose artificial limits on numbers of
objects and the like.
The format comes in several versions, of which the default is now Advanced
(or version 5). Standard, version 3, games can still be compiled on
request but the V3 format imposes genuine restrictions. Two new formats
have recently been created for very large games: version 7 and version 8.
Inform compiles these, but a small enhancement of the ``Zip" interpreter
is required to run them. (See the latest edition of the {\sl Specification of
the Z-Machine} for details.) This modification will hopefully become
standard but in the mean time, very large games can simply be distributed
with a suitably modified
interpreter.^^{Advanced games}^^{Standard games}^^{Versions 7 and 8}
\medskip
\noindent
{\it Memory.}\quad This is the only serious restriction. The maximum size
of a game (in K) is given by:
$$ \matrix{ {\bf V3} & {\rm V}4 & {\bf V5} & {\rm V}6 & {\rm V}7 & {\bf V8}\cr
128 & 256 & 256 & 576 & 320 & 512\cr} $$
Because games are encoded in a very compressed form, and because the
centralised library of Inform is efficient in terms of not duplicating code,
even 128K allows for a game at least half as large again as a typical
old-style Infocom game. The default format (V5) will hold a game as large
and complex as the final edition of `Curses', substantially bigger than any
Infocom game, with room to spare. V6, the late Infocom graphical format,
should be avoided for text games, as it is much more difficult to
interpret. The V8 format allows quite gargantuan games (one could implement,
say, a merging of the `Zork' and `Enchanter' trilogies in it) and is
recommended as the standard size for games too big to fit in V5. V7, which
is implemented in a slightly different way, is provided as an alternative
and may be easier to get working on old interpreters other than
Zip.^^{memory: maximum size of game}^^{versions of the Z-machine}
\medskip
\noindent
{\it Grammar.}\quad The number of verbs is limited only by memory.
Each can have up to 20 grammar lines (one can recompile Inform with
|MAX_LINES_PER_VERB| defined to a higher setting to increase this)
and a line contains at most 6 tokens. (Using general parsing routines
will prevent either restriction from biting.)^^{grammar: limits on}
\medskip
\noindent
{\it Vocabulary.}\quad There is no theoretical limit. Typical games have
vocabularies of between 1000 and 2000 words, but doubling that would
pose no problem.^^{vocabulary size (limit)}^^{dictionary: maximum size of}
\medskip
\noindent
{\it Dictionary resolution.}\quad Dictionary words are truncated to their
first 9 letters (except that non-alphabetic characters, such as hyphens,
count as 2 ``letters'' for this purpose). They must begin with an
alphabetic character and upper and lower case letters are considered equal.
(In V3, the truncation is to 6
letters.)^^{dictionary: resolution and case sensitivity}
^^{case sensitivity of dictionary}^^{resolution}
\medskip
\noindent
{\it Attributes, properties, names.}\quad 48 attributes and 63 properties
are available, and each property can hold 64 bytes of data. Hence, for
example, an object can have up to 32 names. These restrictions are harmless
in practice: except in V3, where the numbers in question are 32, 31, 8
and 4, which begins to bite.^^{attributes: maximum number of}
^^{properties: maximum number of}
^^{names per object (limit)}
^^{objects: maximum number of names for}
\medskip
\noindent
{\it Special effects.}\quad V3 games cannot have special effects such
as bold face and underlining. (See the next two sections.)
\medskip
\noindent
{\it Objects.}\quad Limited only by memory: except in V3, where the limit
is 255.^^{objects: maximum number of}
\medskip
\noindent
{\it Memory management.}\quad The Z-machine does not allow dynamic allocation
or freeing of memory: one must statically define an array to a suitable maximum
size and live within it. Likewise, objects cannot dynamically be created or
destroyed (though this is easily imitated). These restrictions greatly
increase the portability of the format, and the designer's confidence that
the game's behaviour is genuinely independent of the machine it's running on:
memory allocation at run-time is a fraught process
on many machines.^^{dynamic memory allocation}
^^{objects: creation and destruction at run time}
^^{memory: dynamic allocation}
\medskip
\noindent
{\it Global variables.}\quad There can only be 240 of these, and the Inform
compiler uses 5 as scratch space, while the library uses slightly over 100;
but since a typical game uses only a dozen of its own, code being almost
always object-oriented, the restriction is never felt. An
unlimited number of |Array| statements is permitted and array entries do
not, of course, count towards the 240.^^{global variables: maximum number of}
\medskip
\noindent
{\it ``Undo''.}\quad No ^{``undo'' verb} is available in V3.
\medskip
\noindent
{\it Function calls.}\quad A function can be called with at most 7
arguments. (Or, in V3, at most 3.)^^{function arguments: maximum number of}
\medskip
\noindent
{\it Recursion and stack usage.}\quad The limit on this is rather
technical (see the {\sl Specification of the Z-Machine}). Roughly speaking,
recursion is permitted to a depth of 90 routines in almost all circumstances
(and often much deeper). Direct usage of the stack via assembly language
must be modest.^^{recursion (limit)}^^{stack usage (limit)}
^^{routines: maximum depth of recursion}
\bigskip
\danger If memory does become short, there is a standard mechanism for
saving about 8-10\% of the memory. Inform does not usually trouble to,
since there's very seldom the need, and it makes the compiler run about 10\%
slower. What you need to do is define ^{abbreviations} and then run the
compiler in its ``economy'' mode (using the switch |-e|). For instance, the
directive
\beginstt
Abbreviate " the ";
\endtt
(placed before any text appears) will cause the string `` the '' to be
internally stored as a single `letter', saving memory every time it occurs
(about 2500 times in `Curses', for instance). You can have up to 64
abbreviations. A good list of abbreviations can be found in the
{\sl Technical Manual}: basically, avoid proper nouns and instead pick on short
combinations of a space and common two- or three-letter blocks. You can
even get Inform to work out by itself what a good stock of abbreviations
would be: but be warned, this makes the compiler run about 29000\% slower.
\newpage
\section{28}{Boxes, menus and drawings}
\quote
Yes, all right, I won't do the menu$\ldots$ I don't think you realise
how long it takes to do the menu, but no, it doesn't matter, I'll
hang the picture now. If the menus are late for lunch it doesn't
matter, the guests can all come and look at the picture till they
are ready, right?
\poemby{^{John Cleese} and ^{Connie Booth}}{^{Fawlty Towers}}
\warning The special effects in this section do not work on
^{Standard games} (though an approximation to menus is produced).
\bigskip\noindent
One harmless effect, though not very special, is to ask the player
a yes/no question. To do this, print up the question and then
call the library routine ^|YesOrNo|, which returns true/false
accordingly.^^{questions, asking yes or no}\
The ^{status line} is perhaps the most distinctive feature of Infocom games in
play. This is the (usually highlighted) bar across the top of the screen.
Usually, the game automatically prints the current game location, and either
the time or the score and number of turns taken. It has the score/turns
format unless the directive
\begintt
Statusline time;
\endtt
has been written in the program, in which case the game's 24-hour clock is
displayed.
\danger If you want to change this, just |Replace| the parser's
private ^|DrawStatusLine| routine. This requires a little assembly
language: see the next section for numerous examples.
\noindent
About ^{character graphic} ^{drawings}: on some machines, text will by default
be displayed in a ^{proportional font} (i.e., one in which the width of a letter
depends on what it is, so that for example an `i' will be narrower than an
`m'). If you want to display a diagram made up of letters, such as a map,
the spacing may then be wrong. The statement |font off| ensures that any
fancy font is switched off and that a fixed-pitch one is being used: after
this, |font on| restores the usual state.^^|font|^^{fixed-pitch font}
\warning Don't turn the |font| on and off in the middle of a line; this
doesn't look right on some machines.
\danger When trying to produce a character-graphics drawing, you sometimes
want to produce the |\| character, one of the four ``^{escape characters}''
which can't normally be included in text. A double |@| sign followed by
a number includes the character with that ASCII code; thus:
\begindisplay
|@@64| produces the literal character |@|\cr
|@@92| produces |\|\qquad |@@94| produces |^|
\qquad |@@126| produces |~|\cr
\enddisplay^^|@@|^^{at character}^^{literal characters}
^^{backslash character}^^|@|
\ddanger Some interpreters are capable of much better character graphics
(those equipped to run the Infocom game ^{`Beyond Zork'}, for instance).
There is a way to find out if this feature is provided and to make
use of it: see the {\sl Specification of the Z-Machine}.
\ddanger A single |@| sign is also an escape character. It must be
followed by a 2-digit decimal number between 0 and 31 (for instance,
|@05|). What this prints is the $n$-th `variable string'. This feature
is not as useful as it looks, since the only legal values for such
a variable string are strings declared in advance by a |LowString|
directive. The |String| statement then sets the $n$-th variable
string. For details and an example, see the answer to the east-west
reversal exercise in \S 6.
\medskip\noindent
A distinctive feature of later Infocom games was their use of ^{epigrams}.
The assembly language required to produce this effect is easy but a
nuisance, so there is an Inform statement to do it, ^|box|. For example,
\beginstt
box "I might repeat to myself, slowly and soothingly,"
"a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound;"
"if I can remember any of the damn things."
""
"-- Dorothy Parker";
\endtt^^{Dorothy Parker}^^{quotations beautiful}
Note that a list of one or more lines is given (without intervening commas)
and that a blank line is given by a null string. Remember that the text
cannot be too wide or it will look awful on a small screen. Inform
will automatically insert the boxed text into the ^{game transcript},
if one is being made.^^{transcript}\
The author takes the view that this device is amusing for irrelevant
quotations but irritating when it conveys vital information (such as
^{``Beware of the Dog"}). Also, some people might be running
your game on a laptop with a vertically challenged screen, so it is
polite to provide a ^{``quotes off'' verb}.
A snag with printing boxes is that if you do it in the middle of a turn
then it will probably scroll half-off the screen by the time the game
finishes printing for the turn. The right time to do so is just after
the prompt (usually |>|) is printed, when the screen will definitely
scroll no more. You could use the |Prompt:| slot in |LibraryMessages|
to achieve this, but a more convenient way is to put your box-printing
into the entry point ^|AfterPrompt| (called at this time each
turn).^^{scrolling screen}^^{prompt}
\exercise Implement a routine |Quote(n)| which will arrange for the
$n$-th quotation (where $0\leq n\leq 49$) to be displayed at the end
of this turn, provided it hasn't been quoted
before.^^{exercises: quotations in boxes}
\answer{^^{exercises: quotations in boxes}
\beginlines
|Array quote_done -> 50;|
|Global next_quote = -1;|
|[ Quote i;|
| if (quote_done->i==0) { quote_done->i = 1; next_quote = i; }|
|];|
|[ AfterPrompt;|
| switch(next_quote)|
| { 0: box "His stride is wildernesses of freedom:"|
| "The world rolls under the long thrust of his heel."|
| "Over the cage floor the horizons come."|
| ""|
| "-- Ted Hughes, ~The Jaguar~";|
| 1: ...|
| }|
| next_quote = -1;|
|];|
\endlines^^{Ted Hughes}}
\medskip
\noindent
Sometimes one would like to provide a ^{menu of text options} (for instance,
when producing instructions which have several topics, or when giving
^{clues}). This can be done with the ^|DoMenu| routine, which imitates
the traditional ^{``Invisiclues''} style. By setting |pretty_flag=0| you
can make a simple text version instead; a good idea for machines
with very small screens.^^|pretty flag|\
Here is a typical call to |DoMenu|:
\beginstt
DoMenu("There is information provided on the following:^\
^ Instructions for playing\
^ The history of this game\
^ Credits^",
#r$HelpMenu, #r$HelpInfo);
\endtt
Note the layout, and especially the carriage returns. The second and
third arguments are themselves routines: the notation |#r$|, seldom
seen in high-level Inform, allows routine names to become ordinary
numerical values. (Actually the first argument can also be a routine
to print a string instead of the string itself, which might be useful
for ^{adaptive hints}.) The |HelpMenu| routine
is supposed to look at the variable |menu_item|. In the case when this
is zero, it should return the number of entries in the menu (3 in the
example). In any case it should set |item_name| to the title for the
page of information for that item; and |item_width| to half its length
in characters (this is used to centre titles on the screen).
In the case of item 0, the title should be that for the whole
menu.^^|menu item|^^|item name|^^|item width|\
The second routine, |HelpInfo| above, should simply look at |menu_item|
(1 to 3 above) and print the text for that selection. After this returns,
normally the game prints ``Press [Space] to return to menu'' but if
the value 2 is returned it doesn't wait, and if the value 3 is returned
it automatically quits the menu as if Q had been pressed. This is useful
for juggling submenus about.
Menu items can safely launch whole new menus, and it is easy to make
a tree of these (which will be needed when it comes to providing hints
across any size of game).
\exercise Code an ^{``Invisiclues''}-style sequence of hints for a puzzle,
revealed one at a time, as a menu item.^^{exercises: Invisiclues hints}
\answer{^^{exercises: Invisiclues hints}
Note the magic line of assembly code here, which only works for
Advanced games:
\beginlines^^{``Invisiclues''}
|[ GiveHint hint keypress;|
| print (string) hint; new_line; new_line;|
| @read_char 1 0 0 keypress;|
| if (keypress == 'H' or 'h') rfalse;|
| rtrue;|
|];|
\endlines
And a typical menu item using it:
\beginlines
| if (menu_item==1)|
| { print "(Press ENTER to return to menu, or H for another hint.)^^";|
| if (GiveHint("(1/3) What kind of bird is it, exactly?")==1) return 2;|
| if (GiveHint("(2/3) Magpies are attracted by shiny items.")==1) return 2;|
| "(3/3) Wave at the magpie with the kitchen foil.";|
| }|
\endlines}
\bigskip\noindent
Finally, you can change the ^{text style}. The statement for this is
^|style| and its effects are loosely modelled on the ^{VT100} (design of
terminal). The style can be |style roman|, |style bold|, |style reverse| or
|style underline|. Again, poor terminals may not be able to display these,
so you shouldn't hide crucial information in them.^^{boldface}^^{roman
text}^^{reverse video}^^{underlining}
\refs ^{`Advent'} contains a menu much like that above.
\nextref
The ^{``Infoclues''} utility program translates ^{UHS format hints}
(a standard, easy to read and write layout) into an Inform file of calls to
|DoMenu| which can simply be included into a game; this saves a good deal of
trouble.
\section{29}{Descending into assembly language}
\dddanger Some ^{dirty tricks} require bypassing all of Inform's higher levels
to program the Z-machine directly with ^{assembly language}. There is an
element of danger in this, in that some combinations of unusual opcodes
can look ugly on some incomplete or wrongly-written ^{interpreters}:
so if you're doing anything complicated, test it as widely as possible.
\warning\ninepoint Most of this section does not apply to ^{Standard games}.
\bigskip\ninepoint\noindent
The best-researched and most reliable interpreter available by far is Mark
Howell's ^{Zip}; as it's also the fastest, it will hopefully `take over' entirely.
Next comes the ^{InfoTaskForce}, which is thorough and should give no serious
trouble, but was written when the format was a little less well understood,
and so (in some ports) gets some (rare) screen effects wrong. It also lacks
an ``undo'' feature, so the parser's ^{``undo'' verb} won't work under ITF.
The other two publically-available
interpreters are ^{pinfocom} and ^{zterp}, but these are unable to run Advanced
games. In the last resort, sometimes it's possible to use one of Infocom's
own supplied interpreters with a different game from that it came with; but only
sometimes, as they may have inconvenient filenames `wired into them'. The
author recommends that anyone using exotic assembly-language features get hold of
both ITF and Zip, and test on both.
Both the common interpreters are, in fact, pretty reliable. But remember that
one source of unportability is inevitable. Your game may be running on a screen
which is anything from a 64 by 9 pocket organiser up to a 132 by 48 X-window.
Anyone wanting to really push the outer limits (say, by implementing
^{Space Invaders} or ^{NetHack}) will need to refer to {\sl The Specification
of the Z-Machine}, the second edition of which has been rewritten as
a comprehensive ``standards'' document. This is much more detailed (the
definition of |aread| alone runs for two pages) and covers the whole range
of assembly language. However, this section does document all those features
which can't be better obtained with higher-level code.
\bigskip
\noindent
Lines of assembly language must begin with an |@| character and then the
name of the ``opcode'' (i.e., assembly language statement). A number of
arguments, or ``operands'' follow (how many depends on the opcode): these
may be any Inform constants, local or global variables or the stack pointer |sp|,
but may not be compound expressions. |sp| does not behave like a variable:
writing a value to it pushes that value onto the stack, whereas reading
the value of it (for instance, by giving it as an operand) pulls the top
value off the stack. Don't use |sp| unless you have to. After the operands,
some opcodes require a variable (or |sp|) to write a result into.
The opcodes documented in this section are as follows:
\beginlines
|@split_window lines|
|@set_window window|
|@set_cursor line column|
|@buffer_mode flag|
|@erase_window window|
|@set_colour foreground background|
|@aread text parse time function <result>|
|@read_char 1 time function <result>|
|@tokenise text parse dictionary|
|@encode_text ascii-text length from coded-text|
|@output_stream number table|
|@input_stream number|
|@catch <result>|
|@throw value stack-frame|
|@save buffer length filename <result>|
|@restore buffer length filename <result>|
\endlines
\vfill\eject
\beginlines
|@split_window lines|
\endlines^^|@split window|
Splits off an ^{upper-level window} of the given number of lines
in height from the main screen. This upper window usually holds the
status line and can be resized at any time: nothing visible happens
until the window is printed to. Warning: make the upper window
tall enough to include all the lines you want to write to it, as it
should not be allowed to scroll.
\beginlines
|@set_window window|
\endlines^^|@set window|
The text part of the screen (the lower window) is ``^{window 0}'',
the status line (the upper one) is window 1; this opcode selects
which one text is to be printed into. Each window has a ``cursor
position'' at which text is being printed, though it can only
be set for the upper window. Printing on the upper window
overlies printing on the lower, is always done in a fixed-pitch font
and does not appear in a printed ^{transcript} of the game.
Note that before printing to the upper window, it is wise
to use |@buffer_mode| to turn off word-breaking.
\beginlines
|@set_cursor line column|
\endlines^^|@set cursor|^^{text cursor}
Places the cursor inside the upper window,
where $(1,1)$ is the top left character.
\beginlines
|@buffer_mode flag|
\endlines^^|@buffer mode|^^{word breaking}
^^{formatted text}^^{text formatting}
This turns on (|flag=1|) or off (|flag=1|) word-breaking for the
current window (that is, the practice of printing new-lines only
at the ends of words, so that text is neatly formatted). It is
wise to turn off word-breaking while printing to the upper window.
\beginlines
|@erase_window window|
\endlines^^|@erase window|^^{clearing the screen}
This opcode is unfortunately incorrectly implemented
on some interpreters and so it can't safely be used to erase
individual windows. However, it can be used with |window=-1|,
and then clears the entire screen. Don't do this in
reverse video mode, as a bad interpreter may (incorrectly) wipe the
entire screen in reversed colours.
\beginlines
|@set_colour foreground background|
\endlines^^|@set colour|^^{colours}^^{foreground
colour}^^{background colour}
If coloured text is available, set text to be
foreground-against-background. The colour numbers are borrowed
from the IBM PC:
\beginlines
|2 = black, 3 = red, 4 = green, 5 = yellow,|
|6 = blue, 7 = magenta, 8 = cyan, 9 = white|
|0 = the current setting, 1 = the default.|
\endlines^^{IBM PC, ugliness of}
On many machines coloured text is not available: the opcode will
then do nothing.
\beginlines
|@aread text parse time function <result>|
\endlines^^|@aread|
The ^{keyboard} can be read in remarkably flexible ways. This opcode
reads a line of text from the keyboard, writing it into the |text|
string array and `^{tokenising}' it into a word stream, with
details stored in the |parse| string array (unless this is zero,
in which case no tokenisation happens). (See the end of \S 23 for
the format of |text| and |parse|.)
While it is doing this, it calls |function(time)|
every |time| tenths of a second while the user is thinking:
the process ends if ever this function returns true.
|<result>| is to be a variable, but the value
written in it is only meaningful if you're using a ``terminating
characters table''. Thus (by |Replace|ing the |Keyboard|
routine in the library files) you could, say, move around all the characters every
ten seconds of ^{real time}.^^{timed input}\
Warning: not every interpreter supports this real-time feature, and
most of those that do count in seconds instead of tenths of seconds.
\vfill\eject\noindent
\beginlines
|@read_char 1 time function <result>|
\endlines^^|@read char|
results in the ASCII value of a single keypress. Once again, the |function| is
called every |time| tenths of a second and may stop this process early.
Function keys return
special values from 129 onwards, in the order: cursor up, down, left, right,
function key f1, ..., f12, keypad digit 0, ..., 9.^^{function keys}^^{cursor keys}\
The first operand must be 1 (used by Infocom as a device number to identify
the keyboard).
\beginlines
|@tokenise text parse dictionary|
\endlines^^|@tokenise|
This takes the text in the |text| buffer (in the format produced by |aread|)
and tokenises it (i.e. breaks it up into words, finds their addresses in the
dictionary) into the |parse| buffer in the usual way but using the given
|dictionary| instead of the game's usual one. (See the {\sl Specification
of the Z-machine} for the dictionary format.)^^{dictionary: tokenisation using}
\beginlines
|@encode_text ascii-text length from coded-text|
\endlines^^|@encode text|^^{internal text format}^^{Z-encoded text}
Translates an ASCII word to the internal (Z-encoded) text format
suitable for use in a |@tokenise| dictionary. The text begins at
|from| in the |ascii-text| and is |length| characters long, which
should contain the right length value (though in fact the interpreter
translates the word as far as a 0 terminator). The result is 6 bytes
long and usually represents between 1 and 9 letters.
\beginlines
|@output_stream number table|
\endlines^^|@output stream|^^{streams of input/output}
Text can be output to a variety of different `streams',
possibly simultaneously. If |number| is 0 this does nothing.
$+n$ switches stream $n$ on, $-n$ switches it off.
The output streams are: 1 (the screen),
2 (the game ^{transcript}), 3 (memory) and 4 (^{script of
player's commands}). The |table| can be omitted except for stream
3, when it's a |table| array holding the text printed; printing
to this stream is never word-broken, whatever the state of
|@buffer_mode|.
\beginlines
|@input_stream number|
\endlines^^|@input stream|
Switches the `input stream' (the source of the player's commands).
0 is the keyboard, and 1 a command file (the idea is that a list of
commands produced by |output_stream 4| can be fed back in again).
\beginlines
|@catch <result>|
\endlines^^|@catch|
The opposite of |throw|, |catch| preserves the ``stack frame'' of the
current routine: meaning, roughly, the current position of which routine
is being run and which ones have called it so far.
\beginlines
|@throw value stack-frame|
\endlines^^|@throw|^^{stack frame}^^{long jump}
This causes the program to execute a return with |value|,
but as if it were returning from the routine which was running
when the |stack-frame| was caught (see |catch|). Any routines
which were called in the mean time and haven't returned yet
(because each one called the next) are forgotten about.
This is useful to get the program out of large recursive tangles
in a hurry.
\beginlines
|@save buffer length filename <result>|
\endlines^^|@save|^^{saving data}
Saves the byte array |buffer| (of size |length|) to a file,
whose (default) name is given in the |filename| (a |string|
array). Afterwards, |result| holds 1 on success, 0 on failure.
\vfill\eject\noindent
\beginlines
|@restore buffer length filename <result>|
\endlines^^|@restore|^^{restoring data}
Loads in the byte array |buffer| (of size |length|) from a file,
whose (default) name is given in the |filename| (a |string|
array). Afterwards, |result| holds the number of bytes successfully
read.
\warning On some interpreters, a few of these features may not work
well: the extended |save| and |restore|, and |catch| / |throw| in
particular. (You can always distribute your game with an interpreter
that does work well.) The |tokenise| and |encode_text| opcodes work
well enough, but the same effects can be achieved much better with
higher-level parser programming.
\exercise In a role-playing game campaign, you might want several
scenarios, each implemented as a separate Inform game. How could
the character from one be saved and loaded into another?^^{saving the character}
^^{role-playing games}^^{campaigns and scenarios}
^^{exercises: saving the character}
\answer{^^{saving the character}^^{role-playing games}
^^{campaigns and scenarios}^^{exercises: saving the character}
By encoding the character into a byte array and using |@save|
and |@restore|. The numbers in this array might contain the character's
name, rank and abilities, together with some coding system to show what
possessions the character has (a brass lamp, 50 feet of rope, etc.)}
\dangerexercise Design a ^{title page} for ^{`Ruins'}, displaying
a more or less apposite quotation and waiting for a key to be
pressed.^^{exercises: title page}
\answer{^^{title page}^^{`Ruins'}^^{exercises: title page}
Note that we wait for a space character
(32) or either kind of new-line which typical ASCII keyboards produce
(10 or 13), just to be on the safe side:
\beginlines
|[ TitlePage i;|
| @erase_window -1; print "^^^^^^^^^^^^^";|
| i = 0->33; if (i==0) i=80; i=(i-50)/2;|
| style bold; font off; spaces(i);|
| print " RUINS^";|
| style roman; print "^^"; spaces(i);|
| print " [Please press SPACE to begin.]^";|
| font on;|
| box "And make your chronicle as rich with praise"|
| "As is the ooze and bottom of the sea"|
| "With sunken wreck and sumless treasures."|
| ""|
| "-- William Shakespeare, ~Henry V~ I. ii. 163";|
| do { @read_char 1 0 0 i; } until (i==32 or 10 or 13);|
| @erase_window -1;|
|];|
\endlines^^{William Shakespeare}}
\dangerexercise Change the status line so that it has the usual
score/moves appearance except when a variable |invisible_status|
is set, when it's invisible.^^{invisible status line}
^^{exercises: status line invisible}
\answer{^^{invisible status line}^^{exercises: status line invisible}
First put the directive
|Replace DrawStatusLine;| before including the library; define
the global variable |invisible_status| somewhere. Then give
the following redefinition:
\beginlines
|[ DrawStatusLine i width posa posb;|
| if (invisible_status==1) return;|
| @split_window 1; @set_window 1; @set_cursor 1 1; style reverse;|
| width = 0->33; posa = width-26; posb = width-13;|
| spaces (width-1);|
| @set_cursor 1 2; PrintShortName(location);|
| if (width > 76)|
| { @set_cursor 1 posa; print "Score: ", sline1;|
| @set_cursor 1 posb; print "Moves: ", sline2;|
| }|
| if (width > 63 && width <= 76)|
| { @set_cursor 1 posb; print sline1, "/", sline2;|
| }|
| @set_cursor 1 1; style roman; @set_window 0;|
|];|
\endlines}
\dangerexercise Alter the ^{`Advent'} example game to display the number
of treasures found instead of the score and turns on the status
line.^^{treasures on status line}^^{exercises: status line showing treasure}
\answer{^^{exercises: status line showing treasure}
First put the directive |Replace DrawStatusLine;| before including
the library. Then add the following routine anywhere after |treasures_found|,
an ^{`Advent'} variable, is defined:
\beginlines
|[ DrawStatusLine;|
| @split_window 1; @set_window 1; @set_cursor 1 1; style reverse;|
| spaces (0->33)-1;|
| @set_cursor 1 2; PrintShortName(location);|
| if (treasures_found > 0)|
| { @set_cursor 1 50; print "Treasure: ", treasures_found;|
| }|
| @set_cursor 1 1; style roman; @set_window 0;|
|];|
\endlines^^|DrawStatusLine|^^{treasures on status line}^^{status line}}
\dangerexercise (From code by ^{Joachim Baumann}.) Put a ^{compass rose}
on the status line, displaying the directions in which the room can be
left.^^{exercises: status line with compass rose}
\answer{^^{compass rose}^^{exercises: status line with compass rose}
|Replace| with the following. (Note the use of
|@@92| as a string escape, to include a literal backslash character,
and |@@124| for a vertical line.)
\beginlines
|Constant U_POS 28; Constant W_POS 30; Constant C_POS 31;|
|Constant E_POS 32; Constant IN_POS 34;|
|[ DrawStatusLine i;|
| @split_window 3; @set_window 1; style reverse; font off;|
| @set_cursor 1 1; spaces (0->33)-1;|
| @set_cursor 2 1; spaces (0->33)-1;|
| @set_cursor 3 1; spaces (0->33)-1;|
| @set_cursor 1 2; print (name) location;|
| @set_cursor 1 51; print "Score: ", sline1;|
| @set_cursor 1 64; print "Moves: ", sline2;|
| if (location ~= thedark)|
| { ! First line|
| if (location.u_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 1 U_POS; print "U"; }|
| if (location.nw_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 1 W_POS; print "@@92"; }|
| if (location.n_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 1 C_POS; print "@@124"; }|
| if (location.ne_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 1 E_POS; print "/"; }|
| if (location.in_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 1 IN_POS; print "I"; }|
| ! Second line|
| if (location.w_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 2 W_POS; print "-"; }|
| @set_cursor 2 C_POS; print "o";|
| if (location.e_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 2 E_POS; print "-"; }|
| ! Third line|
| if (location.d_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 3 U_POS; print "D"; }|
| if (location.sw_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 3 W_POS; print "/"; }|
| if (location.s_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 3 C_POS; print "@@124"; }|
| if (location.se_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 3 E_POS; print "@@92"; }|
| if (location.out_to ~= 0){ @set_cursor 3 IN_POS; print "O"; }|
| }|
| @set_cursor 1 1; style roman; @set_window 0; font on;|
|];|
\endlines}
\ddangerexercise (Cf.\ ^{`Trinity'}.)
Make the status line consist only of the name of the current
location, centred in the top line of the
screen.^^{centred status line}^^{exercises: status line with centred room}
\answer{^^{centred status line}
^^{exercises: status line with centred room}
The tricky part is working out the
number of characters in the location name, and this is where
|@output_stream| is so useful. This time |Replace| with:
\beginlines
|Array printed_text table 64;|
|[ DrawStatusLine i j;|
| i = 0->33; if (i==0) i=80;|
| font off;|
| @split_window 1; @buffer_mode 0; @set_window 1;|
| style reverse; @set_cursor 1 1; spaces(i);|
| printed_text-->0 = 64;|
| @output_stream 3 printed_text;|
| print (name) location;|
| @output_stream -3;|
| j=(i-(printed_text-->0))/2;|
| @set_cursor 1 j; print (name) location; spaces(j-1);|
| style roman;|
| @buffer_mode 1; @set_window 0; font on;|
|];|
\endlines
Note that the table can hold 128 characters (plenty for this purpose),
and that these are stored in |printed_text->2| to |printed_text->129|;
the length printed is held in |printed_text-->0|.
(^{`Trinity'} actually does this more crudely, storing away
the width of each location name.)}
\ddangerexercise Implement an Inform version of the standard `C'
routine |printf|, taking the form
\beginstt
printf(format, arg1, ...)
\endtt^^{exercises: printf routine}
to print out the format string but with escape sequences like
|%d| replaced by the arguments (printed in various ways). For
example,
\beginstt
printf("The score is %e out of %e.", score, MAX_SCORE);
\endtt^^{printf exercise}
should print something like ``The score is five out of ten.''
\answer{^^{printf exercise}^^{exercises: printf routine}
The following implementation is limited to a format
string $2\times 64 = 128$ characters long, and six subsequent arguments.
|%d| becomes a decimal number, |%e| an English one; |%c|
a character, |%%| a (single) percentage sign and |%s|
a string.
\beginlines
|Array printed_text table 64;|
|Array printf_vals --> 6;|
|[ Printf format p1 p2 p3 p4 p5 p6 pc j k;|
| printf_vals-->0 = p1; printf_vals-->1 = p2; printf_vals-->2 = p3;|
| printf_vals-->3 = p4; printf_vals-->4 = p5; printf_vals-->5 = p6;|
| printed_text-->0 = 64; @output_stream 3 printed_text;|
| print (string) format; @output_stream -3;|
| j=printed_text-->0;|
| for (k=2:k<j+2:k++)|
| { if (printed_text->k == '%')|
| { switch(printed_text->(++k))|
| { '%': print "%";|
| 'c': print (char) printf_vals-->pc++;|
| 'd': print printf_vals-->pc++;|
| 'e': print (number) printf_vals-->pc++;|
| 's': print (string) printf_vals-->pc++;|
| default: print "<** Unknown printf escape **>";|
| }|
| }|
| else print (char) printed_text->k;|
| }|
|];|
\endlines}
\refs The assembly-language connoisseur will appreciate ^{`Freefall'}
by ^{Andrew Plotkin} and ^{`Robots'} by ^{Torbj\o rn Andersson},
although the present lack of on-line hints make these difficult games
to win.
\chapter{Chapter V: Language and Compiler Reference}
\vskip 0.5in
\quote
Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes
for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move
the stars to pity.
\quoteby{^{Gustave Flaubert} ({\oldstyle1821}--{\oldstyle1880})}
\section{30}{Language specification}
\ninepoint\noindent%
The aim here is to describe the underlying language of Inform as if it were a
general-purpose programming language. A few technical and diagnostic
commands are relegated to the {\ninesl Technical Manual} (henceforth
abbreviated to {\ninesl TM}), and Inform's assembly language is documented
in the {\ninesl Specification of the Z-Machine.} The version of the language
discussed is Inform 5.5, which slightly extends previous versions.
\def\asection#1#2{\bigbreak\noindent{\bf \S 30.#1\quad #2}\medskip\noindent}
\asection{1}{Source file format}^^{source file format}
When Inform reads in a file, it treats a few characters in special ways.
The character |!| (when not inside single or double quotes) means the rest
of the line (up to the next new-line) is a comment, and Inform throws it
away, e.g.,
\begintt
parade.number = 78; ! Setting the number of trombones
\endtt^^{comments}^^{file format}^^{source file format}
The backslash |\| can be used inside strings in double-quotes
|"like so"| to `fold' them, so that the new-line and subsequent spaces are
ignored: e.g., in
\begintt
print "~Ou sont les neiges d'antan?~ \
Marjory asks, passing the bowl of grapes.^";
\endtt^^{backslash character}
the string is understood to have only one space (and no new-line) between the
|~| and the |M| of Marjory. Inside double-quotes, the ^^{tilde character}
|~| is understood as a double-quote, and the ^^{up-arrow character}
|^| as a new-line: thus the above string is actually read as
\begindisplay
``Ou sont les neiges d'antan?'' Marjory asks, passing the bowl of grapes.
\enddisplay^^{carriage return}^^{line feed}
followed by a new-line. If you want to get an un-typeable character in a
double-quoted string, or one which would otherwise cause problems, write |@@|
followed by its ASCII code in decimal. (One to four digits of decimal may
be given, but see the {\sl Specification} for what values outside the normal
ASCII range of 32 to 126 produce: in particular, German accented characters
may be available.) For example, |@@92| produces a literal
backslash and |@@64| produces a literal |@| sign. (A single |@| is also an
escape character, for variable strings: see the east-west reflection exercise
of \S 6 for brief notes.)^^|@|^^|@@|^^{at character}
Otherwise, new-lines have no significance and are treated as spaces, as are
tab characters.^^{tab character}^^{new-line character}
Inside single quotes, "'", an apostrophe (i.e. a single quote) is also
written |^|. For instance,
\begintt
if (word == 'can^t' or 'isaac^s') ...
\endtt
\noindent
Inform source code is a list of {\ninebf directives}, which are instructions to
the compiler itself (such as ``create an object as follows''), and
{\ninebf routines}, which are pieces of code for it to compile.
\asection{2}{The logical machine}^^{logical machine}
All Inform programs run on an imaginary computer called the Z-machine. A
program consists of {\ninebf routines}, which may either stand alone or be
attached to particular objects (these are called ``embedded routines'').
Almost all data is represented by 16-bit numbers (2 bytes long). For some
purposes, these are considered signed in the usual way, holding
values^^{numbers}
$$ -32768 \leq n\leq 32767 $$
with the hexadecimal value |$ffff| (i.e., 65535) being the same as $-1$.
The operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and comparison are
signed; but division (rounded to the integer below), calculation of
remainder after division and bitwise operations are not. So for instance
$ (-4) + (-1) = -5$ but $(-4)/(-1) = 65532/65535 =
0$.^^{arithmetic: signed and unsigned}^^{signed operations}^^{unsigned operations}
{\ninebf Global variables} store numbers such as these, and so do {\ninebf local
variables} (which are local in that they belong to particular routines).
In all Inform expressions, such as
\begintt
random(100+lives_left)
\endtt
everything is always a number: 100, |lives_left| and the result.
In addition, the machine contains {\ninebf objects}. These are related in a
tree, so that an object may be considered to contain other objects, which
may themselves contain others, and so on. Objects are referred to by
number (these count upwards from 1, with a value of 0 representing
`nothing', which is not an object but a concept). Objects carry certain
variables, called {\ninebf properties}, with them, and also flags (states which
are either on or off) called {\ninebf attributes}.
The {\ninebf dictionary} contains words which might be understood by the game.
Each word in the dictionary has a unique associated number (actually its
address in the dictionary table), so a number may also refer to a dictionary
word.
Inform has no concept of the `type' of an expression, so the compiler will
allow (say)
\begintt
'marble' - Brass_Lamp
\endtt
even though subtracting the object number of the brass lamp from the dictionary
reference to the word ``marble'' is hardly going to have a meaningful result.
\danger^^{memory}
The {\ninebf memory map} of the machine is divided into three. At the
bottom (in terms of addresses) is dynamic memory, data which can be written
or read: this is stored when a game is saved to disc. Next comes a region
of static, read-only memory which can freely be read from, including
(for instance) the dictionary.
The lower two regions together always take up less than 64K: when a number
is regarded as an ``address'', it refers to one byte in these regions by
number, upwards from 0.
\ddanger
The third and largest region of memory, containing the program itself and
(almost) all strings (such as room descriptions), may extend the game's size
to the top of memory, up to the maximum (between 128K and 512K, depending
on format). It is read-only and that only in a limited way. Ordinary
addresses can't reach above the 64K mark, so one cannot have a byte address
into this region. Instead, every routine and string has a reference number
called a ``packed address''; there are commands to call the routine or to
print the string with given packed address, but that's the only access
allowed.
\ddanger Inform guarantees that the following numbers are all different:
\smallskip
\item{$\bullet$} zero;
\item{$\bullet$} $-1$, which equals |$ffff|, which equals the library constant $NULL$;
\item{$\bullet$} the number of an object;
\item{$\bullet$} a function's packed address;
\item{$\bullet$} a string's packed address.
\smallskip
\par\noindent It is thus possible to partially deduce the type of a number
(see the library function |ZRegion|) from its value. But note that
byte addresses -- in particular, dictionary addresses -- are not guaranteed
to differ. The translation function from packed to real addresses depends
on the version number, and no other assumption should be made about it.
\ddanger The entire Z-machine lives in the memory map except for the {\ninebf
stack} (which is also stored when the game is saved). It is only accessible
to assembly language and use of it is not recommended to those of a nervous
disposition.
\asection{3}{Constants}^^{constants (syntax)}
Here is a set of example constants:
\begintt
31415 -1 $ff $$1001001 'lantern' ##Look 'X'
"an emerald the size of a plover's egg"
"~Hello,~ said Peter.^~Hello, Peter,~ said Jane.^"
\endtt^^{Peter and Jane}
String constants in double-quotes are discussed above. Numbers can be
written in decimal (in the obvious way), or in hexadecimal, preceded by a
^^{dollar sign} |$|,
\begintt
$ffff $1a $31
\endtt^^{hexadecimal numbers}^^{binary numbers}
or in binary, preceded by a double dollar |$$|.
Single characters can be represented in single quotation marks, e.g.
\begintt
'a' '\' '"' 'z'
\endtt
Dictionary words are also written in single quotes, e.g.
\begintt
'aardvark' 'tetrahedron' 'marquis'
\endtt
\danger This is a little ambiguous, but Inform knows the difference because
a dictionary word contains more than one letter. Very occasionally one
needs to put a one-letter word in the dictionary: to get the word `a', for
instance, write |#n$a| (the |#n$| usage is otherwise obsolete).
\danger Writing the constant |'marjoram'| somewhere in the code actually
inserts the word ``marjoram'' into the dictionary if it isn't already
present. Likewise, writing |"You blink."| will compile the string
automatically.^^{dictionary: referring to words in}
\ddanger These are all internally represented by numbers. Characters
are held as ASCII codes; dictionary words by their reference numbers; and
strings in double-quotes by their packed addresses. Note, though, that
of the two conditions
\begintt
'yes' == 'yes' "no" == "no"
\endtt^^{comparing dictionary words}^^{packed address of string}
^^{comparing strings}
the first is always true (the word `yes' is only in the dictionary once),
whereas the second is probably false, because Inform has compiled two copies
of the string ``no'', which have different packed
addresses.^^{dictionary: addresses of words in}\
\noindent
Actions (and fake actions) have numbers, by which it is sometimes helpful
to refer to them: ``the action number corresponding to |Take|'' is
written |##Take|.^^{hash character}^^{actions: numbers}^^{fake actions: numbers}
Other constants known to Inform are:
\smallskip
\item{$\bullet$} those already defined, by the |Constant| directive,
in your code or by the library;
\item{$\bullet$} names of specific objects (an object may move
and alter in play, but the number which refers to it does not);
\item{$\bullet$} names of attributes and properties already created;
\item{$\bullet$} names of arrays, defined by the |Array| directive;
\item{$\bullet$} some arcane ones always created by Inform (see the {\ninesl TM}).
\smallskip
\danger Two standard library-defined constants are ^|nothing|, which
equates to 0, and is the ``no object'' value (thus, the |child| of a
childless object is equal to |nothing|); and ^|NULL|, which equates to
$-1$ or (in hexadecimal) equivalently to |$ffff|, used as the ``not
given'' default value of properties which are expected to be routines
(such as |before|).
\ddanger Finally, you can also write the packed address of a function
(defined by you elsewhere in the code) as a constant. In the context of
an initial value (for instance, when declaring an array entry or
object property) you can just give its name. In an expression, however,
the name must be preceded by |#r$|: for instance,
|fn_to_call=#r$Name;|.^^{packed address of function}
\asection{4}{Directives}^^{directives: list of}
A directive is an instruction to the compiler, rather than code for it to
compile. Inside routines, directives must start with a
^^{hash character} |#| (to distinguish them from statements), but outside
routines this is optional (and usually omitted). Directives end with
a semi-colon |;| (just as statements do). The following
directives define or create things:
\smallskip{\ninepoint
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ &|Array| \<name>&&& Make an array of data\cr
\+ &|Attribute| \<name>&&& Define a new attribute\cr
\+ &|Class| $\ldots$&&& Define a new class\cr
\+ &|Constant| \<name> \<value> &&& Define a named constant\cr
\+ &|Extend| $\ldots$ &&& Make extra grammar for an existing verb\cr
\+ &|Fake_action| \<name> &&& Define a new ``fake action''\cr
\+ &|Global| \<name> $\ldots$ &&& Make a global variable\cr
\+ &|Nearby| &&& Make an object inside the last |Object|\cr
\+ &|Object| &&& Make an object\cr
\+ &|Property| \<name> $\ldots$ &&& Define a new property\cr
\+ &|Verb| $\ldots$ &&& Make grammar for a new verb\cr
\smallskip}\noindent
(The \<value> of a |Constant| is zero if unspecified; the other
directives are described more fully below.)
The next set affect Inform's choice of what to compile and
what not to:
\smallskip{\ninepoint
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ &|End| &&& End compilation here\cr
\+ &|Endif| &&& End of conditional compilation\cr
\+ &|Ifdef| \<name> &&& Compile only if symbol is defined\cr
\+ &|Ifndef| \<name> &&& Compile only if symbol is undefined\cr
\+ &|Ifnot| &&& Compile only if previous |If...| failed\cr
\+ &|Ifv3| &&& Compile only for Standard games\cr
\+ &|Ifv5| &&& Compile only for Advanced games\cr
\+ &|Include| \<file-name> &&& Include that file here\cr
\+ &|Replace| \<routine-name> &&& Don't compile this library routine\cr
\smallskip}\noindent^^{conditional compilation}
^^|Include|^^|Replace|^^|If...|^^|Endif|^^|End|
\danger Conditional compilation allows code for routines which need only
exist in some ``versions" of your games. For instance,
\begintt
print "Welcome to the ";
#IFV3; print "Standard"; #IFNOT; print "Advanced"; #ENDIF;
print " version of Zork LVI.";
\endtt
(The |#IFNOT| clause is optional.) Note the trailing semicolon: Inform
is not C! Such clauses may be nested up to 32 deep, and may contain whole
routines. They may not, however, conditionally give {\it part} of a
statement or directive. Thus, for instance,
\begintt
print #IFV3; "Standard"; #IFNOT; "Advanced"; #ENDIF;
\endtt
is {\ninesl not} legal.
\ddanger One special case is checking to see if the constant
|VN_****| is defined, where |****| is a four-digit number $n$: it is
if and only if the current Inform version number is at least $n$. Thus
\begintt
#IFDEF VN_1501; print "The all new Inform show!^"; #ENDIF;
\endtt
compiles the statement only under Inform 5.5 or later.
\ddanger Warning: it is possible to accidentally arrange for a block
of code only to be considered on one of the two passes of the compiler:
Inform will not like this. (Cf. the end of the library grammar file
for an example of avoiding this problem.)
\noindent
A few directives alter settings:
\smallskip{\ninepoint
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ &|Release| \<number> &&& Set the game's Release Number\cr
\+ &|Serial| \<string> &&& Set the game's Serial Number\cr
\+ &|Statusline| $\ldots$ &&& Make the status line show score or time\cr
\+ &|Switches| \<switches> &&& Set default compilation switches\cr
\smallskip}\noindent^^|Release|^^|Statusline|
The ^{release number} of a game (by default 1) is generally an edition
number; the ^{serial number} is the ^{compilation date} in the form
950331, that is, yymmdd. Inform sets this automatically (on machines
where the date is accessible), so the ^|Serial| directive is provided
only for ^{forgers} and machines without an internal clock.
|Statusline score| or |Statusline time| declare which piece of
information should be displayed on screen in the top right
during play. ^|Switches|, which if present should be the first
directive in the source, sets ``command-line switches'' as if
they had been typed as part of the command starting Inform. For instance,
\begintt
Switches dv8;
\endtt^^{deviation}
declares that the game must be compiled as version-8 and that
double-spaces are to be contracted.
\ddanger These ^{recondite directives} exist, but not for public use:
\begintt
Default Dictionary Listsymbols Listdict Listverbs Lowstring Stub System_file
Trace Btrace Etrace Ltrace Notrace Nobtrace Noetrace Noltrace
\endtt
(all in the {\ninesl TM}). The one low-level directive which might be of
practical use is ^|Abbreviate| (see \S 28), an ^{economy measure}
for enormous games.
\asection{5}{Property and attribute
definitions}^^{properties: definition of}^^{attributes: definition of}
Inform itself defines only one property (|name|, see below) and no
attributes: all others must be declared before use (and the library
defines many). The syntax is
\begindisplay
|Attribute| \<name> |[alias| \<existing-attribute> |]|\cr
|Property| |[|\<qualifier>|]| \<name> |[||alias| \<existing-property>|]|\cr
{\it or}\quad |Property| |[|\<qualifier>|]| \<name> |[|\<default-value>|]|\cr
\enddisplay^^|Attribute|^^|Property|
The |alias| form is used for making new names for existing attributes
and properties, so that the same physical property can (with extreme
care) be used for two different things in different contexts; the
library indulges in a little of this chicanery, but it is not
recommended. There are two property ``qualifiers'': |additive|,
discussed below, and |long|.
\ddanger |long| is meaningful only in Standard (V3) games and
obsolete anyway: under Inform 5.5, or in other versions, all
properties are ``long''.
\asection{6}{Object and class
definitions}^^{objects: definition of (full syntax)}
^^{classes: definition of (full syntax)}
An object definition consists of a header giving its name and initial
residence, followed by a body of its initial properties and attributes;
a class definition just has a name and such a body.
\danger The full syntax of the header is
\begindisplay
|Object| \<obj-name> |"short name"|
|[|\<parent-obj>|]|\cr
{\it or}\quad |Nearby| \<obj-name> |"short name"|\cr
{\it or}\quad |Class| \<class-name>\cr
\enddisplay
and the parent object, if given, must have already been defined. The
parent of a |Nearby| object is the last object defined by |Object|
rather than |Nearby|, which is usually a room definition. A class
creates no specific object, so has no specific parent. The syntax
for an object, then, is
\vfill\eject
\begindisplay
\<Header> |[,]|\cr
\quad |class| \<class-1> \<class-2> $\ldots$ \<class-$n$> |[,]|\cr
\quad |with| \<property-name-1> \<value-1> $\ldots$ \<value-$n$>|,|\cr
\qquad \<property-name-2> \<value-1> $\ldots$ \<value-$n$>|,|\cr
\qquad $\ldots$\cr
\qquad \<property-name-$n$> \<value-1> $\ldots$ \<value-$n$> |[,]|\cr
\quad |has| \<att-1> \<att-2> $\ldots$ \<att-$n$>\cr
\enddisplay
Although it's conventional to write ^|class|, |with| and |has| in this order,
actually they can be in any order and any or all can be omitted altogether:
and the commas in square brackets |[,]| are optional in between these fields.
The classes listed under |class| are those which the object inherits from.
Each \<value> can be any legal constant: up to 4 can be given per property
in ^{Standard games} but up to 32 in other versions. In addition, a
property may, {\ninesl instead} of a list of constants, give as its value a
(nameless) embedded routine.
\danger For deep-rooted historical reasons, one property is treated
differently from the others: ^|name|. Its data must be a list of English
words in double-quotes, to be put into the dictionary. This is illogical,
as dictionary words are normally referred to in single quotes: but it has
the advantage that single-letter words are more easily written.
\ddanger The attributes \<att-1> and so on can be taken away as well as
added, thus:
\begintt
...
has light ~scored;
\endtt
which is sometimes useful to over-ride an ^{inheritance} from a class
definition.
\ddanger Here is exactly how inheritance works. Suppose an object
is created with classes $C_1, ..., C_n$ (in the order they are listed).
It starts out tabula rasa (a blank slate), with no attributes and no
properties. It then inherits the attributes and property values of
$C_1$; next $C_2$, and so on up to $C_n$; finally it acquires the
attributes and properties from its own definition. The order is
important because there may be a clash. Ordinarily, a later specified
value wipes out an earlier one: if $C_1$ says |number| is 5, and
$C_2$ says it is 7, then the answer is 7.^^{classes: inheritance rules}
\ddanger An |additive| property accumulates values instead.
For instance, if $C_1$ gives
\begintt
name "small" "featureless" "cube",
\endtt
and the object itself has |"green"| as |name|, the result is as if
the object had been declared with
\begintt
name "small" "featureless" "cube" "green",
\endtt
because |name| is an additive property (whereas |number| is not).
\ddanger Classes themselves may inherit from sub-classes, by this
same rule.
\vfill\eject
\asection{7}{Global variables and arrays}^^{global variables: definition of}
^^{variables}^^{arrays: definition of}
There are two kinds of variable, global and local (plus one special
one, the ^{stack pointer} ^|sp|).
Global variables must be declared {\ninesl before} use, by a
^|Global| directive, so:
\begindisplay
|Global| \<varname>\cr
{\it or}\quad |Global| \<varname> |=| \<initial-value>\cr
{\it or}\quad |Global| \<array-name> \<array-type> \<initial-values>\cr
\enddisplay
The initial value can be any constant, and is 0 if not specified.
There are four kinds of array: ^{byte arrays} (with entries written
|array->0| up to |array->|$(n-1)$), ^{word arrays} (with entries
|array-->0| up to |array-->|$(n-1)$), ^{strings} and ^{tables}.
The entries in a byte array or a string are just bytes, numbers
from 0 to 255 (which can't be negative). Thus they cannot hold
dictionary words, function or string packed-addresses, or object
numbers. Entries in a word array or a table can be any Inform
number.^^{arrays: byte, word, string and table}
A string is a special kind of byte array whose 0th entry is the size
of the array: thus a string |s| of size 20 contains |s->0| (set to
20), and actual data entries |s->1| up to |s->20|. A table is the
analogous kind of word array. For instance,
\begintt
tab-->(random(tab-->0))
\endtt
evaluates to a random entry from the table |tab|.
Arrays are created by
\begindisplay
|Array| \<array-name> \<array-type> \<initial-values>\cr
\enddisplay^^|Array|
where the \<array-type> is |->| (byte array), |-->| (word array),
|string| or |table|. There are also four ways to give the
\<initial-values>.
\smallskip{\ninepoint
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ &\<number> &&& This many entries, initially 0\cr
\+ &\<value-1> $\ldots$ \<value-n> &&& $n\geq 2$ entries with these values\cr
\+ &|"|\<string>|"| &&& Entries are ASCII values of chars in string\cr
\+ &|[|\<value-1> $\ldots$ \<value-n>|]| &&& $n$ entries with these values\cr
\smallskip}\noindent
The last of these is useful for making very large arrays of (usually
static) data, because semicolons can be scattered freely between the
values (avoiding the maximum line length). For example:
\begintt
Array a1 -> 20;
Array a2 string "Hello";
Array a3 --> 1 3 5 7 9 11;
Array Public_Holidays table
[; "New Year's Day" "Twelfth Night";
"Ash Wednesday" "Good Friday";
"Martin Luther King Day";
];
\endtt^^{public holidays}^^{table of holidays}^^{Martin Luther King}
which will store
\begintt
a1 0 0 0 ... 0 (20 bytes)
a2 5 'H' 'e' 'l' 'l' 'o' (6 bytes)
a3 1 3 5 7 9 11 (6 words)
\endtt
and so on. Initial values can be any legal constants, including
names of other arrays or of functions.
\danger The name of an |Array| is a constant whose initial value is
the byte address to the area of memory where the data lives. Creating
an array with |Global| has identical effect except that the name
is of a global variable which initially holds this constant value.
(In Inform 5.4 and earlier, all arrays were made this way, somewhat
wastefully of global variables. The old keywords ^|data|, ^|initial|
and ^|initstr| still work with |Global|, but are considered pass\'e.)
\warning You can write to the size byte (or word) of a string
(or table), but that won't make the amount of space allocated any
larger: nor is there any bound-checking at run time.
\asection{8}{Grammar and verbs}For the |Verb| and |Extend|
directives, see the summary given in \S 31.
\asection{9}{Routines}^^{routines}^^{embedded routines}
Routines start with a |[| and end with a |]|. That is, they open with
\begindisplay
|[| \<Routine-name> \<local-var-1> $\ldots$ \<local-var-$n$>|;|
\enddisplay
giving the names of local variables for the routine ($0\leq n\leq 15$).
The routine ends with just |];|. Routines embedded in object definitions,
i.e. routines which are the value of a property, are the same except that
no routine-name is given, and they may end in |],| if the object
definition resumes after them.
The first few local variables also hold the arguments passed to the
routine when it is called. That is, if you have a routine
\begintt
[ Wander from i j; ...some code...; ];
\endtt
^^{function arguments}
and it is called by |Wander(attic)| then the local variable |from| will
initially have the value |attic|. The rest all start out at zero.
As a debugging aid, if an ^{asterisk} ^|*| is inserted between
the routine name and the variable list then ^{tracing code} is
compiled to print details each time the routine is
called.^^{debugging: tracing routine calls}
Function calls (that is, calls to routines) are legal with between 0
and 7 arguments (except for V3 ^{Standard games}, where the maximum
is 3) and every routine always returns a value. If execution
runs into the |]| at the end, that value is `true' (or 1) for an ordinary
routine, or `false' (or 0) for an embedded one.
\medskip
\noindent
A routine consists of a sequence of lines of code. These come in six
varieties:
\smallskip
\item{$\bullet$} assignments (such as |i=23;|);
\item{$\bullet$} statements (such as |if| or |print|);
\item{$\bullet$} action commands in |<|, |>| (or |<<|, |>>|) brackets;
\item{$\bullet$} function calls (see above);
\item{$\bullet$} ^{labels} (such as |.PrettyPass;|), beginning with a
^{full stop}, provided for you to |jump| to (if
you have no ^{tedious scruples} about the use of a ^{goto instruction});
\item{$\bullet$} ^{assembly language} lines, beginning with an ^|@| sign
and documented in \S 29 and the {\ninesl Specification of the Z-Machine}.
\smallskip
\noindent It's legal to mix in directives, but a directive inside a routine
should begin with a |#| character.
\noindent
\asection{10}{Arithmetic expressions}^^{expressions}
Arithmetic (and other) expressions can contain the following:
^^{arithmetic}
\smallskip
%$-8
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ &|+ -| & plus, minus\cr
\+ &|* / % & |{\tt\char`\|}
& times, divide, remainder, bitwise and, bitwise or\cr
\+ &|-> -->| & byte array, word array entry\cr
\+ &|. .& .#| & property, property address, property length\cr
\+ &|-| & unary minus\cr
\+ &|++ --| & incrementing and decrementing variables (as in C)\cr
%$ + - plus, minus
%$ * / % & | times, divide, remainder, bitwise and, bitwise or
%$ -> --> byte array, word array entry
%$ . .& .# property, property address, property length
%$ - unary minus
%$ ++ -- incrementing and decrementing variables (as in C)
\smallskip\par\noindent^^{arithmetic: list of operators}
^^{operators}^^{precedence of operators}
The order of precedence is as shown: i.e., those on each line are equally
potent, more potent than those above but less than those beneath.
Expressions are not allowed to contain conditions, nor assignments:
|2+(i=3/j)| is not a legal expression. Some legal examples are:
\begintt
4*(x+3/y) Fish(x)+Fowl(y) lamp.time buffer->5
\endtt
Note that |++| and |--| can only be applied to variables, not to
properties or array entries.
\warning A ^{division by zero} error (such as $n$|/0| or $n$|%0|)
may crash the game at run time.
\asection{11}{Built-in functions}^^{built-in functions}
A very few functions are built into the language of Inform itself,
rather than written out longhand in the library files, but they
behave like any other routines. They are:
\smallskip
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ &|parent(obj)| && parent of object\cr
\+ &|sibling(obj)| && sibling of object\cr
\+ &|child(obj)| && eldest child of object\cr
\+ &|children(obj)| && number of (direct) children of object\cr
\+ &|eldest(obj)| && same as |child|\cr
\+ &|youngest(obj)| && youngest child of object\cr
\+ &|elder(obj)| && elder sibling of object\cr
\+ &|younger(obj)| && same as |sibling|\cr
\+ &|random(x)| && uniformly random number between 1 and $x\geq 1$\cr
\+ &|indirect(addr)| && call routine with packed address |addr|,
return its return value\cr
\+ &|indirect(addr,v1)| && call |addr(v1)|, return its return value\cr
\+ &|indirect(addr,v1,v2)| && call |addr(v1, v2)|, return its return value\cr
\smallskip\par\noindent
\warning |random(0)| may cause a division by zero error on some
interpreters, though it should not.
\ddanger Although normally implemented in `hardware', these routines
can be |Replace|d as if they were library routines in `software'.
\asection{12}{Conditions}^^{conditions}
A simple condition is
\begindisplay
\<a>\quad\<relation>\quad\<b>
\enddisplay
where the relation is one of
\smallskip
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ &|==| && |a| equals |b|\cr
\+ &|~=| && |a| doesn't equal |b|\cr
\+ &|< > >= <=| && numeric (signed) comparisons\cr
\+ &|has| && object |a| has attribute |b|\cr
\+ &|hasnt| && object |a| hasn't attribute |b|\cr
\+ &|in| && object |a| is currently held by object |b|\cr
\+ &|notin| && $\ldots$is not$\ldots$\cr
\smallskip
\noindent
Note that ^|in| and ^|notin| look only at ^{direct possession}.
Something in a rucksack which the player holds, will not have
|in player|, but it will have
|in rucksack|.^^{possessions, testing direct}\
With |==| (and |~=|) only, one may also write the useful construction
\begindisplay
\<something> |==| \<v1> |[or| \<v2> |[or| \<v3>|]]|
\enddisplay^^|or|
which is true if the first something is any of the values given. An
^{idiosyncracy} of Inform, for `hardware reasons', is that you can only have
three. Conditions can be combined by the |&&| and
\orsign~ operators (which have equal priority):
\begindisplay
\<condition1> |&&| \<condition2>\cr
\<condition1>~\orsign~ \<condition2>\cr
\enddisplay
true if both, or either (respectively) are true. These are always tested
left to right until the outcome is known. So, for instance,
\begindisplay
|i==1 | \orsign | Explode(2)==2|
\enddisplay
does not call |Explode| if |i| is 2. Examples of legal conditions are:
\begindisplay
|i==1 or 2 or 3|\cr
|door has open |\orsign| (door has locked && key in player)|\cr
\enddisplay
\asection{13}{Assignments}^^{assignments}
There are five legal forms of assignment:
\begindisplay
\<variable> |=| \<value>|;|\cr
\<variable>|++|;\quad \<variable>|--|;\quad
|++|\<variable>;\quad |--|\<variable>;\quad \cr
\<byte-array-or-string>|->|\<entry> |=| \<value>|;|\cr
\<word-array-or-table>|-->|\<entry> |=| \<value>|;|\cr
\<object>|.|\<property> |=| \<value>|;|\cr
\enddisplay
For example:
\begintt
i=-15-j; i=j-->1; albatross.weight = albatross.weight + 1;
(paintpot.&roomlist)-->i = location; turns++;
\endtt
Although these look logical, they are not allowed:
\begintt
paintpot.#roomlist = 5;
paintpot.&roomlist = my_array;
\endtt
because one cannot change the size or address of a property in play.
\warning Attempting to write to a property which an object does not
have may crash the game at run time. Likewise, you should not
attempt to read or write properties of non-existent objects (such
as 0, sometimes called |nothing|).
\asection{14}{Printing commands}^^{printing commands}
A string on its own, such as
\begintt
"The world explodes in a puff of garlic.";
\endtt^^{puff of garlic}
is printed, with a new-line, and the current routine is returned from with
return value `true', i.e., 1. In addition:
\smallskip
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ &|new_line| && prints a new-line\cr
\+ &|print ...| && prints the given things\cr
\+ &|print_ret ...| && prints, new-lines and returns 1\cr
\+ &|spaces n| && prints $n$ spaces\cr
\+ &|font on/off| && turns proportional fonts on/off\cr
\+ &|style ...| && in Advanced games, sets text style\cr
\+ &|box "s1" ... "sn"| && in Advanced games, puts up quotation box\cr
\+ &|inversion| && prints out the current Inform version number\cr
\smallskip\par\noindent
The text ^|style|, normally Roman, can be changed to any {\ninesl one} of
\begintt
roman reverse bold underline
\endtt
\medskip\noindent
|print| and |print_ret| take a comma-separated list of things to print out,
which can be:
\smallskip
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ &|"|\<string>|"| && prints this string\cr
\+ &\<expression> && prints this number\cr
\+ |(char) |&\<expression> && prints this ASCII character\cr
\+ |(name) |&\<expression> && prints the name of this object\cr
\+ |(the) |&\<expression> && prints definite article and name\cr
\+ |(The) |&\<expression> && prints capitalised definite article and name\cr
\+ |(a) |&\<expression> && prints indefinite article and name\cr
\+ |(number) |&\<expression> && prints this number in English\cr
\+ |(string) |&\<expression> && prints the string with this packed address\cr
\+ |(address) |&\<expression> && prints the string at this byte address\cr
\+ |(|\<Routine>|)|&\<expression> && calls the Routine with this argument\cr
\smallskip\par\noindent^^|char|^^|(name)|^^|(the)|^^|(The)|^^|(a)|^^|(number)|
^^|(string)|^^|(address)|
Thus, for example,
\begintt
print_ret (The) x1, " explodes messily. Perhaps it was unwise to \
drop it into ", (the) x2, ".";
\endtt
produces, say,
\begintt
The hand grenade explodes messily. Perhaps it was unwise to drop
it into the glassworks.
\endtt^^{glassworks}
|print (string) x| should be used to convert the numerical value of
|"a string like this"| back to text. |print (address) x| is chiefly
useful for printing out dictionary words: thus
|print (address) 'piano'| will print the word ``piano''.
These ^{bracketed printing rules} are easily added to. Thus,
if you define a routine |SpellName(x)| to print the name of spell |x|,
then
\begintt
print "Your ", (SpellName) yomin_spell, " discharges horribly.";
\endtt^^{routines: in bracketed printing rules}
will work nicely.
A few forms of |print| are now obsolete but still supported:
|print char x| does the same as |print (char) x|, and in addition
there are three old printing commands:
\smallskip
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ &|print_char a| && same as |print (char) a|\cr
\+ &|print_addr a| && same as |print (address) a|\cr
\+ &|print_paddr a| && same as |print (string) a|\cr
\smallskip\par\noindent^^|print char|^^|print addr|^^|print paddr|
\asection{15}{Manipulating objects}^^{objects: movement of}
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ &|remove obj| && removes object from the tree\cr
\+ &|move o1 to o2| && moves |o1| to become eldest child of |o2|\cr
\+ &|give obj a1 ... an| && gives attributes to |obj|\cr
\smallskip\par\noindent
Attributes beginning with a |~| are taken away rather than given.
\asection{16}{Returning from routines}^^{returning from routines}
Apart from |print_ret| (and strings in isolation), which return true,
one can:
\smallskip
\settabs 8 \columns
\+ &|return| && Return true, i.e., 1\cr
\+ &|return x| && Return value $x$\cr
\+ &|rtrue| && Return true, i.e., 1\cr
\+ &|rfalse| && Return false, i.e., 0\cr
\smallskip
\asection{17}{Blocks of code}^^{blocks of code}^^{braces}
A block of code may be entirely empty, may be a single instruction or a
series of several, in which case it must be enclosed in braces |{| and |}|.
Thus, for instance, in
\begintt
if (i==1) print "The water rises!";
if (i==2) { print "The water rises further...";
water++;
}
\endtt
the ^|if| statements contain a block of code each; the effect of
\begintt
for (i=0:i<10:Frog(i++)) ;
\endtt
is just to call |Frog(0)| up to |Frog(9)| (thus, an empty block can be
a sensible thing to write).
Blocks can be nested inside each other up to 32 deep.
An |if| statement (for example) is a
single statement even when it contains a great deal of code in its
block: so, for example,
\begintt
if (i>1) if (water<10) "The water is beginning to worry you.";
\endtt^^{rising water}
is legal. One small exception: an |if| followed by an |else|
counts as two statements, and this means Inform handles ``^{hanging elses}''
in a possibly unwanted way:
\begintt
if (i==1) if (j==1) "Hello."; else "Goodbye.";
\endtt
The |else| clause here attaches to the first |if| statement, not the second,
so ``Goodbye.'' is printed exactly when |i==2|. The moral of this is that
it's wise to brace so that |else| is clearly unambiguous.
\asection{18}{Control constructs}^^{control constructs}
Inform provides:
\begindisplay
|if| \<condition> \<block1> |[else| \<block2>|]|\cr
|while| \<condition> \<block>\cr
|do| \<block> |until| \<condition>\cr
|for (|\<initialise>|:|\<test>|:|\<each time>|)|\cr
|objectloop (|\<variable> |in| \<object>|)|\cr
|objectloop (|\<variable> |from| \<object>|)|\cr
|objectloop (|\<variable> |near| \<object>|)|\cr
|switch (|\<expression>|)| \<block>\cr
|break|\cr
|jump| \<label>\cr
\enddisplay
The ^|for| construct is essentially the same as that in C, except for the
colons |:| (which in C would be semicolons). Its carries out the initial
assignment(s), then executes the code for as long as the condition holds,
executing the end assignment after each pass through the code. For instance,
\begintt
for (i=1:i<=10:i++) print i, " ";
\endtt
counts to 10. All three clauses are optional, and the empty condition is
always true; multiple assignments can be made. For instance:
\begintt
for (i=0,j=10:i<10:i++,j--) print i, " + ", j, " = ", i+j, "^";
for (::) print "Ha!^";
\endtt^^{maniacal laughter}
the latter laughing maniacally forever.
^|break| breaks out of the current loop or switch (not quite the same as
breaking out the current block of code because |if| statements don't count).
^|objectloop| goes through the object tree, and is extremely useful. |from|
means from the given object through its siblings; |in| means through all
children of the given object, and |near| means through all children of the
parent of the object. For instance, the following do the same thing:
\begintt
objectloop (x in lamp) { ... }
for (x=child(lamp): x~=0: x=sibling(x)) { ... }
\endtt
Note that the library creates a variable called |top_object| holding the
highest existing object number: so a way to ^{loop over every object}
defined in your own code is
\begintt
for (i=selfobj+1: i<=top_object: i++) ...
\endtt^^|top object|
since ^|selfobj| is the last of the objects created by the library.
\warning^^{tree felling} When looping through the object tree, be careful if
you are altering it at the same time. For instance,
|objectloop (x in rucksack) remove x;| is likely to go horribly wrong -- it's
safer not to cut down a tree while actually climbing it. The safe way is to
keep lopping branches off, |while (child(x)~=0) remove child(x);|
\warning If you |jump| all the way from a routine in one object to a routine
in another, then the library's ^|self| variable will not keep up with you.
(In any case, jumping across routines is considered poor form.)
\medskip\noindent
The ^|switch| statement takes the form:
\begintt
switch (expression)
{ constant-value-1: ...
constant-value-2: ...
...
default: ...
}
\endtt
the ^|default| clause being optional. It executes only the code which follows
whichever value the expression has. There is no ``case fall-through'' as
in C: so there's no need to keep using |break| instructions as in C.
The |default| code, if given, is executed when none of the others match.
Each \<constant-value> is a comma-separated list of constants. For example,
\begintt
switch(random(6))
{ 1: "A snake slithers.";
2 to 3: "An elephant bellows.";
default: "The jungle is ominously silent.";
}
\endtt^^{jungle noises}
The value |c1 to c2| means ``between |c1| and |c2|, inclusive''.
Embedded routines can, if desired, take the similar form:
switching on actions, which can conveniently be written without
the need for a |##| in front of their names. For instance,
\begintt
before
[; Jump: "The ceiling is too low.";
Look, Inv, Wait: ;
default: "An invisible force holds you inactive.";
];
\endtt^^{low ceiling}^^{invisible force}
|default| is again optional.
\ddanger The switch is actually on the value of a variable called
|sw__var|, which the library sets to the current action when calling |before|
and |after|, and to its reason when calling |life|.^^{switch variable}
\exercise Write a routine to print out ^{prime factorisations} of numbers from
2 to 100.^^{exercises: prime factorisation}
\answer{^^{exercises: prime factorisation}
|Primes(100)|, where:
\beginlines
|[ Primes i j k l;|
| for (j=2:j<=i:j++)|
| { print j, " : "; l=j;|
| while (l > 1)|
| for (k=2:k<=l:k++)|
| if (l%k == 0) { l=l/k; print k, " "; break; }|
| new_line;|
| }|
|];|
\endlines^^{prime factorisations}
(which was the first algorithm ever compiled by Inform).}
\asection{19}{Actions}The commands
\begindisplay
|<| \<Action> |[|\<first-object> |[|\<second-object>|]]| |>|\cr
|<<| \<Action> |[|\<first-object> |[|\<second-object>|]]| |>>|\cr
\enddisplay^^{actions: statements to cause}
cause the given actions to take place. In the latter case, the current
routine then returns 1, or true. The objects can be given as any
expression, but the action must just be a name (with no initial |##|):
unless it is bracketed, in which case any expression is allowed, e.g.
\begintt
<< (MyAmazingAction(15)) magic_lamp>>;
\endtt
Unpleasant things may happen if this expression doesn't evaluate to an
action.
\section{31}{A summary of grammar}^^{grammar: summary of}
This section summarises the syntax more fully described in \S\S 22-23.
\medskip\noindent%
A `verb' is a set of possible initial words in keyboard command, which are
treated synonymously (for example, ``wear'' and ``don'') together with
a `grammar'. A grammar is a list of `lines' which the parser tries to match,
one at a time, and accepts the first one which matches. The directive
\begindisplay
Verb [|meta|] \<verb-word-1> $\ldots$ \<verb-word-$n$> \<grammar>
\enddisplay
creates a new verb. If it is said to be |meta| then it will count as `out
of the game': for instance ``score'' or ``save''. New synonyms can be added
to an old verb with:
\begindisplay
Verb \<new-word-1> $\ldots$ \<new-word-$n$> |=| \<existing-verb-word>
\enddisplay
An old verb can be modified with the directive
\begindisplay
Extend [|only|] \<existing-word-1> $\ldots$ \<existing-word-$n$> [\<priority>] \<grammar>
\enddisplay
If |only| is specified, the existing words given (which must all be from the same
existing verb) are split off into a new independent copy of the verb.
If not, the directive extends the whole existing verb.
The priority can be |first| (insert
this grammar at the head of the list), |last| (insert it at the end) or |replace|
(throw away the old list and use this instead); the default is |last|.
A line is a list of `tokens' together with the action generated if each
token matches so that the line is accepted. The syntax of a line is
\begindisplay
|*| \<token-1> \<token-2> $\ldots$\<token-$n$> |->| \<action>
\enddisplay
where $0\leq n\leq 6$. The action is named without initial |##| signs and if
an action which isn't in the standard library set is named then an action
routine (named with the action name followed by |Sub|) must be defined
somewhere in the game.
\medskip
\noindent%
A token matches a single particle of what has been typed. The possible
tokens are:
{\smallskip
%$-1
\baselineskip=7 true mm
\settabs 8\columns
\+& \rstok{|"|\<word>|"|} && that literal word only\cr
\+& \cstok{noun} && any object in scope\cr
\+& \cstok{held} && object held by the player\cr
\+& \cstok{multi} && one or more objects in scope\cr
\+& \cstok{multiheld} && one or more held objects\cr
\+& \cstok{multiexcept} && one or more in scope, except the other\cr
\+& \cstok{multiinside} && one or more in scope, inside the other\cr
\+& \rstok{\<attribute>} && any object in scope which has the attribute\cr
\+& \cstok{creature} && an object in scope which is |animate|\cr
\+& \rstok{|noun = |\<Routine>} && any object in scope passing the given test\cr
\+& \rstok{|scope = |\<Routine>} && an object in this definition of scope\cr
\+& \cstok{number} && a number only\cr
\+& \rstok{\<Routine>} && refer to this general parsing routine\cr
\+& \cstok{special} && {\it any} single word or number\cr
\smallskip}
\par\noindent%
For the \rstok{|noun = |\<Routine>} token,
the test routine must decide whether or not the
object in the |noun| variable is acceptable and return true or false.
For the \rstok{|scope = |\<Routine>} token,
the routine must look at the variable |scope_stage|.
If this is 1, then it must decide whether or not to allow a multiple object
(such as ``all'') here and return true or false. If 2, then the routine may
put objects into scope by calling either |PlaceInScope(obj)| to put just |obj|
in, or |ScopeWithin(obj)| to put the contents of |obj| into scope. It must
then return either true (to prevent any other objects from entering scope) or
false (to let the parser put in all the usual objects). If |scope_stage=3|,
it must print a suitable message to tell the player that this token was
misunderstood.
A general parsing routine can match any text it likes. It should use |wn|,
the variable holding the number of the word currently being parsed (counting
from the verb being word 1) and the routine |NextWord()| to read the next
word and move |wn| on by 1. The routine returns:
\begindisplay
$-1$\quad if the user's input isn't understood,\cr
0\quad if it's understood but doesn't refer to anything,\cr
1\quad if there is a numerical value resulting, or\cr
$n$\quad if object $n$ is understood.\cr
\enddisplay
In the case of a number, the actual value should be put into the variable
|parsed_number|.^^|parsed number|
On an unsuccessful match (returning $-1$) it doesn't matter what the final
value of |wn| is. Otherwise it should be left pointing to the next
thing {\it after} what the routine understood.
\newpage
\section{32}{Compiler options and memory settings}
\verywidepoem
I was promised a horse, but what I got instead
was a tail, with a horse hung from it almost dead.
\tlwidequoteby{^{Palladas of Alexandria} ({\oldstyle319}?--{\oldstyle400}?)}{translated by ^{Tony Harrison} ({\oldstyle1937}--)}
\ninepoint
\noindent {\it
The reader is warned that some details in this section are slightly
different on different machines.}
\medskip
\noindent
On most machines, Inform is run from the command line, by a command like
\beginstt
inform -xv5 balances
\endtt
and simply typing |inform| will produce a good deal of help information
about the command line options available. The ^{command line syntax} is
\begindisplay
|inform| \<switches> \<settings> \<source file> \<output file>
\enddisplay
where only the \<source file> is mandatory. By default, the full names to
give the source and output files are derived in a way suitable for the machine
Inform is running on: on a PC, for instance, |advent| may be understood as
asking to compile |advent.inf| to |advent.z5|.
\medskip\noindent
The switches are given in one or more groups, preceded by a minus sign |-|
in the usual Unix command-line style. The current list of legal switches is:
\beginlines
| a list assembly-level instructions compiled|
| b give statistics and/or line/object list in both passes|
| c more concise error messages|
| d contract double spaces after full stops in text|
| e economy mode (slower): make use of declared abbreviations|
| E0 Archimedes-style error messages (current setting)|
| E1 Microsoft-style error messages|
| f frequencies mode: show how useful abbreviations are|
| g with debugging code: traces all function calls|
| h print this information|
| i ignore default switches set within the file|
| j list objects as constructed|
| k output Infix debugging information to "Game_Debug"|
| l list all assembly lines|
| m say how much memory has been allocated|
| n print numbers of properties, attributes and actions|
| o print offset addresses|
| p give percentage breakdown of story file|
| q keep quiet about obsolete usages|
| r record all the text to "Game_Text"|
| s give statistics|
| t trace Z-code assembly|
| u work out most useful abbreviations|
| v3 compile to version-3 (Standard) story file|
| v4 compile to version-4 (Plus) story file|
| v5 compile to version-5 (Advanced) story file|
| v6 compile to version-6 (graphical) story file|
| v7 compile to version-7 (*) story file|
| v8 compile to version-8 (*) story file|
| (*) formats for very large games, requiring|
| slightly modified game interpreters to play|
| w disable warning messages|
| x print # for every 100 lines compiled (in both passes)|
| z print memory map of the Z-machine|
| T enable throwback of errors in the DDE|
\endlines^^{compiler switches}^^{switches (on command line)}
(Thus, as long as your name doesn't have a `y' in it, you can
amuse yourself typing your name in as a switch and seeing what it does.)
Note that these switches can also be selected by putting a |switches|
directive into the source code before anything else, such as
\beginstt
Switches xdv5s;
\endtt
The most useful switch is |v|, to choose the game format. For example,
the above line is from the example game ^{`Advent'}, which is consequently
compiled to an Advanced game. (Under Inform 5.5, this is the default
anyway.) The recommended versions to use are |v3|, |v5| and |v8|.
Many of the remaining switches make Inform produce extra output, but do
not affect its compilation:
\medskip
\noindent |a b l m n t|\qquad Tracing options to help with maintaining
Inform, or for debugging assembly language
programs.^^{debugging: switches to help assembly language debugging}
^^{assembly language: tracing switches}
\noindent |o p s z|\qquad To print out information about the final game file:
the |s| (^{statistics}) option is particularly useful to keep track of how
large the game is growing.
\noindent |c w q E T|\qquad In |c| mode, Inform does not quote whole source lines
together with error messages; in |w| mode it suppresses warnings; in |T|
mode, which is only present on the Acorn Archimedes, error throwback
will occur in the `Desktop Development Environment'. Inform 5.5 and later
gives warnings about obsolete usages (such as |for i 1 to 5|), though it
does compile them, unless |q| is set. Finally, |E| is provided since
different error formats fit in better with debugging tools on different
machines.
\noindent |f|\qquad Indicates roughly how many bytes the abbreviations saved.
\noindent |h|\qquad Prints out the help information (and is equivalent to
just typing |inform|).
\noindent |j x|\qquad Makes Inform print out steady text to prove that it's
still awake: on very slow machines this may be a convenience.
\noindent |k|\qquad Writes a ``debugging information'' file for the use of
the ^{Infix} debugger (similarly, the filename is something suitable for
the machine).^^{debugging: information file}^^{debugging: using Infix}
\noindent |r|\qquad Intended to help with proof-reading the text of a game:
transcribes all of the text in double-quotes to the given file (whose
name is something suitable for the machine).
\noindent |u|\qquad Tries to work out a good set of abbreviations to
declare for your game, but {\it extremely slowly} (a matter of hours) and
{\it consuming very much memory} (perhaps a megabyte).
\medskip\noindent
This leaves three more switches which actually alter the game file which
Inform would compile:
\medskip
\noindent |d|\qquad Converts text like
\beginstt
"...with a mango. You applaud..."
\endtt
into the same with only a single space after the full stop, which will
prevent an interpreter from displaying a spurious space at the beginning
of a line when a line break happens to occur exactly after the full stop;
this is to help typists who habitually double-space. Note that it does
not contract double spaces after question or exclamation
marks.^^{double spacing}
\noindent |e|\qquad Only in ^{`economy' mode} does Inform actually process
abbreviations, because this is seldom needed and slows the compiler by
10\% or so; the game file should not play any differently if compiled
this way, but will probably be shorter, if your choice of ^{abbreviations}
was sensible.
\noindent |g|\qquad Makes Inform automatically compile trace-printing
code on every function call; in play this will produce reams of text (several
pages between each chance to type commands) but is sometimes useful. Note
that in Inform 5.3 or later, this can be set on an individual command by
writing |*| as its first local variable, without use of the |g|
switch.^^{debugging: tracing calls to every routine in game}
\noindent |i|\qquad Overrides any switches set by |switches| directives in
the source code; so that the game can be compiled with different options
without having to alter that source code.
\bigskip
\noindent
One useful (optional) setting is the directory to take library files from:
this should be preceded by a |+| sign.
\medskip
\noindent
Inform's memory management is about as flexible as it can be given that it
has to run in some quite hostile environments. In particular, it is unable
to increase the size of any stretch of memory once allocated, so if it runs
out of anything it has to give up. If it does run out, it will produce an
error message saying what it has run out of and how to provide more.
There are three main choices: |$small|, |$large| and |$huge|. (Which one is
the default depends on the computer you use.) Even |$small| is large enough
to compile all the example games, including ^{`Advent'}. |$large| compiles
almost anything and |$huge| has been used only for ^{`Curses'} and
^{`Jigsaw'} in their most advanced states, and even they hardly need it.
A typical game, compiled with |$large|, will cause Inform to allocate about
350K of memory: and the same game about 100K less under |$small|. (These
values will be rather lower if the computer Inform runs on has 16-bit
integers.) In addition, Inform physically occupies about 170K (on my
computer). Thus, the total memory consumption of the compiler at work
will be between 4 to 500K.^^{memory: small, large or huge}
^^{memory: typical consumption of by compiler}\
Running
\beginstt
inform $list
\endtt^^{memory: compiler settings}^^{small memory}^^{large memory}
will list the various settings which can be changed, and their current
values. Thus one can compare small and large with:
\beginstt
inform $small $list
inform $large $list
\endtt
If Inform runs out of allocation for something, it will generally print an
error message like:
\beginstt
"Game", line 1320: Fatal error: The memory setting MAX_OBJECTS (which
is 200 at present) has been exceeded. Try running Inform again with
$MAX_OBJECTS=<some-larger-number> on the command line.
\endtt^^{error messages: memory allocation}
and indeed
\beginstt
inform $MAX_OBJECTS=250 game
\endtt
(say) will tell Inform to try again, reserving more memory for objects this
time. Note that settings are made from left to right, so that for instance
\beginstt
inform $small $MAX_ACTIONS=200 ...
\endtt
will work, but
\beginstt
inform $MAX_ACTIONS=200 $small ...
\endtt
will not because the |$small| changes |MAX_ACTIONS| again.
Changing some settings has hardly any effect on memory usage, whereas others
are expensive to increase. To find out about, say, |MAX_VERBS|, run
\beginstt
inform $?MAX_VERBS
\endtt
(note the question mark) which will print some very brief comments.
Users of Unix, where |$| and |?| are special shell characters, will need
to type
\beginstt
inform '$?list' inform '$?MAX_VERBS'
\endtt
and so on.
\ninepoint
\section{33}{All the Inform error messages}
\ninepoint\noindent%
Inform can produce about 250 different ^{error messages}. Since
interpreters can in some cases crash horribly when given incorrect files,
Inform never writes a file which caused an error, though it will permit files
which incurred only warnings.
\subsection{Fatal errors}\medskip\noindent
To begin with, ^{fatal errors} (which stop Inform in its tracks) come in three
kinds, the first containing only this one:
\beginlines
|Too many errors: giving up|
\endlines^^{error messages: fatal errors}
After 100 errors, Inform stops (in case it has been given the wrong source file
altogether). Secondly, file input/output can go wrong. Most commonly, Inform
has the wrong filename:
\beginlines
|Couldn't open input file <filename>|
|Couldn't open output file <filename>|
|Couldn't open transcript file <filename>|
|Couldn't open debugging information file <filename>|
|Couldn't open temporary file 1 <filename>|
|Couldn't open temporary file 2 <filename>|
|Too many files have included each other: increase #define MAX_INCLUSION_DEPTH|
\endlines
(Temporary files are used (on most machines) for temporary storage space
during compilation. They are removed afterwards.)
The last error only occurs if 5 files all include each other. Increasing this
|#define| means re-compiling Inform from its C source, a drastic measure.
The remaining file-handling errors usually mean that the disc is full:
something has gone wrong with an already-open file.
\beginlines
|I/O failure: couldn't read from source file|
|I/O failure: couldn't write to temporary file 1|
|I/O failure: couldn't reopen temporary file 1|
|I/O failure: couldn't read from temporary file 1|
|I/O failure: couldn't write to temporary file 2|
|I/O failure: couldn't reopen temporary file 2|
|I/O failure: couldn't read from temporary file 2|
|I/O failure: couldn't write to story file|
|I/O failure: couldn't write to transcript file|
|I/O failure: can't write to debugging information file|
\endlines^^{error messages: file handling}
The third class of fatal error is Inform ^{running out of memory}. It might
fail drastically, having not enough memory to get started, as follows$\ldots$
\beginlines
|Couldn't allocate memory|
|Couldn't allocate memory for an array|
\endlines
There are four similar |hallocate| errors unique to the PC `Quick C' port.
More often memory will run out in the course of compilation, like so:
\beginlines
|The memory setting <setting> (which is <value> at present) has been exceeded.|
|Try running Inform again with $<setting>=<some-larger-number> on the command line.|
\endlines^^{error messages: memory allocation}
For details of memory settings, see \S 32 above.
\subsection{Errors}\medskip\noindent
There are a few conventions. Anything in double-quotes is a quotation from
your source code; other strings are in single-quotes. A message like
\beginstt
Expected ... but found "..."
\endtt
means that Inform expected something different from what it found; if it
doesn't say what it found, this usually means it found nothing (i.e. the
statement was incomplete). Messages in the form
\beginstt
No such ... as "..."
Not a ...: "..."
\endtt
mean that a name is unrecognised in the former case (say, a typing error
might produce this), or is recognised but means something else in the latter
case (an attempt to use a routine where a property is expected would give
such an error).
To begin with, the source-code format may go awry:
\beginlines
|Too many tokens on line (note: to increase the maximum, set|
| $MAX_TOKENS=some-bigger-number on the Inform command line)|
|Line too long (note: to increase the maximum length, set|
| $BUFFER_LENGTH=some-bigger-number on the Inform command line)|
|Too much text for one pair of "s to hold|
|Too much text for one pair of 's to hold|
|Open quotes " expected for text but found <text>|
|Close quotes " expected for text but found <text>|
\endlines^^{error messages: source code format}
(Usually |BUFFER_LENGTH| allows about 2000 characters per line.)
When giving something (such as an object) an internal name, there are
rules to be obeyed; for instance, you can't give an object the same name
as a property already declared:
\beginlines
|Symbol name expected|
|Symbol names are not permitted to start with an '_'|
|Symbol name is too long: <text>|
|Duplicated symbol name: <text>|
\endlines^^{symbol names}^^{error messages: symbol names}
At the top level, the most common ``no such command'' errors are
\beginlines
|Expected an assignment, command, directive or opcode but found <text>|
|Unknown directive: <text>|
|Expected directive or '[' but found statement <text>|
|Expected directive or '[' but found opcode <text>|
|Expected directive or '[' but found <text>|
\endlines
which means Inform didn't even understand the first word of a line.
Directives to Inform can produce the following errors:
\beginlines
|All 32 attributes already declared (compile as Advanced game to get an extra 16)|
|All 48 attributes already declared|
|All 30 properties already declared (compile as Advanced game to get an extra 32)|
|All 62 properties already declared|
|Expected an attribute name after 'alias'|
|Expected a property name after 'alias'|
|'alias' incompatible with 'long'|
|'alias' incompatible with 'additive'|
|'alias' refers to undefined attribute <text>|
|'alias' refers to undefined property <text>|
|All 235 global variables already declared|
|An initialised global variable was defined only in Pass 1|
|A 'string' array can have at most 256 entries|
|Array entry too large for a byte: <text>|
|Expected ']' but found '['|
|Misplaced '['|
|Misplaced ']'|
|Missing array definition|
|Expected '->', '-->', 'string' or 'table' but found <text>|
|Expected '=', '->', '-->', 'string' or 'table' but found <text>|
\endlines^^|alias|^^{global variables: error messages}
^^{error messages: global variables}
Use of |alias| is rare, except inside the library files. The last of these
errors means that a global variable has been wrongly initialised, and a
common cause of this is typing, say, |global trolls 5;| instead of
|global trolls = 5;|.
\beginlines
|'*' divider expected, but found <text>|
|No such token as <text>|
|Expected '=' after 'scope' but found <text>|
|Expected routine after 'scope=' but found <text>|
|Expected routine after 'noun=' but found <text>|
|'=' is only legal here as 'noun=Routine'|
|'->' clause missing|
|No such action routine as <text>|
|Not an action: <text>|
|Too many lines of grammar for verb: increase #define MAX_LINES_PER_VERB|
|There is no previous grammar for the verb <text>|
|Two different verb definitions refer to <text>|
|Expected 'replace', 'last' or 'first' but found <text>|
\endlines^^{error messages: grammar}^^{grammar: error messages}
These are the grammatical errors, the last three concerning |extend|ed
verb definitions.
Normally one gets 16 grammar lines per verb. It's probably better to write
grammar more carefully (using routines to parse adjectives more carefully,
for instance) than to exceed this, as the game parser will otherwise slow
down. The object/class definition errors are largely self-explanatory:
\beginlines
|Object/class definition finishes with ','|
|Two commas ',' in a row in object/class definition|
|No such attribute as <text>|
|No such class as <text>|
|Expected 'with', 'has' or 'class' in object/class definition but found <text>|
|Expected an (internal) name for object but found the string <text>|
|An object must be defined after the one which contains it: (so far)|
| there is no such object as <text>|
|Not an object: <text>|
|No such property as <text>|
|Not a property: <text>|
\endlines^^{objects: error messages}
^^{classes: error messages}^^{error messages: object and class definitions}
Miscellaneous errors complete the list produced by mostly-uncommon directives:
\beginlines
|Expected ';' after 'include <file>' but found <text>|
|A 'switches' directive must come before constant definitions|
|Expected 'score' or 'time' after 'statusline' but found <text>|
|The serial number must be a 6-digit date in double-quotes|
|The version number must be 3 to 8: 3 for Standard games and 5 for Advanced|
|Expected 'on' or 'off' after 'font' but found <text>|
|Defaulted constants can't be strings|
|Must specify 0 to 3 variables in 'stub' routine|
|Expected 'full' or nothing after 'etrace' but found <text>|
|Too many abbreviations declared|
|All abbreviations must be declared together|
|It's not worth abbreviating <text>|
|Expected a 'string' value|
|No such directive as <text>|
\endlines
Conditional compilation happens as a result of one of |#IFDEF|, |#IFV3| or
|#IFV5|. The former tests whether a constant is defined; the latter test
for version-3 (Standard) games or version-5 (Advanced) games. An |#IFNOT|
section is optional but the closing |#ENDIF| is compulsory. In these error
messages |#IF...| means any of the three opening clauses.
\beginlines
|'#IF...' nested too deeply: increase #define MAX_IFDEF_DEPTH|
|'#ENDIF' without matching '#IF...'|
|'#IFNOT' without matching '#IF...'|
|Two '#IFNOT's in the same '#IF...'|
|End of file reached inside '#IF...'|
\endlines^^{conditional compilation}^^{error messages: conditional compilation}
Routines begin with a |[| and some local variables and end with |]|:
\beginlines
|Routine has more than 15 local variables|
|The earliest-defined routine is not allowed to have local variables|
|Expected local variable but found ',' or ':' (probably the ';' after the|
| '[ ...' line was forgotten)|
|Misplaced ']'|
|Comma ',' after ']' can only be used inside object/class definitions|
|Expected ',' or ';' after ']' but found <text>|
|Expected ';' after ']' but found <text>|
\endlines^^{routine errors}^^{error messages: routines}
The error messages for expressions are fairly simple. Note, however, that
one is not allowed to type, say, |lamp.number++;| but must instead write
|lamp.number = lamp.number + 1;| The ^|++| and ^|--| operators
can only be applied to variables, not properties or array entries.
\beginlines
|Expected condition but found expression|
|Unexpected condition|
|Expected an assignment but found <text>|
|Expected an assignment but found an expression|
|Attempt to use void as a value|
|Attempt to use an assignment as a value|
|Attempt to use a condition as a value|
|Operator has too few arguments|
|Operator has too many arguments|
|'++' and '--' can only apply directly to variables|
|At most three values can be separated by 'or'|
|'or' can only be used with the conditions '==' and '~='|
|Too many brackets '(' in expression|
|Brackets '(' too deeply nested|
|Missing bracket ')' in function call|
|Spurious comma ','|
|Misplaced comma ','|
|Wrong number of arguments to system function|
|'children' takes a single argument|
|'youngest' takes a single argument|
|'elder' takes a single argument|
|'indirect' takes at least one argument|
|Type mismatch in argument <text>|
|A function may be called with at most 3 arguments|
|Malformed statement 'Function(...);'|
|Spurious terms after function call|
|Spurious terms after assignment|
|Spurious terms after expression|
\endlines^^{expressions: error messages}^^{error messages: expressions}
Next, constants. Note that dictionary words cannot start with a
non-alphabetic character, which means that Infocom-style `debugging verbs'
which traditionally begin with a |#| are not allowed.
\beginlines
|No such variable as <text>|
|No such constant as <text>|
|Not a constant: <text>|
|Reserved word as constant: <text>|
|No such routine as <text>|
|Dictionary words must begin with a letter of the alphabet|
|Dictionary word not found for constant <text>|
\endlines^^{dictionary: error messages}^^{error messages: dictionary}
Loop constructs: note that `old-style' |for| loops are a rather obsolete
form (e.g., |for i 1 to 10|), and the more flexible style |for (i=1:i<=10:i++)|
is now preferred.
\beginlines
|'if' statement with more than one 'else'|
|'else' attached to a loop block|
|'for' loops too deeply nested|
|':' expected in 'for' loop|
|Second ':' expected in 'for' loop|
|Concluding ')' expected in 'for' loop|
|'to' missing in old-style 'for' loop|
|'to' expected in old-style 'for' loop|
|Final value missing in old-style 'for' loop|
|'{' required after an old-style 'for' loop|
|Old-style 'for' loops must have simple final values|
|Open bracket '(' expected in 'objectloop'|
|'objectloop' must be 'from', 'near' or 'in' something|
|Close bracket ')' expected in 'objectloop'|
|Braces '{' are compulsory unless the condition is bracketed|
|Unmatched '}' found|
|Brace mismatch in previous routine|
|Expected bracketed expression but found <text>|
|Switch value too long or a string: perhaps a statement |
| accidentally ended with a comma?|
|A 'default' clause must come last|
|A 'default' rule must come last|
|Two 'default' clauses in 'switch'|
|Two 'default' rules given|
|Expected label after 'jump' but found <text>|
|'do' without matching 'until'|
|'until' without matching 'do'|
\endlines^^{braces: mismatch errors}
Inform checks the level of braces when a routine closes so that it can
recover as quickly as possible from a mismatch; this last error means at
least one brace is still open when the routine finishes.
\beginlines
|Expected some attributes to 'give'|
|Expected 'to <object>' in 'move'|
|Expected 'to' in 'move' but found <text>|
|Expected ',' in 'print' list but found <text>|
|Expected 'style' to be 'roman', 'bold', 'underline' or 'reverse' but found <text>|
|Expected a parse buffer for 'read'|
|Expected some properties to 'write'|
|The object to 'write' must be a variable or constant|
|Expected property value to 'write'|
|Expected 'byte' or 'word' in 'put'|
|Expected 'byte' or 'word' in 'put' but found <text>|
\endlines
These are miscellaneous commands and |put| and |write| are quite obsolete.
Only action commands like |<Take brass_lantern>| remain:
\beginlines
|Action name too long or a string: perhaps a statement accidentally ended|
| with a comma?|
|The longest action command allowed is '<Action noun second>'|
|Angle brackets '>' do not match|
|Missing '>' or '>>'|
|Action given in constant does not exist|
|Action name over 60 characters long: <text>|
|Expected ':' (after action) but found <text>|
\endlines
The first of these may be caused by something like:
\beginstt
"You load the crossbow bolt.",
Drop: "The bolt falls to the floor with a thump.";
\endtt^^{crossbow bolt}
where a comma has been typed instead of a semicolon after the first string,
so that Inform thinks you are giving a rule for two actions, one being |Drop|
and the other apparently called |"You load the crossbow bolt."|.
\subsection{Internal and assembler errors}\medskip\noindent
By now we have descended to the ninth circle of Inform: the assembler.
These errors are fairly unmysterious (if only because they seldom happen),
but sometimes one is told something odd like
\beginstt
No such label as _f456
\endtt
which is caused by Inform failing to recover properly from a previous
brace mismatch error. Just ignore this and fix the earlier error (which will
also have been reported). The ``no such variable'' error is occasionally
seen when an unknown variable is first referred to by being written to.
\beginlines
|No such assembly opcode as <text>|
|Too many arguments|
|Can't store to that (no such variable)|
|Branch too far forward: use '?'|
|No such return condition for branch|
|Can't branch to a routine, only to a label|
|No such label as <text>|
|Not a label: <text>|
\endlines^^{assembly language: error messages from}
^^{error messages: from assembler}
To conclude with, there are a few internal error messages:
\beginlines
|A label has moved between passes because of a low-level error just before|
| (perhaps an improper use of a routine address as a constant)|
|Object has altered in memory usage between passes: perhaps an attempt to|
| use a routine name as value of a small property|
|Duplicated system symbol name <text>|
|Internal error - unknown directive code|
|Internal error - unknown compiler code|
\endlines^^{internal errors}
The last three should not happen. The first two occasionally do, and cause
some confusion. Inform performs two tests regularly as a safeguard to make
sure that code has not come out substantially different in its two passes.
The first failure occurs in code, the second for object/class definitions.
Whatever caused this should be something unusual, low-level and just
before the error occurred: if you get these errors with innocent high-level
code, then probably Inform should provide a suitable error message, so
please e-mail the author with a sample of offending code.
\subsection{Warnings}\medskip\noindent
Inform can produce any number of warnings without shutting down. Note
that Inform tries to give only warnings when it hits Advanced-game features
in what is to be a Standard game, for the sake of portability. Nevertheless
it is probably better to use |#IFV3| and |#IFV5| clauses around any pieces
of code which are to be different in these two versions (if, indeed, you
want two different versions).
\beginlines
|Local variable unused: <text>|
|Since it is defined before inclusion of the library, game-play will begin|
| not at 'Main' but at the routine <text>|
|Ignoring Advanced-game status routine|
|Ignoring this Advanced-game command|
|Missing ','? Property data seems to contain the property name <text>|
|Standard-game limit of 8 bytes per property exceeded (use Advanced to get|
| 64), so truncating property <text>|
|Ignoring Advanced-game opcode <text>|
|Ignoring Standard-game opcode <text>|
\endlines^^{warnings}^^{Advanced games}^^{Standard games}
^^{error messages: warnings}
In addition, Inform 5.5 makes rather more thorough syntax checks than its
predecessors and (unless the -q switch is set) may produce the following
``obsolete usage'' warnings:
\beginlines
|'#a$Action' is now superceded by '##Action'|
|'#w$word' is now superceded by ''word''|
|'#n$word' is now superceded by ''word''|
|All properties are now automatically 'long'|
|Use the ^ character for an apostrophe in a dictionary word, e.g. 'peter^s'|
|Use 'word' as a constant dictionary address|
|Modern 'for' syntax is 'for (start:condition:update)'|
|Use 'array->byte=value' or 'array-->word=value'|
|Write properties using the '.' operator|
|'If' conditions should be bracketed|
|Assembly-language lines should begin with '@'|
|Directives inside routines should begin with '#'|
|An object should only have one internal name|
|Use '->' instead of 'data'|
|Use '->' instead of 'initial'|
|Use '->' instead of 'initstr'|
\endlines^^{obsolete usage warnings}^^{error messages: obsolete usage warnings}
\tenpoint
\chapter{Chapter VI: Library Reference}
\stepin=60pt
\ninepoint
\section{34}{The attributes}%
Here is a concise account of all the ^{normal rules} concerning
all the library's attributes, except that: rules about how
the parser sorts out ambiguities are far too complicated to
include here, but should not concern designers anyway; and the
definitions of `scope' and `darkness' are given in
\S\S 24 and 13 respectively. These rules are the result
of pragmatism and compromise, but are all easily
modifiable.^^{attributes: defined in library}
\bigskip
\block{absent}^^|absent|^^{floating objects}%
A `floating object' (one with a
|found_in| property, which can appear in many different rooms)
which is |absent| will in future no longer appear in the game. Note that
you cannot make a floating object disappear merely by giving it
|absent|, but must explicitly |remove| it as well.
\block{animate}^^|animate|%
``Is alive (human or animal).'' Can be spoken to in ``richard, hello'' style;
matches the |creature| token in grammar; picks up ``him'' or ``her''
(according to gender) rather than ``it'', likewise ``his''; an object the
player is changed into becomes |animate|; some messages read ``on whom'',
etc., instead of ``on which''; can't be taken; its subobjects ``belong to''
it rather than ``are part of'' it; messages don't assume it can be
``touched'' or ``squeezed'' as an ordinary object can; the actions |Attack|,
|ThrowAt| are diverted to |life| rather than rejected as being `futile
violence'.
\block{clothing}^^|clothing|%
``Can be worn.''
\block{concealed}^^|concealed|%
``Concealed from view but present.''
The player object has this; an object which was the player until
|ChangePlayer| happened loses this property; a |concealed| |door| can't be
entered; does not appear in room descriptions.
\block{container}^^|container|%
Affects scope and light; object lists
recurse through it if |open| (or |transparent|); may be described as closed,
open, locked, empty; a possession will give it a |LetGo| action if the
player tries to remove it, or a |Receive| if something is put in; things can
be taken or removed from it, or inserted into it, but only if it is |open|;
likewise for ``transfer'' and ``empty''; room descriptions describe using
|when_open| or |when_closed| if given; if there is no defined |description|,
an |Examine| causes the contents to be searched (i.e. written out) rather
than a message ``You see nothing special about$\ldots$''; |Search| only reveals
the contents of |container|s, otherwise saying ``You find nothing''.
\block{door}^^|door|
``Is a door or bridge.'' Room descriptions
describe using |when_open| or |when_closed| if given; and an |Enter|
action becomes a |Go| action. If a |Go| has to go through this
object, then: if |concealed|, the player ``can't go that way'';
if not |open|, then the player is told either that this cannot
be ascended or descended (if the player tried ``up'' or
``down''), or that it is in the way (otherwise);
but if neither, then its |door_to| property is consulted to
see where it leads; finally, if this is zero, then it is said
to ``lead nowhere'' and otherwise the player actually moves to
the location.
\block{edible}^^|edible|
``Can be eaten'' (and thus removed from game).
\block{enterable}^^|enterable|
Affects scope and light; only an |enterable| on the floor can be
entered. If an |enterable| is also a |container| then it can
only be entered or exited if it is |open|.
\block{female}^^|female|
Only applies to |animate|s (and cannot have
a |found_in| list for arcane reasons), and only affects the parser's
use of pronouns: it says ``her'' is appropriate but ``him'' and ``his''
are not.
\block{general}^^|general|
A general-purpose attribute, defined by
the library but never looked at or altered by it. This is left
free to mean something different for each object: often used by
programmers for something like ``the puzzle for this object has been
solved''.
\block{light}^^|light|
``Is giving off light.'' (See \S 13.) Also: the parser understands
``lit'', ``lighted'', ``unlit'' using this; inventories will
say ``(providing light)'' of it, and so will room descriptions if the
current |location| is ordinarily dark; it will never be automatically
put away into the player's |SACK_OBJECT|, as it might plausibly be
inflammable or the main light source.
\block{lockable}^^|lockable|
Can be locked or unlocked by a player
holding its key object, which is given by the property |with_key|;
if a |container| and also |locked|, may be called ``locked'' in
inventories.
\block{locked}^^|locked|
Can't be opened. If a |container|
and also |lockable|, may be called ``locked'' in inventories.
\block{moved}^^|moved|
``Has been or is being held by the player.'' Objects
(immediately) owned by the player after |Initialise| has run are given
it; at the end of each turn, if an item is newly held by the player
and is |scored|, it is given |moved| and |OBJECT_SCORE| points are
awarded; an object's |initial| message only appears in room
descriptions if it is un|moved|.
\block{on}^^|on|
``Switched on.'' A |switchable| object with this
is described by |with_on| in room descriptions; it will be called
``switched on'' by |Examine|.^^|on|\
\block{open}^^|open|
``Open door or container.'' Affects scope and light; lists (such as
inventories) recurse through an |open| |container|; if a |container|, called
``open'' by some descriptions; things can be taken or removed from an |open|
|container|; similarly inserted, transferred or emptied. A |container| can
only be entered or exited if it is both |enterable| and |open|. An |open|
|door| can be entered. Described by |when_open| in room descriptions.
\block{openable}^^|openable|
Can be opened or closed, unless |locked|.
\block{proper}^^|proper|
Its short name is a proper noun, and never preceded
by ``the'' or ``The''. The player's object must have this (so something
changed into will be given it).
\block{scenery}^^|scenery|
Not listed by the library in room descriptions; ``not portable'' to be
taken; ``you are unable to'' pull, push, or turn it.
\block{scored}^^|scored|
The player gets |OBJECT_SCORE| points for picking
it up for the first time; or, if a room, |ROOM_SCORE| points for visiting
it for the first time.
\block{static}^^|static|
``Fixed in place'' if player tries to take, remove,
pull, push or turn.
\block{supporter}^^|supporter|
``Things can be put on top of it.'' Affects scope and light;
object lists recurse through it; a possession will give it a
|LetGo| action if the player tries to remove it, or a |Receive|
if something is put in; things can be taken or removed from it,
or put on it; likewise for transfers; a player inside it is said
to be ``on'' rather than ``in'' it; room descriptions list
its contents in separate paragraphs if it is itself listed.
\block{switchable}^^|switchable|
Can be switched on or off; listed
as such by |Examine|; described using |when_on| or |when_off|
in room descriptions.
\block{talkable}^^|talkable|
Player can talk to this object in
``thing, do this'' style. This is useful for microphones and
the like, when |animate| is inappropriate.
\block{transparent}^^|transparent|
``Contents are visible.'' Affects scope and light;
a |transparent| container is treated as if it were |open| for
printing of contents.
\block{visited}^^|visited|
``Has been or is being visited by the player.''
Given to a room immediately after a |Look| first
happens there: if this room is |scored| then |ROOM_SCORE| points
are awarded. Affects whether room descriptions are abbreviated
or not.
\block{workflag}^^|workflag|
Temporary flag used by Inform internals,
also available to outside routines; can be used to select items
for some lists printed by |WriteListFrom|.
\block{worn}^^|worn|
``Item of clothing being worn.'' Should
only be an object being immediately carried by player.
Affects inventories; doesn't count towards the limit of
|MAX_CARRIED|; won't be automatically put away into the
|SACK_OBJECT|; a |Drop| action will cause a |Disrobe| action first;
so will |PutOn| or |Insert|.
\bigskip\noindent
Note that very few attributes sensibly apply to rooms: only really
|light|, |scored| and |visited|, together with |general| if you
choose to use it. Note also that an object cannot be both a
|container| and a |supporter|; and that the old attribute ^|autosearch|,
which was in earlier releases, has been withdrawn as obsolete.
\section{35}{The properties}^^{properties: defined in library}
\noindent
The following table lists every library-defined property. The banner
headings give the name, what type of value makes sense and the default value
(if other than 0). The symbol $\oplus$ means ``this property is additive''
so that inherited values from class definitions pile up into a list, rather
than wipe each other out. Recall that `false' is the value 0 and `true'
the value 1.
\bigskip\ninepoint
\prop{n\_to, s\_to, e\_to, w\_to, ...}{Room, object or routine}%
\fr These twelve properties (there are also |ne_to|, |nw_to|, |se_to|,
|sw_to|, |in_to|, |out_to|, |u_to| and |d_to|) are the map connections for
the room. A value of 0 means ``can't go this way''. Otherwise, the
value should either be a room or a |door| object: thus, |e_to| might be set
to |crystal_bridge| if the direction ``east'' means ``over the crystal
bridge''.
\rr The room or object the map connects to; or 0 for ``can't go this way'';
or 1 for ``can't go this way; stop and print nothing further''.
\warn Do not confuse the direction properties |n_to| and so on with
the twelve direction objects, |n_obj| et
al.^^{directions: direction properties}
\prop{add\_to\_scope}{List of objects or routine}^^|add to scope|
\fo When this object is in scope, so are all those listed, or all those
nominated by the routine. A routine given here should call
|PlaceInScope(obj)| to put |obj| in scope.
\nrr
\cpropd{after}{Routine}{NULL}^^|after|
Receives actions after they have happened, but before the player has
been told of them.
\fr All actions taking place in this room.
\fo All actions for which this object is |noun| (the first object
specified in the command); and all fake actions for it.
\rr False to continue (and tell the player what has happened), true to
stop here (printing nothing).
\noindent The |Search| action is a slightly special case. Here, |after| is
called when it is clear that it would be sensible to look inside the object
(e.g., it's an open container in a light room) but before the contents
are described.
\propd{article}{String or routine}{"a"}^^|article|
\fo Indefinite article for object or routine to print one.
\nrr
\cpropd{before}{Routine}{NULL}^^|before|
Receives advance warning of actions (or fake actions) about to happen.
\fr All actions taking place in this room.
\fo All actions for which this object is |noun| (the first object
specified in the command); and all fake actions, such as |Receive|
and |LetGo| if this object is the container or supporter concerned.
\rr False to continue with the action, true to stop here (printing
nothing).
\noindent First special case: A vehicle object receives the |Go|
action if the player is trying to drive around in it. In this case:
\rr 0 to disallow as usual; 1 to allow as usual, moving vehicle and
player; 2 to disallow but do (and print) nothing; 3 to allow but do
(and print) nothing. If you want to move the vehicle in your own code,
return 3, not 2: otherwise the old location may be restored by subsequent
workings.
\noindent Second special case: in a |PushDir| action, the |before|
routine must call |AllowPushDir()| and then return true in order to
allow the attempt (to push an object from one room to another) to
succeed.
\propd{cant\_go}{String or routine}{"You can't go that way."}^^|cant go|
\fr Message, or routine to print one, when a player tries to go in an
impossible direction from this room.
\nrr
\propd{capacity}{Number or routine}{100}^^|capacity|
\fo Number of objects a |container| or |supporter|
can hold.
\fpo Number of things the player can carry (when the player is this
object); the default player object (|selfobj|) has |capacity| initially
set to the constant |MAX_CARRIED|.
\propd{daemon}{Routine}{NULL}^^|daemon|
This routine is run each turn, once it has been activated by a
call to |StartDaemon|, and until stopped by a call to |StopDaemon|.
\warn The same object cannot have both a |daemon| and a |time_out|
property.
\cpropd{describe}{Routine}{NULL}^^|describe|
\fo Called when the object is to be described in a room description,
before any paragraph break (i.e., skipped line) has been printed. A
sometimes useful trick is to print nothing in this routine and return
true, which makes an object `invisible'.
\fr Called before a room's long (``look'') description is printed.
\rr False to describe in the usual way, true to stop printing here.
\prop{description}{String or routine}^^|description|
\fo The |Examine| message, or a routine to print one out.
\fr The long (``look'') description, or a routine to print one out.
\nrr
\prop{door\_dir}{Direction property or routine}^^|door dir|
\fco When the player tries to go in this direction, e.g., by typing the
name of this object, then the map connection tried is the value of
this direction property for the current room. For example, the
|n_obj| ``north'' object normally has |door_dir| set to |n_to|.
\fo The direction that this |door| object goes via (for instance,
a bridge might run east, in which case this would be set to |e_to|).
\rr The direction property to try.
\prop{door\_to}{Room or routine}^^|door to|
\fo The place this door object leads to. A value of 0 means
``leads nowhere''.
\rr The room. Again, 0 (or false) means ``leads nowhere''.
Further, 1 (or true) means ``stop the movement action immediately
and print nothing further''.
\cpropd{each\_turn}{String or routine}{NULL}^^|each turn|
String to print, or routine to run, at the end of each turn in which
the object is in scope (after all timers and daemons for that turn have
been run).
\nrr
\prop{found\_in}{List of rooms or routine}^^|found in|
This object will be found in all of the listed rooms, or if
the routine says so, unless it has the attribute |absent|. If
an object in the list is not a room, it means ``present in the
same room as this object''.
\rr True to be present, otherwise false. The routine can look
at the current |location| in order to decide.
\warn This property is only looked at when the player changes rooms.
\prop{grammar}{Routine}^^|grammar|
\fato This is called when the
parser has worked out that the object in question is being spoken
to, and has decided the |verb_word| and |verb_wordnum| (the position
of the verb word in the word stream) but hasn't yet tried any grammar.
The routine can, if it wishes, parse past some words (provided it
moves |verb_wordnum| on by the number of words it wants to eat up).
\rr False to carry on as usual; true to indicate that the routine
has parsed the entire command itself, and set up |action|, |noun|
and |second| to the appropriate order; or a dictionary value for
a verb, such as |'take'|, to indicate ``parse the command from this
verb's grammar instead''; or minus such a value, e.g. |-'take'|,
to indicate ``parse from this verb and then parse the usual
grammar as well''.
\prop{initial}{String or routine}^^|initial|
\fo The description of an object not yet picked up, used when a
room is described; or a routine to print one out.
\fr Printed or run when the room is arrived in, either by ordinary
movement or by |PlayerTo|.
\warn If the object is a |door|, or a |container|, or is |switchable|,
then use one of the |when_| properties rather than |initial|.
\nrr
\prop{invent}{Routine}^^|invent|
This routine is for changing an object's inventory listing. If provided,
it's called twice, first with the variable |inventory_stage| set to 1,
second with it set to 2. At stage 1, you have an entirely free hand to
print a different inventory listing.
\rr Stage 1: False to continue; true to stop here, printing nothing further
about the object or its contents.
\noindent At stage 2, the object's indefinite article and short name have
already been printed, but messages like `` (providing light)'' haven't.
This is an opportunity to add something like `` (almost empty)".
\rr Stage 2: False to continue; true to stop here, printing nothing further
about the object or its contents.
\cpropd{life}{Routine}{NULL}^^|life|
This routine holds rules about |animate| objects, behaving much like
|before| and |after| but only handling the person-to-person events:
\beginstt
Attack Kiss WakeOther ThrowAt Give Show Ask Tell Answer Order
\endtt
See \S 12, and see also the properties |orders| and |grammar|.
\rr True to stop and print nothing, false to resume as usual (for example,
printing ``Miss Gatsby has better things to do.'').
\prop{list\_together}{Number, string or routine}^^|list together|
\fo
Objects with the same |list_together| value are grouped together in
object lists (such as inventories, or the miscellany at the end of a
room description). If a string such as |"fish"| is given, then such
a group will be headed with text such as |"five fish"|.
\noindent A routine, if given, is called at two stages in the process
(once with the variable |inventory_stage| set to 1, once with it set to 2).
These stages occur before and after the group is printed; thus, a
preamble or postscript can be printed. Also, such a routine may
change the variable |c_style| (which holds the current list style).
On entry, the variable |parser_one| holds the first object in the
group, and |parser_two| the current depth of recursion in the list.
Applying |x=NextEntry(x,parser_two);| moves |x| on from |parser_one|
to the next item in the group. Another helpful variable is
|listing_together|, set up to the first object of a group being listed
(or to 0 whenever no group is being listed).
\rr Stage 1: False to continue, true not to print the group's list
at all.
\rr Stage 2: No return value.
\prop{orders}{Routine}^^|orders|
\fato This carries out the player's
orders (or doesn't, as it sees fit): it looks at |actor|, |action|,
|noun| and |second| to do so. Unless this object is the current
player, |actor| is irrelevant (it is always the player) and the
object is the person being ordered about.
\noindent If the player typed an incomprehensible command, like
``robot, og sthou'', then the action is |NotUnderstood| and the
variable |etype| holds the parser's error number.
\noindent If this object is the current player then |actor| is
the person being ordered about. |actor| can either be this
object -- in which case an action is being processed, because
the player has typed an ordinary command -- or can be some other
object, in which case the player has typed an order. See
\S 15 for how to write |orders| routines in these cases.
\rr True to stop and print nothing further; false to continue.
(Unless the object is the current player, the |life| routine's
|Order| section gets an opportunity to meddle next; after that,
Inform gives up.)
\cprop{name}{List of dictionary words}^^|name|
\fo A list of dictionary words referring to this object.
\warn The |parse_name| property of an object may take precedence over this,
if present.
\fr A list of words which the room understands but which refer to things
which ``do not need to be referred to in this game''; these are only looked
at if all other attempts to understand the player's command have failed.
\warn Uniquely in Inform syntax, these dictionary words are given in double
quotes |"thus"|, whereas in all other circumstances they would be |'thus'|.
This means they can safely be only one letter long without ambiguity.
\prop{number}{Any value}^^|number|
A general purpose property left free: conventionally holding a number like
``number of turns' battery power left''.
\fco Note that the standard compass objects defined by the library all
provide a |number| property, in case this might be useful to the designer.
\fpo Exception: an object to be used as a player-object must provide one of
these, and musn't use it for anything.
\prop{parse\_name}{Routine}^^|parse name|
\fo To parse an object's name (this overrides the |name| but is also used in
determining if two objects are describably identical). This routine should
try to match as many words as possible in sequence, reading them one at a
time by calling |NextWord()|. (It can leave the ``word marker'' variable
|wn| anywhere it likes).
\rr 0 if the text didn't make any sense at all, $-1$ to make the parser resume
its usual course (looking at the |name|), or the number of words in a row
which successfully matched.
\noindent In addition to this, if the text matched seems to be in the plural
(for instance, a blind mouse object reading |blind mice|), the routine can
set the variable |parser_action| to the value |##PluralFound|. The parser
will then match with all of the different objects understood, rather than
ask a player which of them is meant.
\noindent A |parse_name| routine may also (voluntarily) assist the parser
by telling it whether or not two objects which share the same |parse_name|
routine are identical. (They may share the same routine if they both inherit
it from a class.) If, when it is called, the variable |parser_action| is
set to |##TheSame| then this is the reason. It can then decide whether or
not the objects |parser_one| and |parser_two| are indistinguishable.
\rr $-1$ if the objects are indistinguishable, $-2$ if not.
\prop{plural}{String or routine}^^|plural|
\fo The plural name of an object (when in the presence of others like it),
or routine to print one; for instance, a wax candle might have |plural| set
to |"wax candles"|.
\nrr
\prop{react\_after}{Routine}^^|react after|
\fo Acts like an |after| rule, but detects any actions in the vicinity
(any actions which take place when this object is in scope).
\rr True to print nothing further; false to carry on.
\prop{react\_before}{Routine}^^|react before|
\fo Acts like a |before| rule, but detects any actions in the vicinity
(any actions which take place when this object is in scope).
\rr True to stop the action, printing nothing; false to carry on.
\prop{short\_name}{Routine}^^|short name|
\fo The short name of an object (like ``brass lamp"), or a routine to print
it.
\rr True to stop here, false to carry on by printing the object's `real'
short name (the string given at the head of the object's definition). It's
sometimes useful to print text like |"half-empty "| and then return false.
\prop{time\_left}{Number}^^|time left|
Number of turns left until the timer for this object (if set, which must be
done using |StartTimer|) goes off. Its initial value is of no significance,
as |StartTimer| will write over this, but a timer object must provide the
property. If the timer is currently set, the value 0 means ``will go off
at the end of the current turn'', the value 1 means ``...at the end of
next turn'' and so on.
\propd{time\_out}{Routine}{NULL}^^|time out|
Routine to run when the timer for this object goes off (having been set by
|StartTimer| and not in the mean time stopped by |StopTimer|).
\warn The same object cannot have both a |daemon| and a |time_out|.
\warn A timer object must also provide a |time_left| property.
\prop{when\_closed}{String or routine}^^|when closed|
\fo Description, or routine to print one, of something closed (a |door| or
|container|) in a room's long description.
\nrr
\prop{when\_open}{String or routine}^^|when open|
\fo Description, or routine to print one, of something open (a |door| or
|container|) in a room's long description.
\nrr
\prop{when\_on}{String or routine}^^|when on|
\fo Description, or routine to print one, of a |switchable| object which is
currently switched on, in a room's long description.
\nrr
\prop{when\_off}{String or routine}^^|when off|
\fo Description, or routine to print one, of a |switchable| object which is
currently switched off, in a room's long description.
\nrr
\propd{with\_key}{Object}{nothing}^^|with key|
The key object needed to lock or unlock this |lockable| object. A player
must explicitly name it as the key being used and be holding it at the time.
The value |nothing|, or 0, means that no key fits (though this is not made
clear to the player, who can try as many as he likes).
\newpage
\ninepoint
\section{36}{Library-defined objects and routines}%
The library defines the following
^{special objects}:^^{objects: defined in library}
\bigskip
\block{compass}To contain the directions. A direction object provides a
|door_dir| property, and should have the |direction| attribute. A compass
direction with |enterable|, if there is one (which there usually isn't),
will have an |Enter| action converted to |Go|.^^|compass|
\block{n\_obj, ...}^^{walls}^^{directions: direction objects}
Both the object signifying the abstract concept of ^{`northness'}, and the
`north wall' of the current room. (Thus, if a player types ``examine the
north wall'' then the action |Examine n_obj| will be generated.) Its
|door_dir| property holds the direction property it corresponds to (|n_to|).
The other such objects are |s_obj|, |e_obj|, |w_obj|, |ne_obj|, |nw_obj|,
|se_obj|, |sw_obj|, |u_obj|, |d_obj|, |in_obj| and |out_obj|.
Note that the parser understands ^{``ceiling''} to refer to |u_obj| and ^{``floor''} to refer to
|d_obj|. (|in_obj| and |out_obj| differ slightly, because ``in'' and
``out'' are verbs with other effects in some cases; these objects should not
be removed from the |compass|.)
\block{thedark}A pseudo-room representing `being in darkness'. |location|
is then set to this room, but the player object is not moved to it. Its
|description| can be changed to whatever ``It is dark here'' message is
desired.^^|thedark|
\block{selfobj}The default player-object. Code should never refer directly
to |selfobj|, but only to |player|, a variable whose value is usually indeed
|selfobj| but which might become |green_frog| if the player is transformed
into one.^^|selfobj|^^{player-object}
\bigskip\noindent
The following routines are defined in the library and available for public
use:^^{library routines}
\bigskip\stepin=110pt
\block{Achieved(task)}^^|Achieved|
Indicate the |task| is achieved (which only
awards score the first time).
\block{AddToScope(obj)}^^|AddToScope|
Used in an |add_to_scope| routine of an object to add another object
into scope whenever the first is in scope.
\block{AllowPushDir()}^^|AllowPushDir|
Signal that an attempt to push an object from
one place to another should be allowed.
\block{CDefArt(obj)}^^|CDefArt|
Print the capitalised definite article and
short name of |obj|. Equivalent to |print (The) obj;|.
\block{ChangeDefault(p,v)}^^|ChangeDefault|
Changes the default value of property |p|. (But this won't
do anything useful to |name|.)
\block{ChangePlayer(obj,flag)}^^|ChangePlayer|
Cause the player at the keyboard to
play as the given object, which must have a |number| property supplied. If
the |flag| is set to 1, then subsequently print messages like ``(as Ford
Prefect)'' in room description headers. This routine, however, prints nothing
itself.
\block{DefArt(obj)}^^|DefArt|
Print the definite article and short name of
|obj|. Equivalent to |print (the) obj;|.
\block{DoMenu(text,R1,R2)}^^|DoMenu|
Produce a menu, using the two routines given.
\block{EnglishNumber(x)}^^|EnglishNumber|
Prints out |x| in English (e.g., ``two hundred and seventy-seven").
\block{HasLightSource(obj)}^^|HasLightSource|
Returns true if |obj| `has light'.
\block{InDefArt(obj)}^^|InDefArt|
Print the indefinite article and short name
of |obj|. Equivalent to |print (a) obj;|.
\block{Locale(obj,tx1,tx2)}^^|Locale|
Prints out the paragraphs of room description which would appear
if |obj| were the room: i.e., prints out descriptions of objects
in |obj| according to the usual rules. After describing the
objects which have their own paragraphs, a list is given of
the remaining ones. The string |tx1| is printed if there were
no previous paragraphs, and the string |tx2| otherwise.
(For instance, you might want ``On the ledge you can see''
and ``On the ledge you can also see''.) After the list, nothing
else is printed (not even a full stop) and the return value is
the number of objects in the list (possibly zero).
\block{LoopOverScope(R,actor)}^^|LoopOverScope|
Calls routine |R(obj)| for each object |obj| in scope. |actor|
is optional: if it's given, then scope is calculated for the
given actor, not the player.
\block{NextWord()}^^|NextWord|
Returns the next dictionary word in the player's
input, moving the word number |wn| on by one. Returns 0
if the word is not in the dictionary or if the word stream has
run out.
\block{NextWordStopped()}^^|NextWordStopped|
As |NextWord|, but returning $-1$ when the word stream has run out.
\block{NounDomain(o1,o2,type)}^^|NounDomain|^^|REPARSE CODE|
This routine is one of the keystones of the parser: the objects
given are the domains to search through when parsing (almost
always the location and the actor) and the |type| indicates a
token. The only ^{tokens} safely usable are: 0: \cstok{noun},
1: \cstok{held} and 6: \cstok{creature}. The routine parses
the best single object name it can from the current position
of |wn|. It returns 0 (no match), an object number or
the constant |REPARSE_CODE| (to indicate that it had to ask
a clarifying question: this reconstructed the input drastically
and the parser must begin all over again). |NounDomain| should
only be used by ^{general parsing routines} and these should
always return |REPARSE_CODE| if it does. Note that all of the
usual scope and name-parsing rules apply to the search performed
by |NounDomain|.
\block{OffersLight(obj)}^^|OffersLight|
Returns true if |obj| `offers light'.
\block{PlaceInScope(obj)}^^|PlaceInScope|
Puts |obj| into scope for the parser.
\block{PlayerTo(place,flag)}^^|PlayerTo|
Move the player to |place|. Unless
|flag| is given and is 1, describe the player's surroundings.
\block{PrintShortName(obj)}^^|PrintShortName|
Print the short name of |obj|.
(This is protected against |obj| having a meaningless value.)
Equivalent to |print (name) obj;|.
\block{ScopeWithin(obj)}^^|ScopeWithin|
Puts the contents of |obj| into scope,
recursing downward according to the usual scope rules.
\block{SetTime(time,rate)}^^|SetTime|
Set the game clock (a 24-hour clock) to the
given |time| (in seconds since the start of the day), to run at the given |rate|
$r$: $r=0$ means it does not run, if $r>0$ then $r$ seconds pass every turn,
if $r<0$ then $-r$ turns pass every second.
\block{StartDaemon(obj)}^^|StartDaemon|
Makes the daemon of |obj| active, so
that its |daemon| routine will be called every turn.
\block{StartTimer(obj,time)}^^|StartTimer|
Starts the timer of |obj|, set
to go off in |time| turns, at which time its |time_out| routine will be called
(it must provide a |time_left| property).
\block{StopDaemon(obj)}^^|StopDaemon|
Makes the daemon of |obj| inactive, so
that its |daemon| routine is no longer called.
\block{StopTimer(obj)}^^|StopTimer|
Stops the timer of |obj|, so that
it won't go off after all.
\block{TestScope(obj,actor)}^^|TestScope|
Returns true if |obj| is in scope; otherwise false. |actor|
is optional: if it's given, then scope is calculated for the
given actor, not the player.
\block{TryNumber(wordnum)}^^|TryNumber|
Tries to parse the word at |wordnum| as a
number (recognising decimal numbers and English ones from ``one'' to
``twenty''), returning $-1000$ if it fails altogether, or the number.
Values exceeding 10000 are rounded down to 10000.^^|TryNumber|
\block{UnsignedCompare(a,b)}^^|UnsignedCompare|
Returns 1 if $a>b$, 0 if $a=b$ and $a<b$, regarding $a$ and $b$ as unsigned
numbers between 0 and 65535 (or |$ffff|). (The usual $>$ condition performs
a signed comparison.)
\block{WordAddress(n)}^^|WordAddress|
Returns the byte array containing the raw text of the $n$-th
word in the word stream.
\block{WordLength(n)}^^|WordLength|
Returns the length of the raw text of the $n$-th
word in the word stream.
\block{WriteListFrom(obj,s)}^^|WriteListFrom|
Write a list of |obj| and its
siblings, with the style being |s| (a bitmap of options).
\block{YesOrNo()}^^|YesOrNo|
Assuming that a question has already been printed,
wait for the player to type ``yes'' or ``no'', returning true or false
accordingly.
\block{ZRegion(value)}^^|ZRegion|
Works out the type of |value|, if possible. Returns 1 if it's a valid
object number, 2 if a routine address, 3 if a string address and 0
otherwise.
\section{37}{Entry points and meaningful constants}%
Entry points are routines which you can provide, if you choose to, and which
are called by the library routines to give you the option of changing the
rules. All games {\it must} define an ^|Initialise| routine, which is
obliged to set the |location| variable to a room; the rest are
optional.^^{entry points}\bigskip\stepin=110pt
\block{AfterLife}^^|AfterLife|
When the player has died (a condition signalled by the variable |deadflag|
being set to a non-zero value other than 2, which indicates winning), this
routine is called: by setting |deadflag=0| again it can resurrect the
player.
\block{AfterPrompt}^^|AfterPrompt|
Called just after the prompt is printed: therefore, called after all the
printing for this turn is definitely over. A useful opportunity to
use |box| to display quotations without them scrolling away.
\block{Amusing}^^|Amusing|
Called to provide an `afterword' for players who have won: for instance, it
might advertise some features which a successful player might never have
noticed. (But only if you have defined the constant |AMUSING_PROVIDED| in
your own code.)
\block{BeforeParsing}^^|BeforeParsing|
Called after the parser has read in some text and set up the
|buffer| and |parse| tables, but has done nothing else yet (except
to set the word marker |wn| to 1). The routine can do anything it
likes to these tables, and can leave the word marker anywhere; there
is no meaningful return value.
\block{ChooseObjects(obj,c)}^^|ChooseObjects|
When |c| is 0, the parser is processing an ``all'' and has
decided to exclude |obj| from it; when |c| is 1, it has
decided to include it. Returning 1 forces inclusion,
returning 2 forces exclusion and returning 0 lets the parser's
decision stand. When |c| is 2, the parser wants help in
resolving an ambiguity: using the |action_to_be| variable
the routine must decide how appropriate |obj| is for the
given action and return a score of 0 to 9 accordingly. See \S 25.
\block{DarkToDark}^^|DarkToDark|
Called when a player goes from one dark room into another one; a splendid
excuse to kill the player off.
\block{DeathMessage}^^|DeathMessage|
Prints up ``You have died" style messages, for |deadflag| values of 3 or
more. (If you choose ever to set |deadflag| to such.)
\block{GamePostRoutine}^^|GamePostRoutine|
A kind of super-|after| rule, which applies to all actions in the game,
whatever they are: use only in the last resort.
\block{GamePreRoutine}^^|GamePreRoutine|
A kind of super-|before| rule, which applies to all actions in the game,
whatever they are: use only in the last resort.
\block{Initialise}^^|Initialise|
A compulsory routine, which must set |location| and is convenient for
miscellaneous initialising, perhaps for random settings.
\block{InScope}^^|InScope|
An opportunity to place extra items in scope during parsing, or to change
the scope altogether. If |et_flag| is 1 when this is called, the scope is
being worked out for |each_turn| reasons; otherwise for everyday parsing.
\block{LookRoutine}^^|LookRoutine|
Called at the end of every |Look| description.
\block{NewRoom}^^|NewRoom|
Called when the room changes, before any description of it is printed. This
happens in the course of ordinary movements or use of |PlayerTo|, but may
not happen if the game uses |move| to shift the player object directly.
\block{ParseNoun(obj)}^^|ParseNoun|
To do the job of parsing the |name| property (if |parse_name| hasn't done
it already). This takes one argument, the object in question, and returns
a value as if it were a |parse_name| routine.
\block{ParseNumber(text,n}^^|ParseNumber|
An opportunity to parse numbers in a different (or additional) way. The
text to be parsed is a byte array of length |n| starting at |text|.
\block{ParserError(pe)}^^|ParserError|
The chance to print different parser error messages (like ``I don't
understand that sentence''). |pe| is the parser error number (see \S 25).
\block{PrintRank}^^|PrintRank|
Completes the printing of the score. You might want to change this, so as
to make the ranks something like ^{``junior astronaut"} or ^{``master
catburglar"} or whatever suits your game.
\block{PrintVerb(v)}^^|PrintVerb|
A chance to change the verb printed out in a parser question (like ``What do
you want to (whatever)?'') in case an unusual verb via |UnknownVerb| has
been constructed. |v| is the dictionary address of the verb.
Returns true (or 1) if it has printed something.
\block{PrintTaskName(n)}^^|PrintTaskName|
Prints the name of task |n| (such as ``driving the car").
\block{TimePasses}^^|TimePasses|
Called after every turn (but not, for instance, after a command like
``score" or ``save"). It's much more elegant to use timers and daemons, or
|each_turn| routines for individual rooms -- using this is a last resort.
\block{UnknownVerb}^^|UnknownVerb|
Called by the parser when it hits an unknown verb,
so that you can transform it into a known one.
\bigskip\noindent
The following constants, if defined in a game, change settings made by the
library. Those described as ``To indicate that...'' have no meaningful
value; one simply defines them by, e.g., the directive |Constant DEBUG;|.
\bigskip\stepin=90pt
\block{AMUSING\_PROVIDED}To indicate that an |Amusing| routine is provided.
\block{DEBUG}To indicate that the special ``debugging" verbs are to be
included.
\block{Headline}Style of game and copyright message.
\block{MAX\_CARRIED}Maximum number of (direct) possessions the player can
carry.
\block{MAX\_SCORE}Maximum game score.
\block{MAX\_TIMERS}Maximum number of timers or daemons active at any one time
(defaults to 32).
\block{NO\_PLACES}To indicate that the ``places'' and ``objects'' verbs
should not be allowed.
\block{NUMBER\_TASKS}Number of `tasks' to perform.
\block{OBJECT\_SCORE}Score for picking up a |scored| object for the first
time.
\block{ROOM\_SCORE}Score for visiting up a |scored| room for the first time.
\block{SACK\_OBJECT}Object which acts as a `rucksack', into which the game
automatically tidies away things for the player.
\block{Story}Story name, conventionally in CAPITAL LETTERS.
\block{TASKS\_PROVIDED}To indicate that ``tasks'' are provided.
\block{WITHOUT\_DIRECTIONS}To indicate that the standard compass directions
are to be omitted.
\section{38}{The actions and fakes}%
The actions implemented by the library are in three groups. Group 1 consists
of actions associated with `meta'-verbs, which are not subject to game
rules. (If you want a room where the
game can't be saved, as for instance ^{`Spellbreaker'} cunningly does, you'll
have to tamper with |SaveSub| directly, using a |Replace|d routine.)
\beginlines
|1a. Quit, Restart, Restore, Verify, Save, ScriptOn, ScriptOff, Pronouns,|
| Score, Fullscore, LMode1, LMode2, LMode3, NotifyOn, NotifyOff,|
| Version, Places, Objects.|
\endlines^^{groups of actions: group 1}
^^{actions: list of group 1}^^{actions: defined in Library}
(|Lmode1|, |Lmode2| and |Lmode3| switch between ^{``brief''}, ^{``verbose''}
and ^{``superbrief''} room description styles.)
In addition, but only if |DEBUG| is defined, so that the debugging suite
is present, group 1 contains
\beginlines
|1b. TraceOn, TraceOff, TraceLevel, ActionsOn, ActionsOff, RoutinesOn,|
| RoutinesOff, TimersOn, TimersOff, CommandsOn, CommandsOff, CommandsRead,|
| Predictable, XPurloin, XAbstract, XTree, Scope, Goto, Gonear.|
\endlines^^{actions: in debugging suite}^^{debugging suite actions}
Group 2 contains actions which sometimes get as far as the `after' stage,
because the library sometimes does something when processing them.
\beginlines
|2. Inv, InvTall, InvWide, Take, Drop, Remove, PutOn, Insert, Transfer,|
| Empty, Enter, Exit, GetOff, Go, GoIn, Look, Examine, Search, Give, Show,|
| Unlock, Lock, SwitchOn, SwitchOff, Open, Close, Disrobe, Wear, Eat.|
\endlines^^{groups of actions: group 2}
Group 3 contains the remaining actions, which never reach `after' because
the library simply prints a message and stops at the `during' stage.
\beginlines
|3. Yes, No, Burn, Pray, Wake, WakeOther [person], Consult,|
| Kiss, Think, Smell, Listen, Taste, Touch, Dig,|
| Cut, Jump [jump on the spot], JumpOver, Tie, Drink,|
| Fill, Sorry, Strong [swear word], Mild [swear word], Attack, Swim,|
| Swing [something], Blow, Rub, Set, SetTo, WaveHands [ie, just "wave"],|
| Wave [something], Pull, Push, PushDir [push something in a direction],|
| Turn, Squeeze, LookUnder [look underneath something],|
| ThrowAt, Answer, Buy, Ask, AskFor, Sing, Climb, Wait, Sleep.|
\endlines\ninepoint^^{groups of actions: group 3}
\danger The actions |PushDir| and |Go| (while the player is inside an
|enterable| object) have special rules: see \S 10.
\noindent
The library also defines 8 fake actions:
\beginlines
|LetGo, Receive, ThrownAt, Order, TheSame, PluralFound, Miscellany, Prompt|
\endlines\ninepoint^^{fake actions: defined in library}
|LetGo|, |Receive| and |ThrownAt| are used to allow the |second|
noun of |Insert|, |PutOn|, |ThrowAt|, |Remove| actions to intervene;
|Order| is used to process actions through somebody's |life| routine;
|TheSame| and |PluralFound| are defined by the parser as ways for the
program to communicate with it; |Miscellany| and |Prompt| are defined
as slots for |LibraryMessages|.
\section{39}{Library message numbers}%
\ninepoint
\def\M#1{\par\noindent\hangindent=20pt\hangafter=1{\ninebf #1:}\quad}
\def\N{\quad}
\M{Answer} ``There is no reply.''
\M{Ask} ``There is no reply.''
\M{Attack} ``Violence isn't the answer to this one.''
\M{Blow} ``You can't usefully blow that.''
\M{Burn} ``This dangerous act would achieve little.''
\M{Buy} ``Nothing is on sale.''
\M{Climb} ``I don't think much is to be achieved by that.''
\M{Close} 1. ``That's not something you can close.''
\N 2. ``It's already closed.''
\N 3. ``You close \<x1>.''
\M{Consult} ``You discover nothing of interest in \<x1>.''
\M{Cut} ``Cutting that up would achieve little.''
\M{Dig} ``Digging would achieve nothing here.''
\M{Disrobe} 1. ``You're not wearing that.''
\N 2. ``You take off \<x1>.''
\M{Drink} ``There's nothing suitable to drink here.''
\M{Drop} 1. ``Already on the floor.''
\N 2. ``You haven't got that.''
\N 3. ``(first taking \<x1> off)''
\N 4. ``Dropped.''
\M{Eat} 1. ``That's plainly inedible.''
\N 2. ``You eat \<x1>. Not bad.''
\M{EmptyT} 1. \<x1> `` can't contain things.''
\N 2. \<x1> `` is closed.''
\N \<x1> `` is empty already.''
\M{Enter} 1. ``But you're already on/in \<x1>.''
\N 2. ``That's not something you can enter.''
\N 3. ``You can't get into the closed \<x1>.''
\N 4. ``You can only get into something on the floor.''
\N 5. ``You get onto/into \<x1>.''
\M{Examine} 1. ``Darkness, noun. An absence of light to see by.''
\N 2. ``You see nothing special about \<x1>.''
\N 3. ``\<x1> is currently switched on/off.''
\M{Exit} 1. ``But you aren't in anything at the moment.''
\N 2. ``You can't get out of the closed \<x1>.''
\N 3. ``You get off/out of \<x1>.''
\M{Fill} ``But there's no water here to carry.''
\M{FullScore} 1. ``The score is/was made up as follows:|^|''
\N 2. ``finding sundry items''
\N 3. ``visiting various places''
\N 4. ``total (out of |MAX_SCORE|)''
\M{GetOff} ``But you aren't on \<x1> at the moment.''
\M{Give} 1. ``You aren't holding \<x1>.''
\N 2. ``You juggle \<x1> for a while, but don't achieve much.''
\N 3. ``\<x1> doesn't seem interested.''
\M{Go} 1. ``You'll have to get off/out of \<x1> first.''
\N 2. ``You can't go that way.''
\N 3. ``You are unable to climb \<x1>.''
\N 4. ``You are unable to descend \<x1>.''
\N 5. ``You can't, since \<x1> is in the way.''
\N 6. ``You can't, since \<x1> leads nowhere.''
\M{Insert} 1. ``You need to be holding it before you
can put it into something else.''
\N 2. ``That can't contain things.''
\N 3. ``Alas, it is closed.''
\N 4. ``You'll need to take it off first.''
\N 5. ``You can't put something inside itself.''
\N 6. ``(first taking it off)|^|''
\N 7. ``There is no more room in \<x1>.''
\N 8. ``Done.''
\N 9. ``You put \<x1> into \<second>.''
\M{Inv} 1. ``You are carrying nothing.''
\N 2. ``You are carrying''
\M{Jump} ``You jump on the spot, fruitlessly.''
\M{JumpOver} ``You would achieve nothing by this.''
\M{Kiss} ``Keep your mind on the game.''
\M{Listen} ``You hear nothing unexpected.''
\M{LMode1} `` is now in its normal ~brief~ printing mode, which gives
long descriptions of places never before visited and short
descriptions otherwise.''
\M{LMode2} `` is now in its ~verbose~ mode, which always gives long
descriptions of locations (even if you've been there before).''
\M{LMode3} `` is now in its ~superbrief~ mode, which always gives short
descriptions of locations (even if you haven't been there before).''
\M{Lock} 1. ``That doesn't seem to be something you can lock.''
\N 2. ``It's locked at the moment.''
\N 3. ``First you'll have to close it.''
\N 4. ``That doesn't seem to fit the lock.''
\N 5. ``You lock \<x1>.''
\M{Look} 1. ``on''
\N 2. ``in''
\N 3. ``as''
\N 4. ``|^|On \<x1> is/are \<list of children>''
\N 5. ``[On/In \<x1>] you/You can also see \<list of children> [here].''
\N 6. ``[On/In \<x1>] you/You can see \<list of children> [here].''
\M{LookUnder} 1. ``But it's dark.''
\N ``You find nothing of interest.''
\M{Mild} ``Quite.''
\M{Miscellany} 1. ``(considering the first sixteen objects only)|^|''
\N 2. ``Nothing to do!''
\N 3. `` You have died ''
\N 4. `` You have won ''
\N 5. (The RESTART/RESTORE/QUIT and possibly FULL
and AMUSING query, printed after the game is over.)
\N 6. ``[Your interpreter does not provide undo. Sorry!]''
\N 7. ``Undo failed. [Not all interpreters provide it.]''
\N 8. ``Please give one of the answers above.''
\N 9. ``|^|It is now pitch dark in here!''
\N 10. ``I beg your pardon?''
\N 11. ``[You can't ``undo'' what hasn't been done!]''
\N 12. ``[Can't ``undo'' twice in succession. Sorry!]''
\N 13. ``[Previous turn undone.]''
\N 14. ``Sorry, that can't be corrected.''
\N 15. ``Think nothing of it.''
\N 16. ````Oops'' can only correct a single word.''
\M{No} see {\bf Yes}
\M{NotifyOff} ``Score notification off.''
\M{NotifyOn} ``Score notification on.''
\M{Objects} 1. ``Objects you have handled:|^|''
\N 2. ``None.''
\M{Open} 1. ``That's not something you can open.''
\N 2. ``It seems to be locked.''
\N 3. ``It's already open.''
\N 4. ``You open \<x1>, revealing \<list of children of x1>''
\N 5. ``You open \<x1>.''
\M{Order} ``\<x1> has better things to do.''
\M{Places} ``You have visited: ''
\M{Pray} ``Nothing practical results from your prayer.''
\M{Prompt} 1. ``|^>|''
\M{Pull} 1. ``It is fixed in place.''
\N 2. ``You are unable to.''
\N 3. ``Nothing obvious happens.''
\N 4. ``That would be less than courteous.''
\M{Push} see {\bf Pull}
\M{PushDir} 1. ``Is that the best you can think of?''
\N 2. ``That's not a direction.''
\N 3. ``Not that way you can't.''
\M{PutOn} 1. ``You need to be holding \<x1> before you
can put it on top of something else.''
\N 2. ``You can't put something on top of itself.''
\N 3. ``Putting things on \<x1> would achieve nothing.''
\N 4. ``You lack the dexterity.''
\N 5. ``(first taking it off)|^|''
\N 6. ``There is no more room on \<x1>.''
\N 7. ``Done.''
\N 8. ``You put \<x1> on <second>.''
\M{Quit} 1. ``Please answer yes or no.''
\N 2. ``Are you sure you want to quit? ''
\M{Remove} 1. ``It is unfortunately closed.''
\N 2. ``But it isn't there now.''
\N 3. ``Removed.''
\M{Restart} 1. ``Are you sure you want to restart? ''
\N 2. ``Failed.''
\M{Restore} 1. ``Restore failed.''
\N 2. ``Ok.''
\M{Rub} ``You achieve nothing by this.''
\M{Save} 1. ``Save failed.''
\N 2. ``Ok.''
\M{Score} ``You have so far/In that game you scored \<score> out of
a possible |MAX_SCORE|, in \<turns> turn/turns''
\M{ScriptOn} 1. ``Transcripting is already on.''
\N 2. ``Start of a transcript of''
\M{ScriptOff} 1. ``Transcripting is already off.''
\N 2. ``|^|End of transcript.''
\M{Search} 1. ``But it's dark.''
\N 2. ``There is nothing on \<x1>.''
\N 3. ``On \<x1> is/are \<list of children>.''
\N 4. ``You find nothing of interest.''
\N 5. ``You can't see inside, since it is closed.''
\N 6. ``\<x1> is empty.''
\N 7. ``In \<x1> is/are \<list of children>.''
\M{Set} ``No, you can't set that.''
\M{SetTo} ``No, you can't set that to anything.''
\M{Show} 1. ``You aren't holding \<x1>.''
\N 2. ``\<x1> is unimpressed.''
\M{Sing} ``Your singing is abominable.''
\M{Sleep} ``You aren't feeling especially drowsy.''
\M{Smell} ``You smell nothing unexpected.''
\M{Sorry} ``Oh, don't apologise.''
\M{Squeeze} 1. ``Keep your hands to yourself.''
\N 2. ``You achieve nothing by this.''
\M{Strong} ``Real adventurers do not use such language.''
\M{Swim} ``There's not enough water to swim in.''
\M{Swing} ``There's nothing sensible to swing here.''
\M{SwitchOff} 1. ``That's not something you can switch.''
\N 2. ``That's already off.''
\N 3. ``You switch \<x1> off.''
\M{SwitchOn} 1. ``That's not something you can switch.''
\N 2. ``That's already on.''
\N 3. ``You switch \<x1> on.''
\M{Take} 1. ``Taken.''
\N 2. ``You are always self-possessed.''
\N 3. ``I don't suppose \<x1> would care for that.''
\N 4. ``You'd have to get off/out of \<x1> first.''
\N 5. ``You already have that.''
\N 6. ``That seems to belong to \<x1>.''
\N 7. ``That seems to be a part of \<x1>.''
\N 8. ``That isn't available.''
\N 9. ``\<x1> is not open.''
\N 10. ``That's hardly portable.''
\N 11. ``That's fixed in place.''
\N 12. ``You're carrying too many things already.''
\N 13. ``(putting \<x1> into |SACK_OBJECT| to make room)''
\M{Taste} ``You taste nothing unexpected.''
\M{Tell} 1. ``You talk to yourself a while.''
\N 2. ``This provokes no reaction.''
\M{Touch} 1. ``Keep your hands to yourself!''
\N 2. ``You feel nothing unexpected.''
\N 3. ``If you think that'll help.''
\M{Think} ``What a good idea.''
\M{Tie} ``You would achieve nothing by this.''
\M{ThrowAt} 1. ``Futile.''
\N 2. ``You lack the nerve when it comes to the crucial moment.''
\M{Transfer} 1. ``That isn't in your possession.''
\N ``First pick that up.''
\M{Turn} see {\bf Pull}
\M{Unlock} 1. ``That doesn't seem to be something you can unlock.''
\N 2. ``It's unlocked at the moment.''
\N 3. ``That doesn't seem to fit the lock.''
\N 4. ``You unlock \<x1>.''
\M{VagueGo} ``You'll have to say which compass direction to go in.''
\M{Verify} 1. ``The game file has verified as intact.''
\N 2. ``The game file did not verify properly, and may be corrupted
(or you may be running it on a very primitive interpreter which
is unable properly to perform the test).''
\M{Wait} ``Time passes.''
\M{Wake} ``The dreadful truth is, this is not a dream.''
\M{WakeOther} ``That seems unnecessary.''
\M{Wave} 1. ``But you aren't holding that.''
\N 2. ``You look ridiculous waving \<x1>.''
\M{WaveHands} ``You wave, feeling foolish.''
\M{Wear} 1. ``You can't wear that!''
\N 2. ``You're not holding that!''
\N 3. ``You're already wearing that!''
\N 4. ``You put on \<x1>.''
\M{Yes} ``That was a rhetorical question.''
\tenpoint
\newpage
%\input $.games.infocom.ftp.toolkit.mandir.dmanual.Ordering
\sectionx{What order the program should be in}%
This section summarises Inform's ``this has to be defined before
that can be'' rules.
\smallskip
\item{1.} The three library files, |Parser|, |Verblib| and |Grammar| must be
included in that order.
\smallskip
\itemitem{(a)} Before inclusion of |Parser|: you must define the constants
|Story| and |Headline|; the constant |DEBUG| must be defined here, if
anywhere; similarly for |Replace| directives; but you may not yet define global
variables, objects or routines.
\itemitem{(b)} Between |Parser| and |Verblib|: if a `sack object' is
to be included, it should be defined here, and the constant |SACK_OBJECT|
set to it; the |LibraryMessages| object should be defined here, if at
all; likewise the |task_scores| array.
\itemitem{(c)} Before inclusion of |Verblib|: the constants
\begindisplay
\qquad |MAX_CARRIED|, |MAX_SCORE|, |NUMBER_TASKS|, |OBJECT_SCORE|,\cr
\qquad |ROOM_SCORE|, |AMUSING_PROVIDED| and |TASKS_PROVIDED|\cr
\enddisplay
must be defined before this (if ever).
\itemitem{(d)} Before inclusion of |Grammar|: |Verb| and |Extend| directives
cannot be used.
\itemitem{(e)} After inclusion of |Grammar|: It's too late to define any
entry point routines.
\smallskip
\item{2.} Any |Switches| directive must come before the definition of any
constants.
\item{3.} If an object begins inside another, it must be defined after its
parent.
\item{4.} |Global| variables must be declared earlier in the
program than the first reference to them.
\item{5.} Properties, attributes and classes must be declared earlier than
their first usage in an object definition.
\item{6.} General parsing and scope routines must be defined before being quoted
in grammar tokens.
\item{7.} Nothing can be defined after the |End| directive.
\vfill\eject\lexicontrue\mark{actions}
%\input $.games.infocom.ftp.toolkit.mandir.dmanual.Lexicon
\sectionx{A short Inform lexicon}%
This appendix is a brief dictionary of Inform jargon: it doesn't contain
definitions of anything set in |computer| type (except to clarify
ambiguities), for which see Chapters V and VI. Cross-references
are italicised. All the information here is more fully explained in the
body of the text, and can be found via the index.
\ninepoint\medskip
\def\W#1{{\sl #1}}
\stepin=20pt
\def\E#1{\par\noindent\hangindent=20pt\hangafter=1{\ninebf #1}\mark{#1}\quad}
\E{action}%
A single attempted action by the \W{player}, such as taking a lamp,
generated either by the \W{parser} or in code. It is stored as
three numbers, the first being the \W{action number}, the others
being the \W{noun} and \W{second noun} (if any: otherwise 0).
\E{action number}%
A number identifying which kind of action is under way, e.g., |Take|,
which can be written as a \W{constant} by prefacing its name with
|##|.
\E{action routine}%
The \W{routine} of code executed when an \W{action} has been
allowed to take place. What marks it out as the routine in
question is that its name is the name of the \W{action} with
|Sub| appended, as for instance |TakeSub|.
\E{actor}%
The \W{parser} can interpret what the \W{player} types as either a
request for the player's own character to do something, in which
case the actor is the player's object, or to request somebody else
to do something, in which case the actor is the person being
spoken to. This affects the parser significantly because the
person speaking and the person addressed may be able to see
different things.
\E{additive}%
An additive \W{property} is one whose value accumulates into a
list held in a \W{word array}, rather than being over-written as
a single value, during \W{inheritance} from \W{classes}.
\E{Advanced game}%
The default Inform \W{format} of \W{story file}, also known as
Version 5. It can be extended (see \W{version}) if needed.
\W{Standard games} should no longer be used unless necessary.
\E{alias}%
A single \W{attribute} or \W{property} may be used for two different
purposes, with different names, provided care is exercised to avoid
clashes: the two names are called aliases. The \W{library} does
this: for instance, |time_out| is an alias for |daemon|.
\E{ambiguity}%
Arises when the \W{player} has typed something vague like ``fish''
in circumstances when many nearby objects might be called that. The
\W{parser} then resolves this, possibly in conjunction with the program.
\E{argument}%
A parameter specified in a \W{routine} call, such as |7| in the call
|AwardPoints(7)|.
\E{array}%
An indexed collection of global variables. There are four kinds,
\W{byte arrays} |->|, \W{word arrays} |-->|, \W{strings} and
\W{tables}.
\E{assembly language}%
The \W{Z-machine} runs a sequence of low-level instructions,
or assembly lines (also called opcodes). These can be programmed
directly as Inform \W{statements} by prefixing them with |@|, but
only a few are documented in this manual, in \S 27, the rest
being in the `Specification of the Z-machine'.
\E{assembler error}%
A very low-level \W{error} caused by a malformed line of
\W{assembly language}. These occasionally occur as a knock-on
effect from Inform failing to recover from higher-level errors.
\E{assignment}%
A \W{statement} which sets the value of a \W{global} or \W{local
variable}, or \W{array} entry.
\E{attribute}%
An \W{object} can be created as having certain attributes, which
are simple off-or-on states (or flags), which can then be
given, tested for or taken away by the program. For example,
|light| represents the state ``is giving off light''.
\E{block of code}%
See \W{code block}.
\E{box}%
A rectangle of text, usually displayed in reverse video onto the
screen and with text such as a quotation inside (see \S 26).
\E{byte}%
An 8-bit cell of memory, capable of holding numbers between 0
and 255.
\E{byte address}%
The whole lower part of the \W{memory map} of the \W{Z-machine}
can be regarded as a \W{byte array}, and a byte address is an
index into this. E.g., byte address 0 refers to the lowest byte
in the machine (which always holds the \W{version} number).
\W{Dictionary} words are internally stored as byte addresses.
\E{byte array}%
An \W{array} indexed with the |->| \W{operator} whose entries are
only 1 byte each: they can therefore hold numbers between 0 and 255,
or ASCII ^{characters}, but not strings or object numbers.
\E{character}%
A single letter `A' or symbol `*', written as a \W{constant} using
the notation |'A'|, and internally stored as its ASCII code. Can
be printed using |print (char)|.
\E{child}%
See \W{object tree}.
\E{class}%
A template for an \W{object} definition, giving certain properties
and attributes which are \W{inherited} by any objects defined as
being of this class.
\E{code block}%
A collection of \W{statements} can be grouped together into a block
using braces |{| and |}| so that they count as a single unit for
|if| statements, what is to be done inside a |for| loop, etc.
\E{compass}%
The |compass| \W{object}, created by the \W{library} but never
tangible to the \W{player} during the game, is used to hold the currently
valid \W{direction objects}.
\E{compiler}%
The Inform program itself, which transmutes Inform programs (or
source code) into the \W{story file} which is played with the use
of an \W{interpreter} at \W{run-time}.
\E{condition}%
A state of affairs which either is, or isn't, true at any given
moment, such as |x == y|, often written in round brackets |(| and |)|.
The central operator |==| is also called the condition.
\E{constant}%
An explicitly written-out number, such as |34| or |$$10110111|; or the
internal name of an object, such as |brass_lamp|, whose value is its
\W{object number}; or the internal name of an array, whose value is its
\W{byte address}; or a word defined by either the \W{library} or Inform code
as meaning a particular value; or a \W{character}, written |'X'| and
whose value is its ASCII code; or a \W{dictionary word}, written |'word'|
and whose value is its \W{byte address}; or an \W{action}, written |##Action|
and whose value is its \W{action number}; or a \W{routine} written |#r$Routine|
whose value is its \W{packed address}; or the name of a \W{property} or
\W{attribute} or \W{class}.
\E{containment}%
See \W{object tree}.
\E{cursor}%
An invisible notional position at which text is being printed in the upper
\W{window}, when the windows are split; the origin is $(1,1)$ in the top
left.
\E{daemon}%
A \W{routine} attached to an \W{object} which, once started, is run once during
the end sequence of every \W{turn} until explicitly stopped. Used to manage
events happening as time passes by, or to notice changes in the state of the
game which require some activity.
\E{default value}%
See \W{property}.
\E{description}%
The usually quite long piece of text attached to an \W{object}; if it's a
\W{room}, then this is the long description printed out when the room is
first visited; otherwise it will usually be printed when the object is
examined by the \W{player}.
\E{dictionary}^^{dictionary}
A list kept inside the \W{Z-machine} of all the words ordinarily understood
by the game, such as ``throw'' and ``mauve'', usually between about 300 and
2000 in length. Inform automatically puts this list together from all the
|name| values of objects and all usages of constants like |'word'|.
Dictionary words are stored to a resolution of 9 characters (6 for
\W{Standard games}), written |'thus'| (provided they have more than one
letter; otherwise |#n$x| for the word ``x''; except as values of the special
|name| property) and are internally referred to by numbers which are their
\W{byte addresses} inside the list.
\E{direct containment}%
See \W{object tree}.
\E{direction object}%
An object representing both the abstract idea of a direction and the wall
which is in that direction: for instance, |n_obj| represents ``northness''
and the north wall of the current \W{room}. Typing ``go north'' causes the
\W{parser} to generate the \W{action} |Go n_obj|. The current direction
objects are exactly those currently inside the |compass| object and they
can be dynamically changed. The |door_dir| property of a direction object
holds its corresponding direction property.
\E{direction property}%
The \W{library} creates 12 direction properties: |n_to|, |s_to|, etc., |u_to|,
|d_to|, |in_to| and |out_to|. These are used to give \W{map} connections from
\W{rooms} and indicate directions which doors and \W{direction objects}
correspond to.
\E{directive}%
A line of Inform code which instructs the \W{compiler} to do something, such as
to define a new \W{constant}; it takes immediate effect and does not correspond
to anything happening at \W{run-time}. These are not normally written inside
\W{routines} but can be if prefaced by a |#| character.
\E{eldest child}%
See \W{object tree}.
\E{embedded routine}%
A \W{routine} defined as the \W{property} value of an \W{object}, which
is defined without a name of its own, and which by default returns `false'
rather than `true'.
\E{entry point}%
A \W{routine} in an Inform program which is directly called by the \W{library}
to intervene in the normal operation of the game (if the routine so wishes).
Provision of entry points is optional, except for |Initialise|, which must
always occur in every game.
\E{error}%
When the \W{compiler} finds something in the program which it can't make sense
of, it produces an error (which will eventually prevent it from generating a
\W{story file}, so that it cannot generate an illegal \W{story file} which
would fail at \W{run-time}). If the error is \W{fatal} the compiler stops
at once.
\E{examine message}%
See \W{description}.
\E{expression}%
A general piece of Inform code which determines a numerical value. It may
be anything from a single \W{constant} to a bracketed calculation of
\W{variable}, \W{property} or \W{array} values, such as
|3+(day_list-->(calendar.number))|.
\E{fake action}%
A form of \W{action} which has no corresponding \W{action routine} and will
have no effect after the |before|-processing stage of considering an action
is over. A fake action is never generated by the \W{parser}, only by
the program, which can use it to pass a message to an \W{object}.
\E{fake fake action}%
A form of \W{action} which does have an \W{action routine} and is processed
exactly as ordinary actions are, but which is never generated by the
\W{parser}, only by the program, which can use it to pass a message to an
\W{object}.
\E{fatal error}%
An \W{error} found by the \W{compiler} which causes it to give up immediately;
for instance, a disc being full or memory running out are fatal.
\E{format}%
See \W{version}.
\E{function}%
See \W{routine}.
\E{fuse}%
See \W{timer}.
\E{global variable}%
A variable which can be used by every routine in the program.
\E{grammar}%
A list of \W{lines} which is attached to a particular \W{verb}. The \W{parser}
decodes what the \W{player} has typed by trying to match it against each line
in turn of the grammar attached to the \W{verb} which the first word of the
player's input corresponds to.
\E{hardware function}%
A function which is used just like any other \W{routine} but which is
not defined anywhere in the \W{library} or \W{program}: the \W{compiler}
provides it automatically, usually converting the apparent call to a
routine into a single line of \W{assembly language}.
\E{indirect containment}%
See \W{object tree}.
\E{inheritance}%
The process in which \W{property} values and \W{attribute} settings specified
in a \W{class} definition are passed on to an \W{object} defined as having
that class.
\E{internal name}%
See \W{name}.
\E{interpreter}%
A program for some particular model of computer, such as an IBM PC, which
reads in the \W{story file} of a game and allows someone to play it. A
different interpreter is needed for each model of computer (though generic
source codes exist which make it relatively easy to produce these).
\E{inventory}%
1. Verb, imperative: a demand for a list of the items one is holding; 2.
noun: the list itself. (When Crowther and Woods were writing the original
^{`Advent'}, they were unable to think of a good imperative verb and fell
back on the barely sensible ``take inventory'', which was soon corrupted
into the not at all sensible ``inventory'', thence ``inv'' and finally
``i''.)
\E{library}%
The `operating system' for the \W{Z-machine}: a large segment of Inform
code, written out in three \W{library files}, which manages the model world
and consults the game's program now and then to give it a chance to
make interesting things happen.
\E{library files}%
The three files |parser|, |verblib| and |grammar| containing the source
code of the \W{library}. These are normally |Include|d in the code for
every Inform game.
\E{library routine}%
A \W{routine} provided by the \W{library} which is `open to the public'
in that the designer's program is allowed to call and make use of it.
\E{line}%
One possible pattern which the \W{parser} might match against what the
\W{player} has typed beyond the initial \W{verb} word. A \W{grammar} line
consists of a sequence of \W{tokens}, each of which must be matched
in sequence, plus an \W{action} which will be generated if the line
successfully matches.
\E{local variable}%
A variable attached to a particular \W{routine} (or, more precisely,
a particular call to a routine: if a routine calls itself, then the parent
and child incarnation have independent copies of the local variables) whose
value is inaccessible to the rest of the program. Also used to hold the
\W{arguments} of the call.
\E{long}%
A \W{property} whose values must always be stored as \W{words}, or
\W{word arrays}, rather than \W{bytes} or \W{byte arrays}. A safely
ignorable concept since except for \W{Standard games} all properties are
long.
\E{logical machine}%
See \W{Z-machine}.
\E{low string}%
A string which can be used as the value of a \W{variable string}, printed
with the |@| escape character. Must be declared with |Lowstring|.
\E{map}%
The geographical design of the game, divided into areas called \W{rooms}
with connections between them in different directions. The \W{story file}
doesn't contain an explicit map table but stores the information implicitly
in the definition of the room \W{objects}.
\E{memory map}%
Internally, the \W{Z-machine} contains a large \W{array} in whose values
the entire story file and all its data structures are stored. Particular
cells low down in this array are indexed by \W{byte addresses}, and
\W{routines} and \W{strings} which are lodged higher up are referred to by
\W{packed addresses}. The organisation of this array (which ranges of
indices correspond to what) is called the memory map.
\E{meta-verb}%
A \W{verb} whose actions are always commands from the \W{player} to the game,
rather than requests for something to happen in the model world: for
instance, ``quit'' is meta but ``take'' is not.
\E{multiple object}%
The \W{parser} matches a \W{token} with a multiple object when the \W{player}
has either explicitly referred to more than one \W{object} (e.g. ``drop
lamp and basket'') or implicitly done so (e.g. ``drop everything'' when
this amounts to more than 1 item); though the match is only made if the
token will allow it.
\E{names}%
An \W{object} has three kinds of name: 1. its internal name, a word such
as |brass_lamp|, which is a \W{constant} referring to it within the program;
2. its short name, such as ``dusty old brass lamp'' or ``Twopit Room'',
which is printed in \W{inventories} or before a \W{room description}; 3.
\W{dictionary words} which appear as values of its |name| property, such
as |"dusty"|, |"brass"|, etc., which the \W{player} can type to refer to it.
\E{noun}%
The first parameter (usually an \W{object} but possibly a number) which
the \W{parser} has matched in a \W{line} of \W{grammar} is the noun for
the \W{action} which is generated. It is stored in the |noun| variable
(not to be confused with the |noun| token).
\E{object}%
The physical substance of the game's world is divided up into indivisible
objects, such as `a brass lamp' or `a meadow'. These contain each other
in a hierarchy called the \W{object tree}. An object may be defined with an
initial location (another object) and must have an \W{internal name} and
a \W{short name}; attached to it throughout the game are variables called
\W{attributes} and \W{properties} which reflect its current state. The
definition of an object may make it \W{inherit} initial settings for this
state from one or more \W{classes}.
\E{object number}%
\W{Objects} are automatically numbered from 1 upwards, in order of
definition, and the \W{internal name} of an object is in fact a \W{constant}
whose value is this number.
\E{object tree}%
The hierarchy of containment between \W{objects}. Each has a `parent',
though this may be `nothing' (to indicate that it is uncontained, as for
instance \W{rooms} are) and possibly some `children' (the objects directly
contained within it). The `child' of an object is the `eldest' of these
children, the one most recently moved within it or, if none have been moved
into it since the start of play, the first one defined as within it. The
`sibling' of this child is then the next eldest, or may be `nothing' if
there is no next eldest. Note that if $A$ is inside $B$ which is itself
inside $C$, then $C$ `directly contains' $B$ but only `indirectly
contains' $A$: and we do not call $A$ one of the children of $C$.
\E{obsolete usage}%
A point in the program using Inform syntax which was correct under some
previous version of the \W{compiler} but is no longer correct (usually
because there is a neater way to express the same idea). Inform often
allows these but, if so, issues \W{warnings}.
\E{opcodes}%
See \W{assembly language}.
\E{operator}%
A symbol in an \W{expression} which acts on one or more sub-expressions,
combining their values to produce a result. This may be arithmetic, as
in $+$ or $/$, or to do with array or property value indexing, as in
|->| or |.&|. Note that \W{condition} operators such as |==| are not
formally expression operators.
\E{order}%
An instruction by the \W{player} for somebody else to do something. For
instance, ``policeman, give me your hat'' is an order. The order is
parsed as if an \W{action} but is then processed in the other person's
\W{object} definition.
\E{packed address}%
A number encoding the location of a \W{routine} or \W{string} within
the \W{memory map} of the \W{Z-machine}.
\E{parent}%
See \W{object tree}.
\E{parser}%
That part of the \W{library} which, once per turn, issues the \W{prompt};
asks the \W{player} to type something; looks at the initial \W{verb} word; tries
to match the remaining words against one of the \W{lines} of \W{grammar} for
this verb and, if successful, generates the resulting \W{action}.
\E{player}%
1. the person sitting at the keyboard at \W{run-time}, who is playing
the game; 2. his character inside the model world of the game. (There is an
important difference - one has access to the ``undo'' verb. The other
actually dies.)
\E{prompt}%
The text printed to invite the \W{player} to type: usually just |>|.
\E{property}%
1. The value of a variable attached to a particular \W{object}, accessible
throughout the program, which can be a single \W{word}, an \W{embedded
routine} or an \W{array} of values; 2. a named class of such variables,
such as |description|, one of which may be held by any object created, and
which has a default value for any object not explicitly created with one.
\E{resolution}%
See \W{dictionary}.
\E{return value}%
See \W{routine}.
\E{room}%
The geography of a game is subdivided into parcels of area called rooms,
within which it is (usually) assumed that the \W{player} has no particular
location but can reach all corners of easily and without giving explicit
instruction to do so. For instance, ``the summit of Scafell Pike'' might be
such an area, while ``the summit of Ben Nevis'' (being a large L-shaped
ridge) would probably be divided into three or four. These rooms fit
together into the \W{map} and each is implemented as an \W{object}.
\E{room description}%
See \W{description}.
\E{routine}%
In an Inform program (and indeed in the \W{Z-machine}) code is always
executed in routines, each of which is called (possibly with \W{arguments})
and must return a particular \W{word} value, though this is sometimes
disguised from the programmer because (for example) the \W{statement}
|return;| actually returns true (1) and the statement |ExplodeBomb();|
makes the call to the routine but throws away the return value subsequently.
Routines are permitted to call themselves (if the programmer wants to
risk it) and have their own \W{local variables}.
\E{rule}%
\W{Embedded routines} given as values of a \W{property} like |before| or
|after| are sometimes loosely called rules, because they encode exceptional
rules of the game such as ``the 10-ton weight cannot be picked up''.
However, there is no formal concept of `rule'.
\E{run-time}%
The time when an \W{interpreter} is running the \W{story file}, i.e., when
someone is actually playing the game, as distinct from `compile-time' (when
the \W{compiler} is at work making the story file). Some errors (such as
an attempt to divide a number by zero) can only be detected at run-time.
\E{scope}%
To say that an \W{object} is in scope to a particular \W{actor} is
roughly to say that it is visible, and can sensibly be referred to.
\E{second noun}%
The second parameter (usually an \W{object} but possibly a number) which the
\W{parser} has matched in a \W{line} of \W{grammar} is the second noun for
the \W{action} generated. It is stored in the |second| variable.
\E{see-through}%
An \W{object} is called this if it has |transparent|, or is an open
|container|, or is a |supporter|. Roughly this means `if the object is
visible, then its \W{children} are visible'. (This criterion is often
applied in the \W{scope} (and `light') rules inside the \W{library}.)
\E{short name}%
See \W{name}.
\E{sibling}%
See \W{object tree}.
\E{statement}%
A single instruction for the game to carry out at \W{run-time}; a
\W{routine} is a collection of statements. These include \W{assignments}
and \W{assembly language} but not \W{directives}.
\E{status line}%
The region at the top of the screen which, in play, usually shows the
current score and location, and which is usually printed in reversed colours
for contrast.
\E{story file}%
The output of the \W{compiler} is a single file containing everything about
the game produced, in a \W{format} which is standard. To be played, the
file must be run with an \W{interpreter}. Thus only one file is needed for
every Inform game created, and only one auxiliary program must be written
for every model of computer which is to run such games. In this way
story files are absolutely portable across different computers.
\E{Standard game}%
An old \W{format} (version 3) of \W{story file} which should no longer be
used unless absolutely necessary (to run on very small computers) since it
imposes tiresome restrictions.
\E{string}%
1. a literal piece of text such as |"Mary had a fox"| (which is a
\W{constant} internally represented by a number, its \W{packed address},
and may be created as a \W{low string}); 2. a form of \W{byte array} in
which the 0th entry holds the number of entries (so called because such an
array is usually used as a list of \W{characters}, i.e. a string variable);
3. see \W{variable string}.
\E{switch}%
1. certain \W{objects} are `switchable', meaning they can be turned off or
on by the \W{player}; 2. options set by the programmer when the \W{compiler}
starts are called switches; 3. a |switch| \W{statement} is one which
switches execution, like a railway turntable, between different lines
according to the current value of an \W{expression}.
\E{synonym}%
Two or more words which refer to the same \W{verb} are called synonyms (for
example, ``wear'' and ``don'').
\E{table}%
A form of \W{word array} in which the 0th entry holds the number of entries.
\E{timer}%
A \W{routine} attached to a particular \W{object} which, once set, will be
run after a certain number of \W{turns} have passed by. (Sometimes called
a `fuse'.)
\E{token}%
A particle in a \W{line} of \W{grammar}, which the \W{parser} tries
to match with one or more words from what the \W{player} has typed. For
instance, the token |held| can only be matched by an \W{object} the
\W{actor} is holding.
\E{tree}%
See \W{object tree}.
\E{turn}%
The period in play between one typed command and another.
\E{type}%
A \W{word} value may represent a literal number, a \W{packed address}, an
\W{action number}, etc., and there is only a limited way to tell what the
`type' of it is: see \S 17.
\E{untypeable word}%
A \W{dictionary word} which contains at least one space, full stop or
comma and therefore can never be recognised by the \W{parser} as one of the
words typed by the \W{player}.
\E{variable}%
A named value which can be set or compared so that it varies at \W{run-time}.
It must be declared before use (the \W{library} declares many such).
Variables are either \W{local} or \W{global}; entries in \W{arrays} (or the
\W{memory map}) and \W{properties} of \W{objects} behave like global
variables.
\E{variable string}%
(Not the same as a \W{string} (3) variable.) There are 32 of these, which
can only be set (to a \W{string} (1) which must have been defined as a
\W{low string}) or printed out (using the |@| escape character).
\E{vehicle}%
An \W{object} which the \W{player} character can travel around in.
\E{verb}%
1. a collection of \W{synonymous} one-word English verbs for which the
\W{parser} has a \W{grammar} of possible \W{lines} which a command starting
with one of these verbs might take; 2. one of the one-word English verbs.
\E{version}%
The \W{compiler} can produce 6 different formats of \W{story file}, from
Version 3 (or \W{Standard}) to Version 8. By default it produces Version 5
(or \W{Advanced}) which is the most portable.
\E{warning}%
When the \W{compiler} finds something in the program which it disapproves
of (for example, an \W{obsolete usage}) or thinks might be a mistake, it
issues a warning message. This resembles an \W{error} but does not prevent
successful compilation; a working \W{story file} can still be produced.
\E{window}%
(Except in \W{Standard games}) the screen is divided into two windows, an
upper, fixed window usually containing the \W{status line} and the lower,
scrolling window usually holding the text of the game. One can divert
printing to the upper window and move a \W{cursor} about in it.
\E{word}%
1. an English word in the game's \W{dictionary}; 2. almost all numbers are
stored in 16-bit words of memory which unlike \W{bytes} can hold any
\W{constant} value, though they take twice as much storage space up.
\E{word array}%
An \W{array} indexed with the |-->| \W{operator} whose entries are
\W{words}: they can therefore hold any \W{constant} values.
\E{youngest child}%
See \W{object tree}.
\E{Z-machine}%
The imaginary computer which the \W{story file} is a program for. One
romantically pretends that this is built from circuitboards and microchips
(using terms like `hardware') though in fact it is merely simulated at
\W{run-time} by an \W{interpreter} running on some (much more sophisticated)
computer. Z is for `Zork'.
\tenpoint
\vfill\eject\lexiconfalse\mark{1}
%
\immediate\closeout\ans
\answerstrue
\sectionx{Answers to all the exercises}
\outer\def\ansno #1:{\medbreak
\noindent\llap{$\bullet$\rm\kern.15em}%
{\ninebf \bf #1}\mark{#1}\quad}
\poem
World is crazier and more of it than we think,
Incorrigibly plural. I peel and portion
A tangerine and spit the pips and feel
The drunkenness of things being various.
\poemby{^{Louis MacNeice} ({\oldstyle1907}--{\oldstyle1963})}{Snow}
\ninepoint
%\input $.games.infocom.ftp.toolkit.mandir.dmanual.answers
\ansno1:
{^^{exercises: mushroom picking}
Change the mushroom's |after| rule to:
\beginstt
after
[; Take: if (self hasnt general)
{ give self general;
"You pick the mushroom, neatly cleaving its thin stalk.";
}
"You pick up the slowly-disintegrating mushroom.";
Drop: "The mushroom drops to the ground, battered slightly.";
],
\endtt
Note that |general| is a general-purpose attribute, always free for the
designer to use. The `neatly cleaving' message can only happen once, because
after that the mushroom object (which calls itself |self|) must have
|general|.}
\ansno2:
{^^{exercises: testing presence of property}
|if (obj.&door_to == 0) { ... }|}
\ansno3:
{Put any validation rules desired into the |GamePreRoutine|.
For example, the following will filter out any stray |Drop| actions for
unheld objects:^^{actions: validation (exercise)}
^^{exercises: action validation}
\beginstt
[ GamePreRoutine;
if (action==Drop && noun notin player)
print_ret "You aren't holding ", (the) noun, ".";
rfalse;
];
\endtt}
\ansno4:
{^^{exercises: opening medicine bottle}
Declare a fake action called, say, |OpenUp|. Then:
\beginlines
|Object medicine "guaranteed child-proof medicine bottle" cupboard|
| with name "medicine" "bottle",|
| description "~Antidote only: no preventative effect.~",|
| before|
| [; Open, Unlock: "It's adult-proof too.";|
| OpenUp: give self open ~locked; "The bottle cracks open!";|
| ],|
| has container openable locked;|
\endlines
Any other code in the game can execute |<OpenUp medicine>| to crack open
the bottle. For brevity, this solution assumes that the bottle is always
visible to the player when it is opened.}
\ansno5:
{^^{exercises: before on second noun}
Briefly: provide a |GamePreRoutine| which tests to see if
|second| is a non-zero object. If it is, then call a |second_before|
property for the object (having already created this new property),
and so on.}
\ansno6:
{^^{orange cloud}^^{exercises: orange cloud surrounding player}
\beginlines
|Object orange_cloud "orange cloud"|
| with name "orange" "cloud",|
| react_before|
| [; Look: "You can't see for the orange cloud surrounding you.";|
| Go, Exit: "You wander round in circles, choking.";|
| Smell: if (noun==0) "Cinnamon? No, nutmeg.";|
| ],|
| has scenery;|
\endlines}
\medskip
\noindent
Directions (such as ``north") are objects called |n_obj|, |s_obj|
and so on: in this case, |in_obj|. (They are not to be confused with the
property names |n_to| and so on.) Moreover, you can change these
directions: as far as Inform is concerned, a direction is any object in
the special object |compass|.^^{directions: direction objects}
^^{objects: direction and compass objects}
\ansno7:
{^^{exercises: Mayan directions}
Define four objects along the lines of:
\beginlines
|Object white_obj "white wall" compass|
| with name "white" "sac" "wall", article "the", door_dir n_to|
| has scenery;|
\endlines^^{world colours}^^{Mayan directions}^^{directions: direction objects}
and add the following line to |Initialise|:
\beginlines
|remove n_obj; remove e_obj; remove w_obj; remove s_obj;|
\endlines
(We could even |alias| a new property |white_to| to be |n_to|, and then
enter map directions in the source code using Mayan property names.)
As a fine point of style, turquoise ({\it yax}) is the world colour for
`here', so add a grammar line to make this cause a ``look'':
\beginlines
|Verb "turquoise" "yax" * -> Look;|
\endlines}
\ansno8:
{^^{reflecting the map}^^{exercises: reflecting the map east-west}
\beginlines
|[ SwapDirs o1 o2 x;|
| x=o1.door_dir; o1.door_dir=o2.door_dir; o2.door_dir=x; ];|
|[ ReflectWorld;|
| SwapDirs(e_obj,w_obj); SwapDirs(ne_obj,nw_obj); SwapDirs(se_obj,sw_obj);|
|];|
\endlines}
\ansno9:
{^^{exercises: exchanging ``east''/``west''}
This is a prime candidate for using ^{variable strings}
^|@nn|. Briefly: at the head of the source, define
\beginlines
|Lowstring east_str "east"; Lowstring west_str "west";|
\endlines^^|Lowstring|^^|String|
and then add two more routines to the game,
\beginlines
|[ NormalWorld; String 0 east_str; String 1 west_str; ];|
|[ ReversedWorld; String 0 west_str; String 1 east_str; ];|
\endlines
where ^|NormalWorld| is called in |Initialise| or to go back to
normal, and ^|ReversedWorld| when the reflection happens. Write
|@00| in place of |east| in any double-quoted printable string,
and similarly |@01| for |west|. It will be printed as whichever
is currently set. (Inform provides up to 32 such variable strings.)}
\ansno10:
{^^{toothed bag}^^{acquisitive bag}^^{exercises: acquisitive bag}
\beginlines
|Nearby bag "toothed bag"|
| with name "toothed" "bag",|
| description "A capacious bag with a toothed mouth.",|
| before|
| [; LetGo: "The bag defiantly bites itself \|
| shut on your hand until you desist.";|
| Close: "The bag resists all attempts to close it.";|
| ],|
| after|
| [; Receive:|
| print_ret "The bag wriggles hideously as it swallows ",|
| (the) noun, ".";|
| ],|
| has container open;|
\endlines}
\ansno11:
{^^{exercises: television set}
\beginlines
|Object television "portable television set" lounge|
| with name "tv" "television" "set" "portable",|
| before|
| [; SwitchOn: <<SwitchOn power_button>>;|
| SwitchOff: <<SwitchOff power_button>>;|
| Examine: <<Examine screen>>;|
| ],|
| has transparent;|
|Nearby power_button "power button"|
| with name "power" "button" "switch",|
| after|
| [; SwitchOn, SwitchOff: <<Examine screen>>;|
| ],|
| has switchable;|
|Nearby screen "television screen"|
| with name "screen",|
| before|
| [; Examine: if (power_button hasnt on) "The screen is black.";|
| "The screen writhes with a strange Japanese cartoon.";|
| ];|
\endlines^^{Japanese cartoon}^^{television set}^^{Manga}^^{cartoon}}
\ansno12:
{\beginlines
|Nearby glass_box "glass box with a lid"|
| with name "glass" "box" "with" "lid"|
| has container transparent openable open;|
|Nearby steel_box "steel box with a lid"|
| with name "steel" "box" "with" "lid"|
| has container openable open;|
\endlines^^{exercises: glass and steel boxes}}
\ansno13:
{^^{macram\'e bag}^^{exercises: macram\'e bag}
(The description part of this answer
uses a routine from \S 19, but is only decoration.) Note the
careful use of |inp1| and |inp2| rather than |noun| or |second|:
see the note at the end of \S 4.
\beginlines
|Nearby macrame_bag "macrame bag"|
| with name "macrame" "bag" "string" "net" "sack",|
| react_before|
| [; Examine, Search, Listen, Smell: ;|
| default:|
| if (inp1>1 && inp1 in self)|
| print_ret (The) inp1, " is tucked away in the bag.";|
| if (inp2>1 && inp2 in self)|
| print_ret (The) inp2, " is tucked away in the bag.";|
| ],|
| describe|
| [; print "^A macrame bag hangs from the ceiling, shut tight";|
| if (child(self)==0) ".";|
| print ". Inside you can make out ";|
| WriteListFrom(child(self), ENGLISH_BIT); ".";|
| ],|
| has container transparent;|
|Object watch "gold watch" macrame_bag|
| with name "gold" "watch",|
| description "The watch has no hands, oddly.",|
| react_before|
| [; Listen: if (noun==0 or self) "The watch ticks loudly."; ];|
\endlines}
\ansno14:
{^^{plank bridge}^^{bridge which collapses}
^^{exercises: plank bridge}The
``plank breaking'' rule is implemented here in its |door_to| routine.
Note that this returns `true' after killing the player.
\beginlines
|Nearby PlankBridge "plank bridge"|
| with description "Extremely fragile and precarious.",|
| name "precarious" "fragile" "wooden" "plank" "bridge",|
| when_open|
| "A precarious plank bridge spans the chasm.",|
| door_to|
| [; if (children(player)~=0)|
| { deadflag=1;|
| "You step gingerly across the plank, which bows under \|
| your weight. But your meagre possessions are the straw \|
| which breaks the camel's back! There is a horrid crack...";|
| }|
| print "You step gingerly across the plank, grateful that \|
| you're not burdened.^";|
| if (location==NearSide) return FarSide; return NearSide;|
| ],|
| door_dir|
| [; if (location==NearSide) return s_to; return n_to;|
| ],|
| found_in NearSide FarSide,|
| has static door open;|
\endlines
There might be a problem with this solution if your game also contained
a character who wandered about, and whose code was clever enough to run
|door_to| routines for any |door|s it ran into. If so, |door_to| could
perhaps be modified to check that the |actor| is the |player|.}
\ansno15:
{^^{`Ruins'}^^{exercises: cage to open and enter}
\beginlines
|Nearby cage "iron cage"|
| with name "iron" "cage" "bars" "barred" "iron-barred",|
| when_open|
| "An iron-barred cage, large enough to stoop over inside, \|
| looms ominously here.",|
| when_closed "The iron cage is closed.",|
| has enterable container openable open static;|
\endlines}
\ansno16:
{^^{exercises: car that won't go east}
Change the car's |before| to
\beginlines
| before|
| [; Go: if (noun==e_obj)|
| { print "The car will never fit through your front door.^";|
| return 2;|
| }|
| if (car has on) "Brmm! Brmm!";|
| print "(The ignition is off at the moment.)^";|
| ],|
\endlines^^{little red car}}
\ansno17:
{^^{pumice ball}^^{eight-foot pumice ball}^^{ball of pumice}
^^{`Ruins'}^^{exercises: pushing pumice ball uphill}
Insert these lines into the |before| rule for |PushDir|:
\beginlines
| if (second==u_obj) <<PushDir self n_obj>>;|
| if (second==d_obj) <<PushDir self s_obj>>;|
\endlines}
\ansno18:
{^^{William Tyndale}^^{New Testament}^^{four Gospels}^^{Bible}
^^{exercises: Tyndale's Bible}
\beginlines
|Nearby bible "black Tyndale Bible"|
| with name "bible" "black" "book",|
| initial "A black Bible rests on a spread-eagle lectern.",|
| description "A splendid foot-high Bible, which must have survived \|
| the burnings of 1520.",|
| before|
| [ w x; Consult:|
| wn = consult_from; w = NextWord();|
| switch(w)|
| { 'matthew': x="Gospel of St Matthew";|
| 'mark': x="Gospel of St Mark";|
| 'luke': x="Gospel of St Luke";|
| 'john': x="Gospel of St John";|
| default: "There are only the four Gospels.";|
| }|
| if (consult_words==1)|
| print_ret "You read the ", (string) x, " right through.";|
| w = TryNumber(wn);|
| if (w==-1000)|
| print_ret "I was expecting a chapter number in the ",|
| (string) x, ".";|
| print_ret "Chapter ", (number) w, " of the ", (string) x,|
| " is too sacred for you to understand now.";|
| ];|
\endlines}
\ansno19:
{^^{exercises: bearded psychiatrist}
Note that whether reacting before or after, the psychiatrist
does not cut any actions short, because |react_before| and
|react_after| both return false.
\beginlines
|Nearby psychiatrist "bearded psychiatrist"|
| with name "bearded" "doctor" "psychiatrist" "psychologist" "shrink",|
| initial "A bearded psychiatrist has you under observation.",|
| life|
| [; "He is fascinated by your behaviour, but makes no attempt to \|
| interfere with it.";|
| ],|
| react_after|
| [; Insert: print "~Subject puts ", (name) noun, " in ",|
| (name) second, ". Interesting.~^^";|
| Look: print "~Pretend I'm not here,~ says the psychiatrist.^";|
| ],|
| react_before|
| [; Take, Remove: print "~Subject feels lack of ", (the) noun,|
| ". Suppressed Oedipal complex? Mmm.~^";|
| ],|
| has animate;|
\endlines}
\ansno20:
{^^{removing conversation actions}
^^{exercises: removing conversation actions}
Add the following lines, after the inclusion of |Grammar|:
\beginlines
|[ SayInsteadSub; "[To talk to someone, please type ~someone, something~ \|
|or else ~ask someone about something~.]"; ];|
|Extend "answer" replace * ConTopic -> SayInstead;|
|Extend "tell" replace * ConTopic -> SayInstead;|
\endlines
A slight snag is that this will throw out ``nigel,
tell me about the grunfeld defence'' (which the library will normally
convert to an |Ask| action, but can't if the grammar for ``tell'' is
missing); to avoid this, you could instead |Replace| the |TellSub|
routine (see \S 17) by the |SayInsteadSub| one.}
\ansno21:
{^^{`Starcross'}^^{computer (voice-activated)}
^^{exercises: computer (voice-activated)}
There are several ways to do this. The easiest is to add more grammar
to the parser and let it do the hard work:
\beginstt
Nearby computer "computer"
with name "computer",
orders
[; Theta: print_ret "~Theta now set to ", noun, ".~";
default: print_ret "~Please rephrase.~";
],
has talkable;
..
[ ThetaSub; "You must tell your computer so."; ];
Verb "theta" * "is" number -> Theta;
\endtt}
\ansno22:
{^^{Simon Says}^^{Charlotte's game}^^{girl playing Simon Says}
^^{exercises: Charlotte playing Simon Says}
Obviously, a slightly wider repertoire of actions might be a good idea,
but:
\beginlines
|Nearby Charlotte "Charlotte"|
| with name "charlotte" "charlie" "chas",|
| grammar|
| [; give self ~general;|
| wn=verb_wordnum;|
| if (NextWord()=='simon' && NextWord()=='says')|
| { give self general;|
| verb_wordnum=verb_wordnum+2;|
| }|
| ],|
| orders|
| [ i; if (self hasnt general) "Charlotte sticks her tongue out.";|
| WaveHands: "Charlotte waves energetically.";|
| default: "~Don't know how,~ says Charlotte.";|
| ],|
| initial "Charlotte wants to play Simon Says.",|
| has animate female proper;|
\endlines}
\ansno23:
{^^{clapping game}^^{exercises: Charlotte's clapping game}
First add a |Clap| verb (this is easy). Then
give Charlotte a |number| property (initially 0, say) and add
these three lines to the end of Charlotte's |grammar| routine:
\beginlines
| self.number=TryNumber(verb_wordnum);|
| if (self.number~=-1000)|
| { action=##Clap; noun=0; second=0; rtrue; }|
\endlines
Her |orders| routine now needs a local variable called |i|, and
the new clause:
\beginlines
| Clap: if (self.number==0) "Charlotte folds her arms.";|
| for (i=0:i<self.number:i++)|
| { print "Clap! ";|
| if (i==100)|
| print "(You must be regretting this by now.) ";|
| if (i==200)|
| print "(What a determined girl she is.) ";|
| }|
| if (self.number>100)|
| "^^Charlotte is a bit out of breath now.";|
| "^^~Easy!~ says Charlotte.";|
\endlines}
\ansno24:
{^^{exercises: Dyslexic Dan}
The interesting point here is that when the |grammar| property
finds the word ``take'', it accepts it and has to move |verb_wordnum|
on by one to signal that a word has been parsed succesfully.
\beginlines
|Nearby Dan "Dyslexic Dan"|
| with name "dan" "dyslexic",|
| grammar|
| [; if (verb_word == 'take') { verb_wordnum++; return 'drop'; }|
| if (verb_word == 'drop') { verb_wordnum++; return 'take'; }|
| ],|
| orders|
| [ i;|
| Take: print_ret "~What,~ says Dan, ~ you want me to take ",|
| (the) noun, "?~";|
| Drop: print_ret "~What,~ says Dan, ~ you want me to drop ",|
| (the) noun, "?~";|
| Inv: "~That I can do,~ says Dan. ~I'm empty-handed.~";|
| No: "~Right you be then.~";|
| Yes: "~I'll be having to think about that.~";|
| default: "~Don't know how,~ says Dan.";|
| ],|
| initial "Dyslexic Dan is here.",|
| has animate proper;|
\endlines^^{Dyslexic Dan}}
\ansno25:
{^^{exercises: extensions for one actor only}
Suppose Dan's grammar (but nobody else's) for the ``examine''
verb is to be extended. His grammar routine should also contain:
\beginlines
| if (verb_word == 'examine' or 'x')|
| { verb_wordnum++; return -'danx,'; }|
\endlines^^{extensions for one actor only}^^{cow pie}
(Note the crudity of this: it looks at the actual verb word, so you
have to check any synonyms yourself.) The verb ``danx,'' must be
declared later:
\beginlines
|Verb "danx," * "conscience" -> Inv;|
\endlines
and now ``Dan, examine conscience'' will send him an |Inv| order:
but ``Dan, examine cow pie'' will still send |Examine cow_pie| as usual.}
\ansno26:
{^^{alarm clock}^^{exercises: alarm clock}
\beginlines
|[ PrintTime x; print (x/60), ":", (x%60)/10, (x%60)%10; ];|
|Nearby alarm_clock "alarm clock"|
| with name "alarm" "clock",|
| number 480,|
| description|
| [; print "The alarm is ";|
| if (self has general) print "on, "; else print "off, but ";|
| print_ret "the clock reads ", (PrintTime) the_time,|
| " and the alarm is set for ", (PrintTime) self.number, ".";|
| ],|
| react_after|
| [; Inv: if (self in player) { new_line; <<Examine self>>; }|
| Look: if (self in location) { new_line; <<Examine self>>; }|
| ],|
| daemon|
| [; if (the_time >= self.number && the_time <= self.number+3|
| && self has general) "^Beep! Beep! The alarm goes off.";|
| ],|
| grammar [; return 'alarm,'; ],|
| orders|
| [; SwitchOn: give self general; StartDaemon(self); "~Alarm set.~";|
| SwitchOff: give self ~general; StopDaemon(self); "~Alarm off.~";|
| SetTo: self.number=noun; <<Examine self>>;|
| default: "~Commands are on, off or a time of day only, pliz.~";|
| ],|
| life|
| [; Ask, Answer, Tell:|
| "[Try ~clock, something~ to address the clock.]";|
| ],|
| has talkable;|
\endlines
and add a new verb to the grammar:
\beginlines
|Verb "alarm," * "on" -> SwitchOn|
| * "off" -> SwitchOff|
| * TimeOfDay -> SetTo;|
\endlines
(using the \cstok{TimeOfDay} token from the exercises of \S 23). Note
that since the word ``alarm,'' can't be matched by anything the player types,
this verb is concealed from ordinary grammar. The orders we produce here
are not used in the ordinary way (for instance, the action |SwitchOn| with
no |noun| or |second| would never ordinarily be produced by the parser) but this
doesn't matter: it only matters that the grammar and the |orders| property
agree with each other.}
\ansno27:
{^^{Star Trek: The Next Generation}^^{tricorder}
^^{exercises: tricorder}
\beginlines
|Nearby tricorder "tricorder"|
| with name "tricorder",|
| grammar [; return 'tc,'; ],|
| orders|
| [; Examine: if (noun==player) "~You radiate life signs.~";|
| print "~", (The) noun, " radiates ";|
| if (noun hasnt animate) print "no ";|
| "life signs.~";|
| default: "The tricorder bleeps.";|
| ],|
| life|
| [; Ask, Answer, Tell: "The tricorder is too simple.";|
| ],|
| has talkable;|
|...|
|Verb "tc," * noun -> Examine;|
\endlines}
\ansno28:
{^^{Star Trek: The Next Generation}^^{replicator}
^^{exercises: replicator}
\beginlines
|Object replicator "replicator"|
| with name "replicator",|
| grammar [; return 'rc,'; ],|
| orders|
| [; Give:|
| print_ret "The replicator serves up a cup of ",|
| (name) noun, " which you drink eagerly.";|
| default: "The replicator is unable to oblige.";|
| ],|
| life|
| [; Ask, Answer, Tell: "The replicator has no conversation skill.";|
| ],|
| has talkable;|
|Nearby earl_grey "Earl Grey tea" with name "earl" "grey" "tea";|
|Nearby brandy "Aldebaran brandy" with name "aldebaran" "brandy";|
|Nearby water "distilled water" with name "distilled" "water";|
|...|
|Verb "rc," * held -> Give;|
\endlines
The point to note here is that the \cstok{held} token means `held by the
replicator' here, as the |actor| is the replicator, so this is a neat way of
getting a `one of the following phrases' token into the grammar.}
\ansno29:
{^^{Star Trek: The Next Generation}^^{communications badge}
^^{exercises: communications badge}
This is similar to the previous exercises. One creates an attribute called
|crewmember| and gives it to the crew objects: the |orders| property is
\beginlines
| orders|
| [; Examine:|
| if (parent(noun)==0)|
| print_ret "~", (name) noun,|
| " is no longer aboard this demonstration game.~";|
| print_ret "~", (name) noun, " is in ", (name) parent(noun), ".~";|
| default: "The computer's only really good for locating the crew.";|
| ],|
\endlines
and the |grammar| simply returns |'stc,'| which is defined as
\beginlines
|[ Crew i;|
| switch(scope_stage)|
| { 1: rfalse;|
| 2: for (i=selfobj+1:i<=top_object:i++)|
| if (i has crewmember) PlaceInScope(i); rtrue;|
| }|
|];|
|Verb "stc," * "where" "is" scope=Crew -> Examine;|
\endlines
An interesting point is that the scope routine doesn't need to do anything
at stage 3 (usually used for printing out errors) because the normal
error-message printing system is never reached. Something like ``computer,
where is Comminder Doto'' causes a |##NotUnderstood| order.}
\ansno30:
{^^{Zen}^^{flight computer}^^{Blake's 7}
^^{exercises: Zen flight computer}
\beginlines
|Object Zen "Zen" Flight_Deck|
| with name "zen" "flight" "computer",|
| initial "Square lights flicker unpredictably across a hexagonal \|
| fascia on one wall, indicating that Zen is on-line.",|
| grammar [; return 'zen,'; ],|
| orders|
| [; Show: print_ret "The main screen shows a starfield, \|
| turning through ", noun, " degrees.";|
| Go: "~Confirmed.~ The ship turns to a new bearing.";|
| SetTo: if (noun==0) "~Confirmed.~ The ship comes to a stop.";|
| if (noun>12) print_ret "~Standard by ", (number) noun,|
| " exceeds design tolerances.~";|
| print_ret "~Confirmed.~ The ship's engines step to \|
| standard by ", (number) noun, ".";|
| Take: if (noun~=force_wall) "~Please clarify.~";|
| "~Force wall raised.~";|
| Drop: if (noun~=blasters) "~Please clarify.~";|
| "~Battle-computers on line. \|
| Neutron blasters cleared for firing.~";|
| default: "~Language banks unable to decode.~";|
| ],|
| has talkable proper static;|
|Nearby force_wall "force wall" with name "force" "wall" "shields";|
|Nearby blasters "neutron blasters" with name "neutron" "blasters";|
|...|
|Verb "zen," * "scan" number "orbital" -> Show|
| * "set" "course" "for" Planet -> Go|
| * "speed" "standard" "by" number -> SetTo|
| * "raise" held -> Take|
| * "clear" held "for" "firing" -> Drop;|
\endlines
Dealing with |Ask|, |Answer| and |Tell| are left to the reader.}
\ansno31:
{^^{screen}^^{Starship Enterprise}^^{Captain Picard}^^{Noslen Maharg}
^^{Star Trek: The Next Generation}^^{Mrofni}^^{exercises: Picard and Maharg}
\beginstt
[ InScope;
if (action_to_be == ##Examine or ##Show or ##ShowR)
PlaceInScope(noslen_maharg);
if (scope_reason == TALKING_REASON)
PlaceInScope(noslen_maharg);
];
\endtt
Note that ^|ShowR| is a variant form of |Show| in which the parameters
are `the other way round': thus ``show maharg the phaser'' generates
|ShowR maharg phaser| internally, which is then converted to the more
usual |Show phaser maharg|.}
\ansno32:
{^^{telepathic contact}^^{Martha}^^{sealed room}^^{telekinesis}
^^{exercises: Martha the telepath}
Martha and the sealed room are defined as follows:
\beginlines
|Object sealed_room "Sealed Room"|
| with description|
| "I'm in a sealed room, like a squash court without a door, \|
| maybe six or seven yards across",|
| has light;|
|Nearby ball "red ball" with name "red" "ball";|
|Nearby martha "Martha"|
| with name "martha",|
| orders|
| [ r; r=parent(self);|
| Give:|
| if (noun notin r) "~That's beyond my telekinesis.~";|
| if (noun==self) "~Teleportation's too hard for me.~";|
| move noun to player;|
| print_ret "~Here goes...~ and Martha's telekinetic talents \|
| magically bring ", (the) noun, " to your hands.";|
| Look:|
| print "~", (string) r.description;|
| if (children(r)==1) ". There's nothing here but me.~";|
| print ". I can see ";|
| WriteListFrom(child(r),CONCEAL_BIT+ENGLISH_BIT);|
| ".~";|
| default: "~Afraid I can't help you there.~";|
| ],|
| life|
| [; Ask: "~You're on your own this time.~";|
| Tell: "Martha clucks sympathetically.";|
| Answer: "~I'll be darned,~ Martha replies.";|
| ],|
| has animate female concealed proper;|
\endlines
but the really interesting part is the ^|InScope| routine to fix
things up:
\beginlines
|[ InScope actor;|
| if (actor==martha) PlaceInScope(player);|
| if (actor==player && scope_reason==TALKING_REASON)|
| PlaceInScope(martha);|
| rfalse;|
|];|
\endlines
Note that since we want two-way communication, the player has to
be in scope to Martha too: otherwise Martha won't be able to
follow the command ``martha, give me the fish'', because ``me''
will refer to something beyond her scope.}
\ansno33:
{^^{exercises: troll afraid of the dark}
Just test if |HasLightSource(gift)==1|.}
\ansno34:
{^^{pet moth}^^{exercises: pet moth escapes in the dark}
We could solve this using a daemon, but for the
sake of demonstrating a feature of |thedark| we won't.
In |Initialise|, write |thedark.initial = #r$GoMothGo;|
and add the routine:
\beginstt
[ GoMothGo;
if (moth in player)
{ remove moth;
"As your eyes try to adjust, you feel a ticklish sensation \
and hear a tiny fluttering sound.";
}
];
\endtt}
\ansno35:
{^^{exercises: thief who wanders}
This is a crude implementation, for brevity (the real Zork
thief has an enormous stock of attached messages). A |life| routine
is omitted, and of course this particular thief steals
nothing. See ^{`The Thief'} for a much fuller,
annotated implementation.^^{thief in `Zork'}^^{gentleman thief}
\beginlines
|Nearby thief "thief"|
| with name "thief" "gentleman" "mahu" "modo",|
| each_turn "^The thief growls menacingly.",|
| daemon|
| [ i p j n k;|
| if (random(3)~=1) rfalse;|
| p=parent(thief);|
| objectloop (i in compass)|
| { j=p.(i.door_dir);|
| if (ZRegion(j)==1 && j hasnt door) n++;|
| }|
| if (n==0) rfalse;|
| k=random(n); n=0;|
| objectloop (i in compass)|
| { j=p.(i.door_dir);|
| if (ZRegion(j)==1 && j hasnt door) n++;|
| if (n==k)|
| { move self to j;|
| if (p==location) "^The thief stalks away!";|
| if (j==location) "^The thief stalks in!";|
| rfalse;|
| }|
| }|
| ],|
| has animate;|
\endlines
|ZRegion(j)| works out what kind of value |j| is: 1 means `is a valid
object number'. So the thief walks at random but never via doors,
bridges and the like (because these may be locked or have rules attached);
it's only a first approximation, and in a good game one should
occasionally see the thief do something surprising, such as open a
secret door. As for the |name|, note that `The ^{Prince of darkness} is
a gentleman. ^{Modo} he's called, and ^{Mahu}'
(^{William Shakespeare}, {\it King Lear} III iv).}
\ansno36:
{^^{exercises: weight--watching daemon}
First define a new property for object weight:^^{weights}
\beginlines
|Property weight 10;|
\endlines
(10 being an average sort of weight). Containers weigh more when
they hold things, so we will need:
\beginlines
|[ WeightOf obj t i;|
| t = obj.weight;|
| objectloop (i in obj) t=t+WeightOf(i);|
| return t;|
|];|
\endlines
Now for the daemon which monitors the player's fatigue:^^{fatigue daemon}
\beginlines
|Object weigher "weigher"|
| with number 500,|
| time_left 5,|
| daemon|
| [ w s b bw;|
| w=WeightOf(player)-100-player.weight;|
| s=self.number; s=s-w; if (s<0) s=0; if (s>500) s=500;|
| self.number = s;|
| if (s==0)|
| { bw=-1;|
| objectloop(b in player)|
| if (WeightOf(b)>bw) { bw=WeightOf(b); w=b; }|
| print "^Exhausted with carrying so much, you decide \|
| to discard ", (the) w, ": "; <<Drop w>>;|
| }|
| w=s/100; if (w==self.time_left) rfalse;|
| if (w==3) print "^You are feeling a little tired.^";|
| if (w==2) print "^You possessions are weighing you down.^";|
| if (w==1) print "^Carrying so much weight is wearing you out.^";|
| self.time_left = w;|
| ];|
\endlines
Notice that items are actually dropped with |Drop| actions: one of them
might be, say, a ^{wild boar}, which would bolt away into the forest when
released. The daemon tries to drop the heaviest item. (Obviously a little
improvement would be needed if the game contained, say, an un-droppable
but very heavy ^{ball and chain}.) Now the daemon is going to run every turn
forever, but needs to be started: so put |StartDaemon(weigher);| into the
game's |Initialise| routine.}
\ansno37:
{^^{exercises: scuttling claws}See the next answer.}
\ansno38:
{^^{scuttling claws}^^{sound of scuttling claws}^^{`Ruins'}
\beginlines
|Object tiny_claws "sound of tiny claws" thedark|
| with article "the",|
| name "tiny" "claws" "sound" "of" "scuttling" "scuttle"|
| "things" "creatures" "monsters" "insects",|
| initial "Somewhere, tiny claws are scuttling.",|
| before|
| [; Listen: "How intelligent they sound, for mere insects.";|
| Touch, Taste: "You wouldn't want to. Really.";|
| Smell: "You can only smell your own fear.";|
| Attack: "They easily evade your flailing about in the dark.";|
| default: "The creatures evade you, chittering.";|
| ],|
| each_turn [; StartDaemon(self); ],|
| number 0,|
| daemon|
| [ i; if (location~=thedark) { self.number=0; StopDaemon(self); rtrue; }|
| i=self.number+1; self.number=i;|
| switch(i)|
| { 1: "^The scuttling draws a little nearer, and your breathing \|
| grows loud and hoarse.";|
| 2: "^The perspiration of terror runs off your brow. The \|
| creatures are almost here!";|
| 3: "^You feel a tickling at your extremities and kick outward, \|
| shaking something chitinous off. Their sound alone \|
| is a menacing rasp.";|
| 4: deadflag=1;|
| "^Suddenly there is a tiny pain, of a hypodermic-sharp fang \|
| at your calf. Almost at once your limbs go into spasm, \|
| your shoulders and knee-joints lock, your tongue swells...";|
| }|
| ];|
\endlines}
\ansno39:
{^^{exercises: midnight}
Either set a daemon to watch for |the_time| suddenly dropping, or
put such a watch in the game's |TimePasses| routine.}
\ansno40:
{^^{sunrise and sunset}^^{daylight}^^{nightfall}^^{darkness: nightfall}
^^{light: daylight}^^{exercises: nightfall and daybreak}
A minimal solution is as follows:
\beginlines
|Constant SUNRISE 360; ! i.e., 6 am|
|Constant SUNSET 1140; ! i.e., 7 pm|
|Attribute outdoors; ! Give this to external locations|
|Attribute lit; ! And this to artificially lit ones|
|Global day_state = 2;|
|[ TimePasses f obj;|
| if (the_time >= SUNRISE && the_time < SUNSET) f=1;|
| if (day_state == f) rfalse;|
| for (obj=1: obj<=top_object: obj++)|
| { if (obj has lit) give obj light;|
| if (obj has outdoors && obj hasnt lit)|
| { if (f==0) give obj ~light; else give obj light;|
| }|
| }|
| if (day_state==2) { day_state = f; return; }|
| day_state = f; if (location hasnt outdoors) return;|
| if (f==1) "^The sun rises, illuminating the landscape!";|
| "^As the sun sets, the landscape is plunged into darkness.";|
|];|
\endlines
In the |Initialise| routine, set the time (using |SetTime|)
and then call |TimePasses| to set all the |light| attributes
accordingly. Note that with this system, there's no need to
set |light| at all: that's automatic.}
\ansno41:
{^^{exercises: mid-air location}
Because you don't know what order daemons will run in. A
`fatigue' daemon which makes the player drop something might come
after the `mid-air' daemon has run for this turn. Whereas |each_turn|
happens after daemons and timers have run their course, and can fairly
assume no further movements will take place this
turn.^^{daemons: running order}}
\ansno42:
{^^{exercises: long time-scale game}
It would have to provide its own code to keep track of time,
and it can do this by providing a |TimePasses()| routine. Providing
``time'' or even ``date'' verbs to tell the player would also be a
good idea.}
\ansno43:
{^^{exercises: player reacting before}
Two reasons. Firstly, there are times when we want to be able
to trap orders to other people, which |react_before| does not.
Secondly, the player's |react_before| rule is not necessarily
the first to react. In the case of the player's deafness, a ^{cuckoo}
may have already used |react_before| to sing. But it would have been
safe to use |GamePreRoutine|, if a little untidy (because a rule about
the player would not be part of the player's definition, which makes
for confusing source code). See \S 4 for the exact sequence of events
when actions are processed.}
\ansno44:
{^^{gas mask}^^{`Curses'}^^{silence, imposition on player}
^^{talking, preventing player from}^^{exercises: silencing player}
\beginlines
| orders|
| [; if (gasmask hasnt worn) rfalse;|
| if (actor==self && action~=##Answer or ##Tell or ##Ask) rfalse;|
| "Your speech is muffled into silence by the gas mask.";|
| ],|
\endlines}
\ansno45:
{^^{exercises: the player's wayhel}
The common man's {\it wayhel} was a lowly mouse. Since we think
much more highly of the player:
\beginlines
|Object hog "Warthog" Caldera|
| with name "wart" "hog" "warthog", description "Muddy and grunting.",|
| number 0,|
| initial "A warthog snuffles and grunts about in the ash.",|
| orders|
| [; if (action~=##Go or ##Look or ##Examine)|
| "Warthogs can't do anything as tricky as that!";|
| ],|
| has animate proper;|
\endlines^^{warthog}^^{nagual}
and we just |ChangePlayer(warthog);|. Note that the same |orders|
routine applies to the player-as-human typing ``warthog, listen''
as to the player-as-warthog typing just ``listen''.}
\ansno46:
{^^{Giant with a conscience}^^{exercises: Giant with conscience}
\beginlines
| orders|
| [; if (player==self)|
| { if (actor~=self)|
| "You only become tongue-tied and gabble.";|
| rfalse;|
| }|
| Attack: "The Giant looks at you with doleful eyes. \|
| ~Me not be so bad!~";|
| default: "The Giant is unable to comprehend your instructions.";|
| ],|
\endlines}
\ansno47:
{^^{exercises: chessboard of rooms}
Give the ``^{chessboard}'' room a |short_name| routine (it probably
already has one, to print names like ``Chessboard d6'') and make it change
the short name to ``the gigantic Chessboard'' if and only if |action| is
currently set to |##Places|.}
\ansno48:
{^^{`Witness'}^^{prompt}^^{changing the prompt}^^{``What next?''}
^^{exercises: varying the prompt}
Put the following definition between inclusion of ``Parser'' and
``Verblib'':
\begintt
Object LibraryMessages "lm"
with before
[; Prompt: if (turns==1)
print "What should you, the detective, do now?^>";
else
print "What next?^>";
rtrue;
];
\endtt}
\ansno49:
{The details are left to the reader. One must provide a new
grammar file (generating the same actions but from different syntax)
and a very large |LibraryMessages| object.}
\ansno50:
{^^{accusative pronoun}^^{nominative pronoun}^^{pronouns}
^^{exercises: printing pronouns}Simply
define the following (for accusative, nominative and capitalised
nominative pronouns, respectively):
\beginlines
|[ PronounAcc i;|
| if (i hasnt animate) print "it";|
| else { if (i has female) print "her"; else print "him"; } ];|
|[ PronounNom i;|
| if (i hasnt animate) print "it";|
| else { if (i has female) print "she"; else print "he"; } ];|
|[ CPronounNom i;|
| if (i hasnt animate) print "It";|
| else { if (i has female) print "She"; else print "He"; } ];|
\endlines}
\ansno51:
{^^{ornate box}^^{exercises: ornate box (inventory inside)}
Use the |invent| routine to signal to |short_name|
and |article| routines to change their usual habits:
\beginlines
| invent|
| [; if (inventory_stage==1) give self general;|
| else give self ~general;|
| ],|
| short_name|
| [; if (self has general) { print "box"; rtrue; } ],|
| article|
| [; if (self has general) { print "that hateful"; rtrue; }|
| else print "a"; ],|
\endlines}
\ansno52:
{^^{exercises: very verbose mode}
This answer is cheating, as it needs to know about the
|lookmode| variable (set to 1 for normal, 2 for verbose or 3 for
superbrief). Simply include:
\beginlines
|[ TimePasses;|
| if (action~=##Look && lookmode==2) <Look>;|
|];|
\endlines^^{very verbose mode}}
\ansno53:
{^^{exercises: double inventory}
\beginlines
|[ DoubleInvSub i count1 count2;|
| print "You are carrying ";|
| objectloop (i in player)|
| { if (i hasnt worn) { give i workflag; count1++; }|
| else { give i ~workflag; count2++; }|
| }|
| if (count1==0) print "nothing.";|
| else|
| WriteListFrom(child(player),|
| FULLINV_BIT + ENGLISH_BIT + RECURSE_BIT + WORKFLAG_BIT);|
||
| if (count2==0) ".";|
| print ". In addition, you are wearing ";|
| objectloop (i in player)|
| { if (i hasnt worn) give i ~workflag; else give i workflag;|
| }|
| WriteListFrom(child(player),|
| ENGLISH_BIT + RECURSE_BIT + WORKFLAG_BIT);|
| ".";|
|];|
\endlines^^{double inventory}}
\ansno54:
{^^{Scrabble pieces}^^{exercises: Scrabble pieces}
\beginlines
|Attribute is_letter;|
|Class letter|
| with list_together|
| [; if (inventory_stage==1)|
| { print "the letters ";|
| if (c_style & ENGLISH_BIT == 0) c_style = c_style + ENGLISH_BIT;|
| if (c_style & NOARTICLE_BIT == 0) c_style = c_style + NOARTICLE_BIT;|
| if (c_style & NEWLINE_BIT ~= 0) c_style = c_style - NEWLINE_BIT;|
| if (c_style & INDENT_BIT ~= 0) c_style = c_style - INDENT_BIT;|
| }|
| else print " from a Scrabble set";|
| ],|
| short_name|
| [; if (listing_together has is_letter) rfalse;|
| print "letter ", object self, " from a Scrabble set"; rtrue;|
| ],|
| article "the",|
| has is_letter;|
\endlines
and then as many letters as desired, along the lines of
\beginlines
|Nearby s1 "X" class letter with name "x";|
\endlines}
\ansno55:
{^^{coins (listed together)}^^{three denominations of coin}
^^{exercises: three denominations of coin}
\beginlines
|Attribute is_coin;|
|Class coin_class|
| with name "coin",|
| description "A round unstamped disc, presumably local currency.",|
| parse_name|
| [ i j w;|
| if (parser_action==##TheSame)|
| { if ((parser_one.&name)-->0 == (parser_two.&name)-->0) return -1;|
| return -2;|
| }|
| w=(self.&name)-->0;|
| for (::i++)|
| { j=NextWord();|
| if (j=='coins') parser_action=##PluralFound;|
| else if (j~='coin' or w) return i;|
| }|
| ],|
| list_together "coins",|
| plural|
| [; print (string) (self.&name)-->0;|
| if (listing_together hasnt is_coin) print " coins";|
| ],|
| short_name|
| [; if (listing_together has is_coin)|
| { print (string) (self.&name)-->0; rtrue; }|
| ],|
| article|
| [; if (listing_together has is_coin) print "one"; else print "a";|
| ],|
| has is_coin;|
|Class gold_coin_class class coin_class with name "gold";|
|Class silver_coin_class class coin_class with name "silver";|
|Class bronze_coin_class class coin_class with name "bronze";|
|Nearby coin1 "silver coin" class silver_coin_class;|
|... and so on|
\endlines}
\ansno56:
{^^{I Ching}^^{trigrams}^^{exercises: I Ching coins}
^^{coins (in I Ching trigrams)}For brevity, the following answer
omits the routines: |CoinsTogether(attr)| which finds if the three
coins with this |attr| (|is_gold| or |is_silver|) are together,
returning 0 if they aren't and otherwise the object of which they
are children; and |Trigram(attr)|
which prints out the trigram currently showing on the coins of that
|attr|, e.g., ``Tails, Tails, Heads (Chen)''.
\beginlines
|Attribute is_gold; Attribute is_silver;|
|[ Face x; if (x.number==1) print "Heads"; else print "Tails"; ];|
|[ CoinsLT attr k i c;|
| if (inventory_stage==1)|
| { if (attr==is_gold) print "the gold"; else print "the silver";|
| print " coins ";|
| k=CoinsTogether(attr);|
| if (k==location)|
| { for (i=selfobj+1:i<=top_object:i++)|
| { if (i has attr)|
| { print (name) i;|
| switch(++c)|
| { 1: print ", "; 2: print " and ";|
| 3: print " (showing the trigram ", (Trigram) attr, ")";|
| }|
| }|
| }|
| rtrue;|
| }|
| if (c_style & ENGLISH_BIT == 0) c_style = c_style + ENGLISH_BIT;|
| if (c_style & NOARTICLE_BIT == 0) c_style = c_style + NOARTICLE_BIT;|
| if (c_style & NEWLINE_BIT ~= 0) c_style = c_style - NEWLINE_BIT;|
| if (c_style & INDENT_BIT ~= 0) c_style = c_style - INDENT_BIT;|
| }|
| rfalse;|
|];|
|Class coin|
| with number 1, article "the",|
| parse_name|
| [ i j w;|
| if (parser_action==##TheSame) return -2;|
| w='gold'; if (self has is_silver) w='silver';|
| for (::i++)|
| { j=NextWord();|
| if (j=='coins') parser_action=##PluralFound;|
| else if (j~='coin' or w or self.name) return i;|
| }|
| ],|
| after|
| [ j; Drop, PutOn:|
| self.number=random(2); print (Face) self, ". ";|
| if (self has is_gold) j=is_gold; else j=is_silver;|
| if (CoinsTogether(j)~=0)|
| { print "The ";|
| if (j==is_gold) print "gold"; else print "silver";|
| print_ret " trigram is now ", (Trigram) j, ".";|
| }|
| new_line; rtrue;|
| ];|
|Class gold_coin class coin|
| has is_gold with list_together [; return CoinsLT(is_gold); ];|
|Class silver_coin class coin|
| has is_silver with list_together [; return CoinsLT(is_silver); ];|
|...|
|Nearby goat "goat" class gold_coin with name "goat";|
|Nearby deer "deer" class gold_coin with name "deer";|
|Nearby chicken "chicken" class gold_coin with name "chicken";|
|Nearby robin "robin" class silver_coin with name "robin";|
|Nearby snake "snake" class silver_coin with name "snake";|
|Nearby bison "bison" class silver_coin with name "bison";|
\endlines
There are two unusual points here. Firstly, the |CoinsLT| routine
is not simply given as the common |list_together| value in the |coin|
class since, if it were, all six coins would be grouped together:
we want two groups of three, so the gold and silver coins have to have
different |list_together| values. Secondly, if a trigram is together
and on the floor, it is not good enough to simply append text like
``showing Tails, Heads, Heads (Tui)'' at |inventory_stage| 2 since the
coins may be listed in a funny order: for example, in the order snake,
robin, bison. In that event, the order the coins are listed in
doesn't correspond to the order their values are listed in, which is
misleading. So instead |CoinsLT| takes over entirely at
|inventory_stage| 1 and prints out the list of three itself, returning
true to stop the list from being printed out by the library as well.}
\ansno57:
{^^{exercises: tomato in red or green}
\beginlines
|parse_name|
|[ i j w; if (self has general) j='red'; else j='green';|
| w=NextWord();|
| while (w==j or 'fried')|
| { w=NextWord(); i++;|
| }|
| if (w=='tomato') return i+1;|
| return 0;|
|],|
\endlines}
\ansno58:
{^^{Princess}^^{artiste formerly known as Princess}
^^{exercises: the artiste formerly known as Princess}
\beginlines
|Nearby princess "/?%?/ (the artiste formerly known as Princess)"|
| with name "princess" "artiste" "formerly" "known" "as",|
| short_name|
| [; if (self hasnt general) { print "Princess"; rtrue; }|
| ],|
| parse_name|
| [ x; if (self hasnt general)|
| { if (NextWord()=='princess') return 1;|
| return 0;|
| }|
| x=WordAddress(wn);|
| if ( x->0 == '/' && x->1 == '?' && x->2 == '%'|
| && x->3 == '?' && x->4 == '/') return 1;|
| return -1;|
| ],|
| react_before|
| [; Listen: if (noun==0)|
| print_ret (name) self, " sings a soft siren song.";|
| ],|
| life|
| [; Kiss: give self general; self.life = NULL;|
| "In a fairy-tale transformation, the Princess \|
| steps back and astonishes the world by announcing \|
| that she will henceforth be known as ~/?%?/~.";|
| ],|
| has animate proper female;|
\endlines}
\ansno59:
{^^{exercises: drinks machine}
Something to note here is that the button can't be called just ``coffee''
when the player's holding a cup of coffee: this means the game responds sensibly
to the sequence ``press coffee'' and ``drink coffee''. Also note the way |itobj|
is set to the delivered drink, so that ``drink it'' works nicely.
\beginlines
|Nearby drinksmat "drinks machine",|
| with name "drinks" "machine",|
| initial|
| "A drinks machine here has buttons for Cola, Coffee and Tea.",|
| has static;|
|Nearby thebutton "drinks machine button"|
| has scenery|
| with parse_name|
| [ i flag type;|
| for (: flag == 0: i++)|
| { flag = 1;|
| switch(NextWord())|
| { 'button', 'for': flag = 0;|
| 'coffee': if (type == 0) { flag = 0; type = 1; }|
| 'tea': if (type == 0) { flag = 0; type = 2; }|
| 'cola': if (type == 0) { flag = 0; type = 3; }|
| }|
| }|
| if (type==drink.number && i==2 && type~=0 && drink in player)|
| return 0;|
| self.number=type; return i-1;|
| ],|
| number 0,|
| before|
| [; Push, SwitchOn:|
| if (self.number == 0)|
| "You'll have to say which button to press.";|
| if (parent(drink) ~= 0) "The machine's broken down.";|
| drink.number = self.number; move drink to player; itobj = drink;|
| print_ret "Whirr! The machine puts ", (a) drink, " into your \|
| glad hands.";|
| Attack: "The machine shudders and squirts cola at you.";|
| Drink: "You can't drink until you've worked the machine.";|
| ];|
|Object drink "drink"|
| with parse_name|
| [ i flag type;|
| for (: flag == 0: i++)|
| { flag = 1;|
| switch(NextWord())|
| { 'drink', 'cup', 'of': flag = 0;|
| 'coffee': if (type == 0) { flag = 0; type = 1; }|
| 'tea': if (type == 0) { flag = 0; type = 2; }|
| 'cola': if (type == 0) { flag = 0; type = 3; }|
| }|
| }|
| if (type ~= 0 && type ~= self.number) return 0;|
| return i-1;|
| ],|
| short_name|
| [; print "cup of ";|
| switch (self.number)|
| { 1: print "coffee"; 2: print "tea"; 3: print "cola"; }|
| rtrue;|
| ],|
| number 0,|
| before|
| [; Drink: remove self;|
| "Ugh, that was awful. You crumple the cup and responsibly \|
| dispose of it.";|
| ];|
\endlines}
\ansno60:
{^^{exercises: parsing adjectives}
Create a new property |adjective|, and move names which are
^{adjectives} to it: for instance,
\beginstt
name "tomato" "vegetable", adjective 'fried' 'green' 'cooked',
\endtt
(Recall that dictionary words can only be written in |"| quotes for
the |name| property.) Then (using the same |IsAWordIn| routine),
\beginstt
[ ParseNoun obj n m;
while (IsAWordIn(NextWord(),obj,adjective) == 1) n++; wn--;
while (IsAWordIn(NextWord(),obj,noun) == 1) m++;
if (m==0) return 0; return n+m;
];
\endtt}
\ansno61:
{^^{debugging: referring to objects by number}
^^{exercises: referring to objects by number}
\beginstt
[ ParseNoun obj;
if (NextWord() == 'object' && TryNumber(wn) == obj) return 2;
wn--; return -1;
];
\endtt^^{objects: referred to by number}}
\ansno62:
{^^{``{\tt \#}''}^^{wild-card}
^^{exercises: wild-card for a single object}
\beginstt
[ ParseNoun;
if (WordLength(wn)==1 && WordAddress(wn)-->0 == '#') return 1;
return -1;
];
\endtt}
\ansno63:
{^^{``{\tt *}''}^^{wild-card}
^^{exercises: wild-card for multiple objects}
\beginstt
[ ParseNoun;
if (WordLength(wn)==1 && WordAddress(wn)-->0 == '#') return 1;
if (WordLength(wn)==1 && WordAddress(wn)-->0 == '*')
{ parser_action = ##PluralFound; return 1; }
return -1;
];
\endtt}
\ansno64:
{^^{fly in amber}The trick is to convert ``fly in amber''
into ``fly fly amber'' (a harmless name) before the parser gets
under way.^^{exercises: ``fly in amber''}
\beginlines
|[ BeforeParsing i j;|
| for (i=parse->1,j=2:j<i:j++)|
| { wn=j-1;|
| if (NextWord()=='fly' && NextWord()=='in' && NextWord()=='amber')|
| parse-->(j*2-1) = 'fly';|
| }|
|];|
\endlines}
\ansno65:
{^^{exercises: cherubim plural}
\beginlines
|Global c_warned = 0;|
|Class cherub_class|
| with parse_name|
| [ i j flag;|
| for (flag=1:flag==1:flag=0)|
| { j=NextWord();|
| if (j=='cherub' or j==self.name) flag=1;|
| if (j=='cherubs' && c_warned==0)|
| { c_warned=1;|
| parser_action=##PluralFound; flag=1;|
| print "(I'll let this go once, but the plural of cherub is cherubim.)^";|
| }|
| if (j=='cherubim')|
| { parser_action=##PluralFound; flag=1; }|
| i++;|
| }|
| return i-1;|
| ];|
\endlines
Then again, Shakespeare even writes ``cherubins'' in `Twelfth Night',
so who are we to censure?^^{cherubim}^^{William Shakespeare}}
\ansno66:
{Because the parser might go on to reject the line it's working on:
for instance, if the player typed ``inventory splurge'' then the message
``Shazam!'' followed by a parser complaint will be somewhat unedifying.}
\ansno67:
{^^{named rooms}
^^{exercises: moving to a room by typing its name}
Define two properties:
\beginlines
|Property place_name;|
|Property to_places;|
\endlines
The scheme will work like this: a named room should have the |place_name|
property set to a single dictionary word; say, the Bedquilt cave could
be called |'bedquilt'|. Then in any room, a list of those other rooms
which can be moved to in this way should appear in the |to_places| entry.
For instance,
\beginlines
|to_places Bedquilt Slab_Room Twopit_Room;|
\endlines
Now the code: see if a not-understood verb is a place name of a nearby room,
and if so store that room's object number in |goto_room|, converting
the verb to a dummy.
\beginlines
|Global goto_room;|
|[ UnknownVerb word p i;|
| p = location.&to_places; if (p==0) rfalse;|
| for (i=0:(2*i)<location.#to_places:i++)|
| if (word==(p-->i).place_name)|
| { goto_room = p-->i; return 'go#room';|
| }|
| rfalse;|
|];|
|[ PrintVerb word;|
| if (word=='go#room')|
| { print "go to "; PrintShortName(goto_room); rtrue; }|
| rfalse;|
|];|
\endlines
(The supplied |PrintVerb| is icing on the cake: so the parser can
say something like ``I only understood you as far as wanting to go to
Bedquilt.'' in reply to, say, ``bedquilt the nugget''.) It remains
only to create the ^{dummy verb}:
\beginlines
|[ GoRoomSub;|
| if (goto_room hasnt visited) "But you have never been there.";|
| PlayerTo(goto_room);|
|];|
|Verb "go#room" * -> GoRoom;|
\endlines
Note that if you don't know the way, you can't go there! A purist might
prefer instead to not recognise the name of an unvisited room, back at
the |UnknownVerb| stage, to avoid the player being able to deduce names
of nearby rooms from this `error message'.}
\bigskip
\ansno68:
{^^{``white'' and ``black''}^^{``black'' and ``white''}
^^{genie}^^{lamp (of genie)}^^{exercises: genie muddling black and white}
\beginlines
|Nearby genies_lamp "brass lamp"|
| with name "brass" "lamp",|
| before|
| [; Rub: if (self hasnt general) give self general;|
| else give self ~general;|
| print_ret "A genie appears from the lamp, declaring:^^\|
| ~Mischief is my sole delight:^ \|
| If white means black, black means white!~^^\|
| She vanishes away with a vulgar parting wink.";|
| ];|
|Nearby white_stone "white stone" with name "white" "stone";|
|Nearby black_stone "black stone" with name "black" "stone";|
|...|
|[ BeforeParsing;|
| if (genies_lamp hasnt general) return;|
| for (wn=1::)|
| { switch(NextWordStopped())|
| { 'white': parse->(wn*2-3) = 'black';|
| 'black': parse->(wn*2-3) = 'white';|
| -1: return;|
| }|
| }|
|];|
\endlines^^|BeforeParsing|}
\ansno69:
{^^{footnotes}^^{exercises: footnotes}
\beginlines
|Constant MAX_FOOTNOTES 10;|
|Array footnotes_seen -> MAX_FOOTNOTES;|
|Global footnote_count;|
|[ Note n i pn;|
| for (i=0:i<footnote_count:i++)|
| if (n==footnotes_seen->i) pn=i;|
| if (footnote_count==MAX_FOOTNOTES) "** MAX_FOOTNOTES exceeded! **";|
| if (pn==0) { pn=footnote_count++; footnotes_seen->pn=n; }|
| print " [",pn+1,"]";|
|];|
|[ FootnoteSub n;|
| if (noun>footnote_count)|
| { print "No footnote [",noun,"] has been mentioned.^"; rtrue; }|
| if (noun==0) "Footnotes count upward from 1.";|
| n=footnotes_seen->(noun-1);|
| print "[",noun,"] ";|
| switch(n)|
| { 0: "This is a footnote.";|
| 1: "D.G.REG.F.D is inscribed around English coins.";|
| 2: "~Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz~, for example.";|
| }|
|];|
||
|Verb "footnote" "note" * number -> Footnote;|
\endlines^^{jackdaws}^^{The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog}
And then you can code, for instance,
\beginlines
| print "Her claim to the throne is in every pocket ", (Note) 1,|
| ", her portrait in every wallet.";|
\endlines}
\ansno70:
{^^{low numbers in French}^^{French numbers}
^^{exercises: low numbers in French}
The general parsing routine needed is:
\beginlines
|[ FrenchNumber n;|
| switch(NextWord())|
| { 'un', 'une': n=1;|
| 'deux': n=2;|
| 'trois': n=3;|
| 'quatre': n=4;|
| 'cinq': n=5;|
| default: return -1;|
| }|
| parsed_number = n; return 1;|
|];|
\endlines}
\ansno71:
{^^{exercises: floating-point numbers}
First we must decide how to store ^{floating-point numbers}
internally: in this case we'll simply store $100x$ to represent
$x$, so that ``$5.46$'' will be parsed as $546$.
\beginlines
|[ DigitNumber n type x;|
| x = NextWordStopped(); if (x==-1) return -1; wn--;|
| if (type==0)|
| { x = WordAddress(wn);|
| if (x->n>='0' && x->n<='9') return (x->n) - '0';|
| return -1;|
| }|
| if (x=='nought' or 'oh') { wn++; return 0; }|
| x = TryNumber(wn++); if (x==-1000 || x>=10) x=-1; return x;|
|];|
|[ FloatingPoint a x b w d1 d2 d3 type;|
| a = TryNumber(wn++);|
| if (a==-1000) return -1;|
| w = NextWordStopped(wn); if (w==-1) return a*100;|
| x = NextWordStopped(wn); if (x==-1) return -1; wn--;|
| if (w=='point') type=1;|
| else|
| { if (WordAddress(wn-1)->0~='.' || WordLength(wn-1)~=1)|
| return -1;|
| }|
| d1 = DigitNumber(0,type);|
| if (d1==-1) return -1;|
| d2 = DigitNumber(1,type); d3 = DigitNumber(2,type);|
| b=d1*10; if (d2>=0) b=b+d2; else d3=0;|
| if (type==1)|
| { x=1; while (DigitNumber(x,type)>=0) x++; wn--;|
| }|
| else wn++;|
| parsed_number = a*100 + b;|
| if (d3>=5) parsed_number++;|
| return 1;|
|];|
\endlines}
\ansno72:
{^^{exercises: phone numbers}
Again, the first question is how to store the
number dialled: in this case, into a |string| array. The token
is:^^{phone number parsing}^^{telephone number parsing}
\beginlines
|Constant MAX_PHONE_LENGTH 30;|
|Array dialled_number string MAX_PHONE_LENGTH;|
|[ PhoneNumber f a l ch pp i;|
| pp=1; if (NextWordStopped()==-1) return 0;|
| do|
| { a=WordAddress(wn-1); l=WordLength(wn-1);|
| for (i=0:i<l:i++)|
| { ch=a->i;|
| if (ch>='0' && ch<='9')|
| { if (pp<MAX_PHONE_LENGTH) dialled_number->(pp++)=ch-'0';|
| }|
| else|
| { if (ch~='-') f=1; if (i~=0) return -1; }|
| }|
| if (f==1)|
| { if (pp==1) return -1; dialled_number->0 = pp-1; return 0; }|
| } until (NextWordStopped()==-1);|
| if (pp==1) return -1;|
| dialled_number->0 = pp-1;|
| return 0;|
|];|
\endlines
To demonstrate this in use,
\beginstt
[ DialPhoneSub i;
print "You dialled <";
for (i=1:i<=dialled_number->0:i++) print dialled_number->i;
">";
];
Verb "dial" * PhoneNumber -> DialPhone;
\endtt}
\ansno73:
{^^{time of day (parsing)}
^^{exercises: parsing times of day}
The time of day will
be returned as a number in the usual Inform time format:
as hours times 60 plus minutes (on the 24-hour clock, so
that the `hour' part is between 0 and 23).
\beginlines
|Constant TWELVE_HOURS 720;|
|[ NumericTime hr mn word x;|
| if (hr>=24) return -1;|
| if (mn>=60) return -1;|
| x=hr*60+mn; if (hr>=13) return x;|
| x=x%TWELVE_HOURS; if (word=='pm') x=x+TWELVE_HOURS;|
| if (word~='am' or 'pm' && hr==12) x=x+TWELVE_HOURS;|
| return x;|
|];|
|[ MyTryNumber wordnum i j;|
| i=wn; wn=wordnum; j=NextWordStopped(); wn=i;|
| switch(j)|
| { 'twenty-five': return 25;|
| 'thirty': return 30;|
| default: return TryNumber(wordnum);|
| }|
|];|
|[ TimeOfDay i j k flag loop ch hr mn;|
| i=NextWord();|
| switch(i)|
| { 'midnight': parsed_number=0; return 1;|
| 'midday', 'noon': parsed_number=TWELVE_HOURS; return 1;|
| }|
| ! Next try the format 12:02|
| j=WordAddress(wn-1); k=WordLength(wn-1);|
| flag=0;|
| for (loop=0:loop<k:loop++)|
| { ch=j->loop;|
| if (ch==':' && flag==0 && loop~=0 && loop~=k-1) flag=1;|
| else { if (ch<'0') flag=-1; if (ch>'9') flag=-1; }|
| }|
| if (k<3) flag=0; if (k>5) flag=0;|
| if (flag==1)|
| { for (loop=0:j->loop~=':':loop++, hr=hr*10)|
| hr=hr+j->loop-'0';|
| hr=hr/10;|
| for (loop++:loop<k:loop++, mn=mn*10)|
| mn=mn+j->loop-'0';|
| mn=mn/10;|
| j=NextWordStopped();|
| parsed_number=NumericTime(hr, mn, j);|
| if (parsed_number<0) return -1;|
| if (j~='pm' or 'am') wn--;|
| return 1;|
| }|
| ! Next the format "half past 12"|
| j=-1; if (i=='half') j=30; if (i=='quarter') j=15;|
| if (j<0) j=MyTryNumber(wn-1); if (j<0) return -1;|
| if (j>=60) return -1;|
| k=NextWordStopped();|
| if (k==-1)|
| { hr=j; if (hr>12) return -1; jump TimeFound; }|
| if (k=='o^clock' or 'am' or 'pm')|
| { hr=j; if (hr>12) return -1; jump TimeFound; }|
| if (k=='to' or 'past')|
| { mn=j; hr=MyTryNumber(wn);|
| if (hr<=0)|
| { switch(NextWordStopped())|
| { 'noon', 'midday': hr=12;|
| 'midnight': hr=0;|
| default: return -1;|
| }|
| }|
| if (hr>=13) return -1;|
| if (k=='to') { mn=60-mn; hr=hr-1; if (hr==-1) hr=23; }|
| wn++; k=NextWordStopped();|
| jump TimeFound;|
| }|
| hr=j; mn=MyTryNumber(--wn);|
| if (mn<0) return -1; if (mn>=60) return -1;|
| wn++; k=NextWordStopped();|
| .TimeFound;|
| parsed_number = NumericTime(hr, mn, k);|
| if (parsed_number<0) return -1;|
| if (k~='pm' or 'am' or 'o^clock') wn--;|
| return 1;|
|];|
\endlines}
\ansno74:
{^^{exercises: spaceship control panel}
Here goes: we could implement the buttons with five
separate objects, essentially duplicates of each other. (And by using a
class definition, this wouldn't look too bad.) But if there were
500 slides this would be less reasonable.^^{spaceship control panel}
\beginlines
|[ ASlide w n;|
| if (location~=Machine_Room) return -1;|
| w=NextWord(); if (w=='slide') w=NextWord();|
| switch(w)|
| { 'first', 'one': n=1;|
| 'second', 'two': n=2;|
| 'third', 'three': n=3;|
| 'fourth', 'four': n=4;|
| 'fifth', 'five': n=5;|
| default: return -1; ! Failure!|
| }|
| w=NextWord(); if (w~='slide') wn--; ! (Leaving word counter at the|
| ! first misunderstood word)|
| parsed_number=n;|
| return 1; ! Success!|
|];|
|Global slide_settings --> 5; ! A five-word array|
|[ SetSlideSub;|
| slide_settings-->(noun-1) = second;|
| print_ret "You set slide ", (number) noun,|
| " to the value ", second, ".";|
|];|
|[ XSlideSub;|
| print_ret "Slide ", (number) noun, " currently stands at ",|
| slide_settings-->(noun-1), ".";|
|];|
|Extend "set" first|
| * ASlide "to" number -> SetSlide;|
|Extend "push" first|
| * ASlide "to" number -> SetSlide;|
|Extend "examine" first|
| * ASlide -> XSlide;|
\endlines}
\ansno75:
{^^{exercises: implementing parser primitives}
(See the |Parser| file.) ^|NextWord| roughly returns
|parse-->(w*2-1)| (but it worries a bit about commas and
full stops).
\beginlines
|[ WordAddress w; return buffer + parse->(w*4+1); ];|
|[ WordLength w; return parse->(w*4); ];|
\endlines^^|WordAddress|^^|WordLength|}
\ansno76:
{^^{exercises: parsing any quoted text}
^^{parser: parsing quoted strings}
(Cf. the ^{blackboard} code in ^{`Toyshop'}.)
\beginlines
|Global from_char; Global to_char;|
|[ QuotedText i j f;|
| i = parse->((++wn)*4-3);|
| if (buffer->i=='"')|
| { for (j=i+1:j<=(buffer->1)+1:j++)|
| if (buffer->j=='"') f=j;|
| if (f==0) return -1;|
| from_char = i+1; to_char=f-1;|
| if (from_char>to_char) return -1;|
| while (f> (parse->(wn*4-3))) wn++; wn++;|
| return 0;|
| }|
| return -1;|
|];|
\endlines^^{quoted text}
Note that in the case of success, the word marker |wn| is moved beyond the
last word accepted (since the Z-machine automatically tokenises
a double-quote as a single word). The text is treated as though it
were a preposition, and the positions where the quoted text starts and
finishes in the raw text ^|buffer| are recorded, so that an action routine
can easily extract the text and use it later. (Note that |""| with no
text inside is not matched by this routine but only because the last
|if| statement throws out that one case.)^^{double-quote}^^{tokenising}}
\ansno77:
{^^{token never matching anything}
^^{exercises: tokens which never match}
\beginlines
|[ NeverMatch; return -1; ];|
\endlines}
\ansno78:
{Perhaps to arrange better error messages when the text
has failed all the `real' grammar lines of a verb (see
^{`Encyclopaedia Frobozzica'} for an example).}
\ansno79:
{^^{third parameter for parser}
^^{exercises: third noun for parser}
(See the ^|NounDomain| specification in \S 36.) This routine passes
on any |REPARSE_CODE|, as it must, but keeps a matched object in
its own |third| variable, returning the `skip this text' code to
the parser. Thus the parser never sees any third parameter.
\beginlines
|Global third;|
|[ ThirdNoun x;|
| x=NounDomain(player,location,0);|
| if (x==REPARSE_CODE) return x; if (x==0) return -1; third = x;|
| return 0;|
|];|
\endlines^^|REPARSE CODE|}
\ansno80:
{^^{``scope'' verb exercise}^^{exercises: ``scope'' verb}
\beginlines
|Global scope_count;|
|[ PrintIt obj; print_ret ++scope_count, ": ", (a) obj, " (", obj, ")"; ];|
|[ ScopeSub; LoopOverScope(#r$PrintIt);|
| if (scope_count==0) "Nothing is in scope.";|
|];|
|Verb meta "scope" * -> Scope;|
\endlines}
\ansno81:
{^^{``megalook'' verb}^^{exercises: ``megalook'' verb}
\beginlines
|[ MegaExam obj; print "^", (a) obj, ": "; <Examine obj>; ];|
|[ MegaLookSub; <Look>; LoopOverScope(#r$MegaExam); ];|
|Verb meta "megalook" * -> MegaLook;|
\endlines}
\medskip
\ansno82:
{^^{exercises: putting everything in scope}
A slight refinement of such a ^{``purloin'' verb} is already defined
in the library (if the constant |DEBUG| is defined), so there's no need.
But here's how it could be done:
\beginlines
|[ Anything i;|
| if (scope_stage==1) rfalse;|
| if (scope_stage==2)|
| { for (i=1:i<=top_object:i++) PlaceInScope(i); rtrue; }|
| "No such in game.";|
|];|
\endlines^^{token for `any object'}
(This disallows multiple matches for efficiency reasons -- the parser has
enough work to do with such a huge scope definition as it is.) Now
the token |scope=Anything| will match anything at all, even things like
the abstract concept of `east'.}
\ansno83:
{^^{divided room}^^{room divided in half}^^{glass window}
^^{exercises: room divided by glass window}
Note the sneaky way looking through the window is implemented, and that
the `on the other side' part of the room description isn't printed
in that case.
\beginlines
|Property far_side;|
|Class window_room|
| with description|
| "This is one end of a long east/west room.",|
| before|
| [; Examine, Search: ;|
| default:|
| if (inp1~=1 && noun~=0 && noun in self.far_side)|
| print_ret (The) noun, " is on the far side of \|
| the glass.";|
| if (inp2~=1 && second~=0 && second in self.far_side)|
| print_ret (The) second, " is on the far side of \|
| the glass.";|
| ],|
| after|
| [; Look:|
| if (ggw has general) rfalse;|
| print "^The room is divided by a great glass window";|
| if (location.far_side hasnt light) " onto darkness.";|
| print ", stretching from floor to ceiling.^";|
| if (Locale(location.far_side,|
| "Beyond the glass you can see",|
| "Beyond the glass you can also see")~=0) ".";|
| ],|
| has light;|
|Object window_w "West of Window" class window_room|
| with far_side window_e;|
|Object window_e "East of Window" class window_room|
| with far_side window_w;|
|Object ggw "great glass window"|
| with name "great" "glass" "window",|
| before|
| [ place; Examine, Search: place=location;|
| if (place.far_side hasnt light)|
| "The other side is dark.";|
| give self general;|
| PlayerTo(place.far_side,1); <Look>; PlayerTo(place,1);|
| give self ~general;|
| give place.far_side ~visited; rtrue;|
| ],|
| found_in window_w window_e,|
| has scenery;|
\endlines
A few words about ^|inp1| and ^|inp2| are in order. |noun| and
|second| can hold either objects or numbers, and it's sometimes useful
to know which. |inp1| is equal to |noun| if that's an object,
or 1 if that's a number; likewise for |inp2| and |second|. (In this
case we're just being careful that the action |SetTo eggtimer 35|
wouldn't be stopped if object 35 happened to be on the other side of
the glass.) We also need:
\beginlines
|[ InScope actor;|
| if (actor in window_w && window_e has light) ScopeWithin(window_e);|
| if (actor in window_e && window_w has light) ScopeWithin(window_w);|
| rfalse;|
|];|
\endlines}
\ansno84:
{^^{exercises: dwarf breathing in dark}
For good measure, we'll combine this with the previous rule
about |moved| objects being in scope in the dark. The following
can be inserted into the `Shell' game:^^{light switch}
^^{darkness: changing scope within}
\beginlines
|Object coal "dull coal" Blank_Room|
| with name "dull" "coal";|
||
|Object Dark_Room "Dark Room"|
| with description "An empty room with a west exit.",|
| each_turn|
| [; if (self has general) self.each_turn=0;|
| else "^You hear the breathing of a dwarf.";|
| ],|
| w_to Blank_Room;|
||
|Nearby light_switch "light switch"|
| with name "light" "switch",|
| initial "On one wall is the light switch.",|
| after|
| [; SwitchOn: give Dark_Room light;|
| SwitchOff: give Dark_Room ~light;|
| ],|
| has switchable static;|
||
|Nearby diamond "shiny diamond"|
| with name "shiny" "diamond"|
| has scored;|
||
|Nearby dwarf "dwarf"|
| with name "voice" "dwarf",|
| life|
| [; Order: if (action==##SwitchOn && noun==light_switch)|
| { give Dark_Room light general;|
| give light_switch on; "~Right you are, squire.~";|
| }|
| ],|
| has animate; |
||
|[ InScope person i;|
| if (parent(person)==Dark_Room)|
| { if (person==dwarf || Dark_Room has general)|
| PlaceInScope(light_switch);|
| }|
| if (person==player && location==thedark)|
| objectloop (i near player)|
| if (i has moved || i==dwarf)|
| PlaceInScope(i);|
| rfalse;|
|];|
\endlines
Note that the routine puts the light switch in scope for the dwarf --
if it didn't, the dwarf would not be able to understand
``dwarf, turn light on", and that was the whole point.}
\ansno85:
{^^{exercises: nose attached to player}
In the |Initialise| routine, move |newplay| somewhere and
|ChangePlayer| to it, where:
\beginlines
|Object newplay "yourself"|
| with description "As good-looking as ever.", number 0,|
| add_to_scope nose,|
| capacity 5,|
| before|
| [; Inv: if (nose has general) print "You're holding your nose. ";|
| Smell: if (nose has general)|
| "You can't smell a thing with your nose held.";|
| ],|
| has concealed animate proper transparent;|
||
|Object nose "nose"|
| with name "nose", article "your",|
| before|
| [; Take: if (self has general)|
| "You're already holding your nose.";|
| if (children(player) > 1) "You haven't a free hand.";|
| give self general; player.capacity=1;|
| "You hold your nose with your spare hand.";|
| Drop: if (self hasnt general) "But you weren't holding it!";|
| give self ~general; player.capacity=5;|
| print "You release your nose and inhale again. ";|
| <<Smell>>;|
| ],|
| has scenery;|
\endlines^^{`A Nasal Twinge'}^^{nose}}
\ansno86:
{^^{exercises: sterilising machine}
\beginlines
|Object steriliser "sterilising machine"|
| with name "washing" "sterilising" "machine",|
| add_to_scope top_of_wm go_button,|
| before|
| [; PushDir: AllowPushDir(); rtrue;|
| Receive:|
| if (receive_action==##PutOn)|
| <<PutOn noun top_of_wm>>;|
| SwitchOn: <<Push go_button>>;|
| ],|
| after|
| [; PushDir: "It's hard work, but the steriliser does roll.";|
| ],|
| initial|
| [; print "There is a sterilising machine on casters here (a kind of \|
| chemist's washing machine) with a ~go~ button. ";|
| if (children(top_of_wm)~=0)|
| { print "On top";|
| WriteListFrom(child(top_of_wm), ISARE_BIT + ENGLISH_BIT);|
| print ". ";|
| }|
| if (children(self)~=0)|
| { print "Inside";|
| WriteListFrom(child(self), ISARE_BIT + ENGLISH_BIT);|
| print ". ";|
| }|
| ],|
| has static container open openable;|
|Object top_of_wm "top of the sterilising machine",|
| with article "the",|
| has static supporter;|
|Object go_button "~go~ button"|
| with name "go" "button",|
| before [; Push, SwitchOn: "The power is off."; ],|
| has static;|
\endlines^^{`A Nasal Twinge'}^^{sterilising machine}}
\ansno87:
{^^{red sticky label}^^{label, red sticky}
^^{exercises: red sticky label}
The label object itself is not too bad:
\beginlines
|Nearby label "red sticky label"|
| with name "red" "sticky" "label",|
| number 0,|
| before|
| [; PutOn, Insert:|
| if (self.number~=0)|
| { print "(first removing the label from ",|
| (the) self.number, ")^"; self.number=0; move self to player;|
| }|
| if (second==self) "That would only make a red mess.";|
| self.number=second; remove self;|
| print_ret "You affix the label to ", (the) second, ".";|
| ],|
| react_after|
| [ x; x=self.number; if (x==0) rfalse;|
| Look: if (x in location)|
| print "^The red sticky label is stuck to ", (the) x, ".^";|
| Inv: if (x in player) |
| print "^The red sticky label is stuck to ", (the) x, ".^";|
| ],|
| each_turn|
| [; if (parent(self)~=0) self.number=0; ];|
\endlines
Note that |label.number| holds the object the label is stuck to, or
0 if it's unstuck: and that when it is stuck, it is removed from the
object tree. It therefore has to be moved into scope, so we need the
rule: if the labelled object is in scope, then so is the label.
\beginlines
|Global disable_self;|
|[ InScope actor i1 i2;|
| if (label.number==0) rfalse; if (disable_self==1) rfalse;|
| disable_self=1;|
| i1 = TestScope(label, actor);|
| i2 = TestScope(label.number, actor);|
| disable_self=0;|
| if (i1~=0) rfalse;|
| if (i2~=0) PlaceInScope(label);|
| rfalse;|
|];|
\endlines
This routine has two interesting points: firstly, it disables itself
while testing scope (since otherwise the game would go into an endless
recursion), and secondly it only puts the label in scope if it isn't
already there. This is just a safety precaution to prevent the label
reacting twice to actions (and isn't really necessary since the label
can't already be in scope, but is included for the sake of example).}
\ansno88:
{^^{``lock'' and ``unlock'' disambiguation}^^{disambiguation}
^^{exercises: ``lock'' and ``unlock'' inferring keys}
Firstly, create an attribute |is_key| and give it to all the keys in
the game. Then:
\beginlines
|Global assumed_key;|
|[ DefaultLockSub;|
| print "(with ", (the) assumed_key, ")^"; <<Lock noun assumed_key>>;|
|];|
|[ DefaultLockTest i count;|
| if (noun hasnt lockable) rfalse;|
| objectloop (i in player)|
| if (i has is_key) { count++; assumed_key = i; }|
| if (count==1) rtrue; rfalse;|
|];|
|Extend "lock" first * noun = DefaultLockTest -> DefaultLock;|
\endlines
(and similar code for ``unlock''). Note that ``lock strongbox''
is matched by this new grammar line only if the player only has one
key: the |DefaultLock strongbox| action is generated: which is
converted to, say, |Lock strongbox brass_key|.}
\ansno89:
{^^{exercises: quotations in boxes}
\beginlines
|Array quote_done -> 50;|
|Global next_quote = -1;|
|[ Quote i;|
| if (quote_done->i==0) { quote_done->i = 1; next_quote = i; }|
|];|
|[ AfterPrompt;|
| switch(next_quote)|
| { 0: box "His stride is wildernesses of freedom:"|
| "The world rolls under the long thrust of his heel."|
| "Over the cage floor the horizons come."|
| ""|
| "-- Ted Hughes, ~The Jaguar~";|
| 1: ...|
| }|
| next_quote = -1;|
|];|
\endlines^^{Ted Hughes}}
\ansno90:
{^^{exercises: Invisiclues hints}
Note the magic line of assembly code here, which only works for
Advanced games:
\beginlines^^{``Invisiclues''}
|[ GiveHint hint keypress;|
| print (string) hint; new_line; new_line;|
| @read_char 1 0 0 keypress;|
| if (keypress == 'H' or 'h') rfalse;|
| rtrue;|
|];|
\endlines
And a typical menu item using it:
\beginlines
| if (menu_item==1)|
| { print "(Press ENTER to return to menu, or H for another hint.)^^";|
| if (GiveHint("(1/3) What kind of bird is it, exactly?")==1) return 2;|
| if (GiveHint("(2/3) Magpies are attracted by shiny items.")==1) return 2;|
| "(3/3) Wave at the magpie with the kitchen foil.";|
| }|
\endlines}
\ansno91:
{^^{saving the character}^^{role-playing games}
^^{campaigns and scenarios}^^{exercises: saving the character}
By encoding the character into a byte array and using |@save|
and |@restore|. The numbers in this array might contain the character's
name, rank and abilities, together with some coding system to show what
possessions the character has (a brass lamp, 50 feet of rope, etc.)}
\ansno92:
{^^{title page}^^{`Ruins'}^^{exercises: title page}
Note that we wait for a space character
(32) or either kind of new-line which typical ASCII keyboards produce
(10 or 13), just to be on the safe side:
\beginlines
|[ TitlePage i;|
| @erase_window -1; print "^^^^^^^^^^^^^";|
| i = 0->33; if (i==0) i=80; i=(i-50)/2;|
| style bold; font off; spaces(i);|
| print " RUINS^";|
| style roman; print "^^"; spaces(i);|
| print " [Please press SPACE to begin.]^";|
| font on;|
| box "And make your chronicle as rich with praise"|
| "As is the ooze and bottom of the sea"|
| "With sunken wreck and sumless treasures."|
| ""|
| "-- William Shakespeare, ~Henry V~ I. ii. 163";|
| do { @read_char 1 0 0 i; } until (i==32 or 10 or 13);|
| @erase_window -1;|
|];|
\endlines^^{William Shakespeare}}
\ansno93:
{^^{invisible status line}^^{exercises: status line invisible}
First put the directive
|Replace DrawStatusLine;| before including the library; define
the global variable |invisible_status| somewhere. Then give
the following redefinition:
\beginlines
|[ DrawStatusLine i width posa posb;|
| if (invisible_status==1) return;|
| @split_window 1; @set_window 1; @set_cursor 1 1; style reverse;|
| width = 0->33; posa = width-26; posb = width-13;|
| spaces (width-1);|
| @set_cursor 1 2; PrintShortName(location);|
| if (width > 76)|
| { @set_cursor 1 posa; print "Score: ", sline1;|
| @set_cursor 1 posb; print "Moves: ", sline2;|
| }|
| if (width > 63 && width <= 76)|
| { @set_cursor 1 posb; print sline1, "/", sline2;|
| }|
| @set_cursor 1 1; style roman; @set_window 0;|
|];|
\endlines}
\ansno94:
{^^{exercises: status line showing treasure}
First put the directive |Replace DrawStatusLine;| before including
the library. Then add the following routine anywhere after |treasures_found|,
an ^{`Advent'} variable, is defined:
\beginlines
|[ DrawStatusLine;|
| @split_window 1; @set_window 1; @set_cursor 1 1; style reverse;|
| spaces (0->33)-1;|
| @set_cursor 1 2; PrintShortName(location);|
| if (treasures_found > 0)|
| { @set_cursor 1 50; print "Treasure: ", treasures_found;|
| }|
| @set_cursor 1 1; style roman; @set_window 0;|
|];|
\endlines^^|DrawStatusLine|^^{treasures on status line}^^{status line}}
\ansno95:
{^^{compass rose}^^{exercises: status line with compass rose}
|Replace| with the following. (Note the use of
|@@92| as a string escape, to include a literal backslash character,
and |@@124| for a vertical line.)
\beginlines
|Constant U_POS 28; Constant W_POS 30; Constant C_POS 31;|
|Constant E_POS 32; Constant IN_POS 34;|
|[ DrawStatusLine i;|
| @split_window 3; @set_window 1; style reverse; font off;|
| @set_cursor 1 1; spaces (0->33)-1;|
| @set_cursor 2 1; spaces (0->33)-1;|
| @set_cursor 3 1; spaces (0->33)-1;|
| @set_cursor 1 2; print (name) location;|
| @set_cursor 1 51; print "Score: ", sline1;|
| @set_cursor 1 64; print "Moves: ", sline2;|
| if (location ~= thedark)|
| { ! First line|
| if (location.u_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 1 U_POS; print "U"; }|
| if (location.nw_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 1 W_POS; print "@@92"; }|
| if (location.n_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 1 C_POS; print "@@124"; }|
| if (location.ne_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 1 E_POS; print "/"; }|
| if (location.in_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 1 IN_POS; print "I"; }|
| ! Second line|
| if (location.w_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 2 W_POS; print "-"; }|
| @set_cursor 2 C_POS; print "o";|
| if (location.e_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 2 E_POS; print "-"; }|
| ! Third line|
| if (location.d_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 3 U_POS; print "D"; }|
| if (location.sw_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 3 W_POS; print "/"; }|
| if (location.s_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 3 C_POS; print "@@124"; }|
| if (location.se_to ~= 0) { @set_cursor 3 E_POS; print "@@92"; }|
| if (location.out_to ~= 0){ @set_cursor 3 IN_POS; print "O"; }|
| }|
| @set_cursor 1 1; style roman; @set_window 0; font on;|
|];|
\endlines}
\ansno96:
{^^{centred status line}
^^{exercises: status line with centred room}
The tricky part is working out the
number of characters in the location name, and this is where
|@output_stream| is so useful. This time |Replace| with:
\beginlines
|Array printed_text table 64;|
|[ DrawStatusLine i j;|
| i = 0->33; if (i==0) i=80;|
| font off;|
| @split_window 1; @buffer_mode 0; @set_window 1;|
| style reverse; @set_cursor 1 1; spaces(i);|
| printed_text-->0 = 64;|
| @output_stream 3 printed_text;|
| print (name) location;|
| @output_stream -3;|
| j=(i-(printed_text-->0))/2;|
| @set_cursor 1 j; print (name) location; spaces(j-1);|
| style roman;|
| @buffer_mode 1; @set_window 0; font on;|
|];|
\endlines
Note that the table can hold 128 characters (plenty for this purpose),
and that these are stored in |printed_text->2| to |printed_text->129|;
the length printed is held in |printed_text-->0|.
(^{`Trinity'} actually does this more crudely, storing away
the width of each location name.)}
\ansno97:
{^^{printf exercise}^^{exercises: printf routine}
The following implementation is limited to a format
string $2\times 64 = 128$ characters long, and six subsequent arguments.
|%d| becomes a decimal number, |%e| an English one; |%c|
a character, |%%| a (single) percentage sign and |%s|
a string.
\beginlines
|Array printed_text table 64;|
|Array printf_vals --> 6;|
|[ Printf format p1 p2 p3 p4 p5 p6 pc j k;|
| printf_vals-->0 = p1; printf_vals-->1 = p2; printf_vals-->2 = p3;|
| printf_vals-->3 = p4; printf_vals-->4 = p5; printf_vals-->5 = p6;|
| printed_text-->0 = 64; @output_stream 3 printed_text;|
| print (string) format; @output_stream -3;|
| j=printed_text-->0;|
| for (k=2:k<j+2:k++)|
| { if (printed_text->k == '%')|
| { switch(printed_text->(++k))|
| { '%': print "%";|
| 'c': print (char) printf_vals-->pc++;|
| 'd': print printf_vals-->pc++;|
| 'e': print (number) printf_vals-->pc++;|
| 's': print (string) printf_vals-->pc++;|
| default: print "<** Unknown printf escape **>";|
| }|
| }|
| else print (char) printed_text->k;|
| }|
|];|
\endlines}
\ansno98:
{^^{exercises: prime factorisation}
|Primes(100)|, where:
\beginlines
|[ Primes i j k l;|
| for (j=2:j<=i:j++)|
| { print j, " : "; l=j;|
| while (l > 1)|
| for (k=2:k<=l:k++)|
| if (l%k == 0) { l=l/k; print k, " "; break; }|
| new_line;|
| }|
|];|
\endlines^^{prime factorisations}
(which was the first algorithm ever compiled by Inform).}
\tenpoint
\vfill\eject
\answersfalse
%
\titletrue
\sectionx{Index}
\bigskip
\ninepoint
%\input $.games.infocom.ftp.toolkit.mandir.dmanual.texind
\beginindex
{{\tt *}}, 101, 119.
{{\tt ++}}, 135.
{{\tt --}}, 135.
{{\tt ->}}, 84.
{{\tt .\&}}, 20.
{{\tt @}}, 104, 112, 119.
{{\tt @@}}, 104, 112.
{{\tt [}}, 16.
`A Nasal Twinge', 96, 199, 200.
`A Scenic View', 35.
{{\tt (a)}}, 122.
{{\tt Abbreviate}}, 116.
abbreviations, 103, 130.
{{\tt absent}}, 139.
``abstract'' verb, 100.
accusative pronoun, 68, 180.
`Acheton', 8.
{{\tt Achieved}}, 147.
{{\tt Achieved(task)}}, 63.
acquisitive bag, 37, 166.
{{\tt action\_to\_be}}, 83, 97.
actions, 23.
\quad creation of, 27.
\quad defined in Library, 151.
\quad diversion of, 34.
\quad groups of, 26.
\quad how the parser chooses, 83.
\quad in debugging suite, 151.
\quad list of group 1, 151.
\quad numbers, 114.
\quad of the five senses, 34.
\quad sequence of processing, 24.
\quad statements to cause, 24, 126.
\quad validation (exercise), 26, 164.
``actions'' verb, 24, 100.
actor, 93.
{{\tt actor}}, 82, 95.
adaptive hints, 106.
{{\tt add\_to\_scope}}, 38, 96, 141.
{{\tt additive}}, 30, 65.
{{\tt (address)}}, 122.
{{\tt AddToScope}}, 147.
adjectives, 79, 187.
Advanced games, 17, 65, 102, 138.
`Advent', 8, 28, 30, 35, 38, 40, 41, 52, 54, 55, 58, 61, 86, 87, 101, 106, 110, 129, 130, 160, 203.
`Adventureland', 8, 38, 58, 73.
{{\tt after}}, 12, 33, 141.
{{\tt AfterLife}}, 61, 149.
{{\tt AfterPrompt}}, 105, 149.
alarm clock, 52, 172.
Aldebaran brandy, 52.
{{\tt alias}}, 64, 65, 133.
`Alice Through The Looking\---Glass', 8, 23, 30, 38, 43, 52, 79, 87.
``all'', 97.
{{\tt AllowPushDir}}, 43, 147.
altar, 42.
ambiguity, 97.
ambiguous inputs, 97.
{{\tt Amusing}}, 149.
{{\tt AMUSING\_PROVIDED}}, 62.
ancient honeycomb, 30.
Andrew Clover, 52, 58, 67, 73, 91.
Andrew Plotkin, 110.
animals, 48.
{{\tt animate}}, 68, 139.
{{\tt Answer}}, 47.
appallingly convenient verb, 89.
archaeological dig, 58.
``Area 400", 70.
{{\tt @aread}}, 108.
Aristotle, 18.
arithmetic, 120.
\quad list of operators, 120.
\quad signed and unsigned, 112.
{{\tt Array}}, 15, 118.
array of {\fam \ttfam \tentt name}s, 76.
arrays, 16.
\quad as property values, 20.
\quad byte, word, string and table, 118.
\quad definition of, 118.
{{\tt article}}, 69, 142.
artiste formerly known as Princess, 78, 185.
{{\tt Ask}}, 46.
asking questions, 93.
assembly language, 106, 119.
\quad error messages from, 137.
\quad tracing switches, 129.
assignments, 121.
asterisk, 119.
at character, 104, 112.
{{\tt Attack}}, 46.
{{\tt Attribute}}, 64, 116.
attributes, 12, 19.
\quad defined in library, 139.
\quad definition of, 116.
\quad maximum number of, 103.
audibility, 56.
{{\tt autosearch}}, 141.
background colour, 108.
background daemon, 55.
backslash character, 104, 111.
bag of six coins, 80.
`Balances', 8, 28, 30, 38, 43, 48, 52, 58, 61, 67, 73, 76, 79, 81, 82, 85, 87, 96, 98.
ball and chain, 178.
ball of pumice, 43, 168.
banana, 88.
battery strength, 41.
{{\tt before}}, 13, 142.
{{\tt BeforeParsing}}, 82, 149, 190.
Beretta pistol, 48.
``Beware of the Dog", 105.
`Beyond Zork', 105.
Bible, 45, 168.
binary numbers, 113.
Black Forest gateau, 98.
``black'' and ``white'', 87, 189.
blackboard, 195.
Blake's 7, 50, 174.
blindfold Adventure, 67.
blocks of code, 123.
Blofeld, Ernst Stavro, 48.
{{\tt Blorple}}, 27.
blue liquid, 69.
boldface, 106.
Bond, James, 48.
{{\tt box}}, 105.
braces, 123.
\quad mismatch errors, 136.
bracketed printing rules, 122.
brain transference machine, 60.
{{\tt break}}, 124.
bridge which collapses, 40, 167.
``brief'', 151.
broken shells, 20.
{{\tt buffer}}, 91, 195.
{{\tt @buffer\_mode}}, 108.
built-in functions, 120.
byte arrays, 118.
{{\tt c\_style}}, 75.
C. P. Snow, 53.
C. S. Lewis, 31, 55.
`Caf{\accent 19 e} Inform', 78.
caged animals, 89.
Cambridge University, 8.
campaigns and scenarios, 110, 202.
cannon-fire, 60.
{{\tt cant\_go}}, 33, 142.
{{\tt capacity}}, 36, 60, 142.
Captain Picard, 52, 175.
carriage return, 111.
cartoon, 166.
carved inscriptions, 32.
case sensitivity of dictionary, 77, 102.
{{\tt @catch}}, 109.
catchrestic words, 76.
{{\tt CDefArt}}, 147.
``ceiling'', 147.
centred status line, 110, 204.
Chambers English Dictionary, 76.
{{\tt ChangeDefault}}, 65, 147.
{{\tt ChangePlayer}}, 60, 71, 147.
changing articles, 69.
changing library messages, 66.
changing room, 59.
changing scope, 95.
changing short names, 69.
changing the player, 60.
changing the prompt, 66, 180.
{{\tt char}}, 122.
character graphic, 104.
characters, 158.
Charlotte's game, 50, 170.
chemical reaction, 69.
cherubim, 82, 188.
chessboard, 64, 180.
{{\tt child}}, 18, 100.
{{\tt children}}, 100.
{{\tt ChooseObjects}}, 97, 149.
`Christminster', 52.
clapping game, 51, 170.
{{\tt Class}}, 15, 30, 117.
classes, 29.
\quad and additive properties, 30.
\quad and subclasses, 30.
\quad definition of (full syntax), 116.
\quad error messages, 134.
\quad inheritance rules, 30, 117.
clearing the screen, 108.
closing credits, 62.
{{\tt clothing}}, 139.
clues, 105.
coding mazes, 35.
coiled snake, 48.
coins (in I Ching trigrams), 75, 183.
coins (listed together), 75, 182.
`Colossal Cave', 86.
colours, 108.
command buffer, 77.
command line syntax, 128.
comments, 111.
communications badge, 52, 173.
`companion volumes', 7.
comparing dictionary words, 114.
comparing strings, 114.
{{\tt compass}}, 35, 147.
compass rose, 110, 203.
compilation date, 115.
compiler switches, 129.
component parts of objects, 96.
computer (voice-activated), 50, 170.
``computer, 143", 47.
{{\tt concealed}}, 72, 93, 139.
conditional compilation, 115, 135.
conditions, 120.
Connie Booth, 104.
{{\tt Constant}}, 15.
constants (syntax), 113.
{{\tt consult\_from}}, 44.
{{\tt consult\_words}}, 44.
{{\tt container}}, 36, 139.
control constructs, 124.
copyright, 8.
copyright message, 10.
cow pie, 171.
crashing the interpreter, 100.
\cstok{creature} token, 87.
crossbow bolt, 137.
crowns, 81.
Crowther and Woods, 86.
cuckoo, 179.
`Curses', 60, 130, 179.
cursor keys, 109.
{{\tt daemon}}, 55, 142.
daemons, 55.
\quad clash with timers, 56.
\quad maximum number active, 56.
\quad running order, 179.
\quad starting and stopping, 55.
darkness, 53.
\quad abolition of, 53.
\quad affecting scope, 92.
\quad changing scope within, 96, 197.
\quad moving through, 54.
\quad nightfall, 57, 178.
\quad special object, 54.
\quad when it occurs, 53.
{{\tt DarkToDark}}, 54, 150.
dartboard, 28.
{{\tt data}}, 119.
David M. Baggett, 61, 89.
David Seal, 8.
David Wagner, 35, 101.
daylight, 57, 178.
{{\tt deadflag}}, 13, 61.
deafness, a period of, 60.
death, 61.
\quad and resurrection, 61.
{{\tt DeathMessage}}, 61, 150.
{{\tt DEBUG}}, 24, 99.
debugging, 99.
\quad information file, 100, 129.
\quad referring to objects by number, 79, 187.
\quad suite of verbs, 100.
\quad switches to help assembly language debugging, 129.
\quad tracing calls to every routine in game, 130.
\quad tracing routine calls, 119.
\quad using Infix, 100, 129.
`debugging code', 101.
debugging suite actions, 151.
decimal places, 90.
{{\tt DefArt}}, 147.
{{\tt default}}, 32, 125.
default value of properties, 65.
``delores, yes'', 49.
Dennis Spooner, 40.
{{\tt describe}}, 41, 71, 142.
{{\tt description}}, 142.
desiccated priest, 48.
deviation, 116.
dictionary, 158.
\quad addresses of words in, 65, 114.
\quad characters which can be part of words in, 77.
\quad error messages, 136.
\quad maximum size of, 102.
\quad referring to words in, 114.
\quad resolution and case sensitivity, 102.
\quad tokenisation using, 109.
\quad untypeable words in, 77.
\quad words not to put in, 23.
dictionary of Mayan glyphs, 45.
direct possession, 121.
directions, 32, 93.
\quad compiling without the usual, 35.
\quad direction objects, 147, 165.
\quad direction properties, 141.
directives, 15.
\quad list of, 114.
dirty tricks, 106.
disambiguation, 98, 201.
diverting actions, 34.
divided room, 96, 196.
division by zero, 120.
Doctor Who, 40.
dollar sign, 113.
{{\tt DoMenu}}, 105, 147.
Don Woods, 9.
Donna Tartt, 23.
{{\tt door}}, 38, 139.
{{\tt door\_dir}}, 38, 39, 143.
{{\tt door\_to}}, 38, 143.
doors, 38.
\quad trapping movement through, 40.
\quad two-way, 39.
Dorothy Parker, 105.
double inventory, 74, 182.
double spacing, 130.
double-quote, 195.
drawings, 104.
{{\tt DrawStatusLine}}, 104, 203.
`drunk player object', 60.
dummy verb, 189.
dye, 69.
dynamic memory allocation, 103.
Dyslexic Dan, 51, 171.
{{\tt each\_turn}}, 56, 143.
{{\tt EACHTURN\_REASON}}, 95.
Earl Grey tea, 52.
earshot, 56.
east lintel, 32.
eating edible things for preference, 98.
economy measure, 116.
`economy' mode, 130.
{{\tt edible}}, 139.
eight-foot pumice ball, 43, 168.
{{\tt elder}}, 19.
{{\tt eldest}}, 19.
Elizabeth Eisenstein, 44.
embedded routines, 22, 119.
``employ'' verb, 89.
`Enchanter', 38.
`Enchanter' trilogy, 67.
{{\tt @encode\_text}}, 109.
`Encyclopaedia Frobozzica', 46, 52, 195.
{{\tt End}}, 15, 115.
{{\tt Endif}}, 115.
English verb words, 82.
{{\tt EnglishNumber}}, 147.
{{\tt Enter}}, 40.
{{\tt enterable}}, 42, 139.
entry points, 149.
epigrams, 105.
{{\tt @erase\_window}}, 108.
Ernst Stavro Blofeld, 48.
error messages, 131.
\quad conditional compilation, 135.
\quad dictionary, 136.
\quad expressions, 136.
\quad fatal errors, 131.
\quad file handling, 132.
\quad from assembler, 137.
\quad global variables, 133.
\quad grammar, 134.
\quad memory allocation, 130, 132.
\quad object and class definitions, 134.
\quad obsolete usage warnings, 138.
\quad routines, 135.
\quad source code format, 133.
\quad symbol names, 133.
\quad warnings, 138.
error numbers used by parser, 97.
escape characters, 104.
{{\tt etype}}, 50.
``examine'' v. ``read'', 46.
exercises, 7.
\quad ``fly in amber'', 79, 188.
\quad ``lock'' and ``unlock'' inferring keys, 98, 201.
\quad ``megalook'' verb, 93, 196.
\quad ``scope'' verb, 93, 196.
\quad acquisitive bag, 37, 166.
\quad action validation, 26, 164.
\quad alarm clock, 52, 172.
\quad bearded psychiatrist, 48, 169.
\quad before on second noun, 28, 165.
\quad cage to open and enter, 42, 168.
\quad car that won't go east, 43, 168.
\quad Charlotte playing Simon Says, 50, 170.
\quad Charlotte's clapping game, 51, 170.
\quad cherubim plural, 82, 188.
\quad chessboard of rooms, 64, 180.
\quad communications badge, 52, 173.
\quad computer (voice-activated), 50, 170.
\quad double inventory, 74, 181.
\quad drinks machine, 78, 185.
\quad dwarf breathing in dark, 96, 197.
\quad Dyslexic Dan, 51, 171.
\quad exchanging ``east''/``west'', 35, 165.
\quad extensions for one actor only, 51, 171.
\quad floating-point numbers, 90, 191.
\quad footnotes, 89, 190.
\quad genie muddling black and white, 87, 189.
\quad Giant with conscience, 61, 180.
\quad glass and steel boxes, 38, 167.
\quad I Ching coins, 75, 183.
\quad implementing parser primitives, 91, 195.
\quad Invisiclues hints, 106, 201.
\quad long time-scale game, 58, 179.
\quad low numbers in French, 90, 190.
\quad macram{\accent 19 e} bag, 38, 167.
\quad Martha the telepath, 52, 175.
\quad Mayan directions, 35, 165.
\quad mid-air location, 57, 179.
\quad midnight, 57, 178.
\quad moving to a room by typing its name, 86, 188.
\quad mushroom picking, 14, 164.
\quad nightfall and daybreak, 57, 178.
\quad nose attached to player, 96, 198.
\quad opening medicine bottle, 28, 164.
\quad orange cloud surrounding player, 35, 165.
\quad ornate box (inventory inside), 71, 181.
\quad parsing adjectives, 79, 187.
\quad parsing any quoted text, 91, 195.
\quad parsing times of day, 91, 192.
\quad pet moth escapes in the dark, 54, 176.
\quad phone numbers, 90, 191.
\quad Picard and Maharg, 52, 175.
\quad plank bridge, 40, 167.
\quad player reacting before, 60, 179.
\quad prime factorisation, 125, 205.
\quad printf routine, 110, 204.
\quad printing pronouns, 68, 180.
\quad pushing pumice ball uphill, 43, 168.
\quad putting everything in scope, 95, 196.
\quad quotations in boxes, 105, 201.
\quad red sticky label, 96, 200.
\quad referring to objects by number, 79, 187.
\quad reflecting the map east-west, 35, 165.
\quad removing conversation actions, 49, 169.
\quad replicator, 52, 173.
\quad room divided by glass window, 96, 196.
\quad saving the character, 110, 202.
\quad Scrabble pieces, 75, 182.
\quad scuttling claws, 56, 178.
\quad silencing player, 60, 179.
\quad spaceship control panel, 91, 194.
\quad status line invisible, 110, 202.
\quad status line showing treasure, 110, 203.
\quad status line with centred room, 110, 204.
\quad status line with compass rose, 110, 203.
\quad sterilising machine, 96, 199.
\quad television set, 37, 166.
\quad testing presence of property, 21, 164.
\quad the artiste formerly known as Princess, 78, 185.
\quad the player's wayhel, 61, 179.
\quad thief who wanders, 55, 176.
\quad third noun for parser, 92, 195.
\quad three denominations of coin, 75, 182.
\quad title page, 110, 202.
\quad tokens which never match, 92, 195.
\quad tomato in red or green, 78, 184.
\quad tricorder, 52, 173.
\quad troll afraid of the dark, 54, 176.
\quad Tyndale's Bible, 45, 168.
\quad varying the prompt, 66, 180.
\quad very verbose mode, 72, 181.
\quad weight--watching daemon, 55, 177.
\quad wild-card for a single object, 79, 187.
\quad wild-card for multiple objects, 79, 187.
\quad Zen flight computer, 52, 174.
exotic forms of death, 61.
expressions, 120.
\quad error messages, 136.
{{\tt Extend}}, 15, 85.
extensions for one actor only, 51, 171.
extensions of the library, 66.
{{\tt Fake\_Action}}, 27.
fake actions, 27, 37, 81.
\quad defined in library, 152.
\quad numbers, 114.
fake fake actions, 51.
``{\fam \ttfam \ninett *}'', 79, 187.
``{\fam \ttfam \ninett \#}'', 79, 187.
{\fam \ttfam \tentt Consult} action, 44.
{\fam \ttfam \tentt IsAWordIn} (example), 79.
fatal errors, 131.
fatigue daemon, 177.
Fawlty Towers, 104.
{{\tt female}}, 140.
file format, 111.
{{\tt first}}, 85.
five senses, 34.
fixed-pitch font, 104.
flags, 19.
flexible verbs, 86.
flight computer, 50, 174.
floating objects, 59, 139.
floating-point numbers, 90, 191.
``floor'', 147.
fluorescent jellyfish, 54.
fly in amber, 79, 188.
`focus' of game, 60.
`Follow my leader', 52.
``follower.h'', 52.
{{\tt font}}, 104.
foodstuffs, 75.
footnotes, 89, 190.
{{\tt for}}, 124.
foreground colour, 108.
foreign languages, 67.
forgers, 116.
formatted text, 108.
{{\tt found\_in}}, 34, 59, 143.
four Gospels, 45, 168.
Frankenstein, 60.
``free'' verb, 89.
`Freefall', 110.
French numbers, 90, 190.
fried green tomato, 76.
ftp site, 8.
full stop, 119.
function arguments, 119.
\quad maximum number of, 103.
function keys, 109.
fuses, 56.
G. K. Chesterton, 68.
Game Over choice, 66.
game transcript, 105.
{{\tt GamePostRoutine}}, 150.
{{\tt GamePreRoutine}}, 25, 150.
Gareth Rees, 8, 46, 52, 68, 76.
gas mask, 60, 179.
{{\tt general}}, 140.
general parsing routines, 90, 148.
genie, 87, 189.
gentleman thief, 55, 176.
Geoffrey's book, 70.
George Bernard Shaw, 92.
giant magnet, 48.
Giant with a conscience, 61, 180.
girl playing Simon Says, 50, 170.
{{\tt give}}, 19, 46.
glass box, 38.
glass window, 96, 196.
glassworks, 122.
{{\tt Global}}, 15, 118.
global variables, 13.
\quad definition of, 118.
\quad error messages, 133.
\quad maximum number of, 103.
glyphs, 44.
{{\tt Go}}, 33, 42.
goldfish bowl, 54.
``gonear'' verb, 100.
Gotham City, 40.
goto instruction, 119.
``goto'' verb, 100.
Graham Nelson, 8.
grammar, 83.
{{\tt Grammar}}, 10, 50, 143.
\quad definition of verbs, 84.
\quad error messages, 134.
\quad extension of, 85.
\quad limits on, 102.
\quad lines of, 83.
\quad replacement of, 85.
\quad summary of, 126.
\quad tokens of, 87.
Grantland Rice, 62.
grouping of non-identical items in lists, 75.
groups of actions, 26.
\quad group 1, 151.
\quad group 2, 151.
\quad group 3, 152.
grues, 93.
Gustave Flaubert, 111.
habitual messages, 66.
hacker and urchin, 48.
hanging elses, 123.
{{\tt has}}, 19, 21.
`has light', 53.
hash character, 114.
{{\tt HasLightSource}}, 53, 147.
heaps of food, 75.
hearing (sense), 34.
\cstok{held} token, 87.
``her'', 97.
{{\tt herobj}}, 97.
hexadecimal numbers, 20, 113.
hills, rolling, 22.
``him'', 97.
{{\tt himobj}}, 97.
``his'', 68.
hissing snake, 48.
hole in wall, 79.
holy searchlight, 40.
home page, 8.
honeycomb, 30.
horrid sludge, 69.
I Ching, 75, 183.
IBM PC, ugliness of, 108.
idiosyncracy, 121.
{{\tt if}}, 123.
{{\tt If...}}, 115.
implicit taking, 88.
{{\tt in}}, 121.
in scope, 92.
{{\tt Include}}, 115.
{{\tt InDefArt}}, 147.
indefinite article, 69.
{{\tt indirect}}, 100.
`indistinguishable', 80.
Infact, 100.
Infix, 100, 129.
``Infoclues'', 106.
Infocom, Inc., 9.
Inform home page, 8, 67.
InfoTaskForce, 107.
inheritance, 30, 117.
{{\tt initial}}, 12, 59, 119, 143.
initial possessions, 58.
{{\tt Initialise}}, 11, 57, 58, 149, 150.
{{\tt initstr}}, 119.
{{\tt inp1}}, 25, 197.
{{\tt inp2}}, 25, 197.
{{\tt @input\_stream}}, 109.
{{\tt InScope}}, 150, 176.
{{\tt Insert}}, 37.
internal errors, 138.
internal text format, 109.
interpreters, 106.
{{\tt invent}}, 144.
inventories, 70.
{{\tt inventory\_stage}}, 70, 75.
invisible force, 125.
invisible status line, 110, 202.
``Invisiclues'', 105, 106, 201.
``it'', 97.
{{\tt item\_name}}, 106.
{{\tt item\_width}}, 106.
{{\tt itobj}}, 97.
Ivan O. Ideas, 62.
jackdaws, 190.
James Bond, 48.
James Shirley, 23.
Japanese cartoon, 166.
Jean de la Bruy{\accent 18 e}re, 58.
Jean Frederic Waldeck, 45.
`Jigsaw', 130.
Joachim Baumann, 110.
John Christopher, 31.
John Cleese, 104.
John Donne, 9.
Jonathan Thackray, 8.
jungle noises, 125.
``junior astronaut", 150.
{{\tt keep\_silent}}, 27.
keyboard, 108.
keyboard buffer, 77.
{{\tt Kiss}}, 46.
`Knight of Ages', 57.
label, red sticky, 96, 200.
676 labelled buttons, 84.
labels, 119.
lamp (of genie), 87, 189.
large memory, 130.
{{\tt last}}, 85.
last resort, 67.
legibility, 46.
{{\tt LetGo}}, 37.
library routines, 147.
{{\tt LibraryMessages}}, 25, 66.
{{\tt life}}, 46, 144.
light, 53.
{{\tt light}}, 19, 140.
\quad daylight, 57, 178.
\quad when it occurs, 53.
light switch, 96, 197.
limitations, 102.
line feed, 111.
line of sight, 56.
lines, 83.
`List Property', 75.
{{\tt list\_together}}, 144.
literal characters, 104.
little red car, 42, 168.
{{\tt Locale}}, 72, 147.
{{\tt location}}, 59.
``lock'' and ``unlock'' disambiguation, 98, 201.
{{\tt lockable}}, 140.
{{\tt locked}}, 36, 140.
logical machine, 112.
{{\tt long}}, 65.
Long Count, 94.
long description, 71.
long jump, 109.
{{\tt Look}}, 71.
``look inside'', 37.
{{\tt LookRoutine}}, 72, 150.
loop over every object, 124.
{{\tt LoopOverScope}}, 148.
{{\tt LOOPOVERSCOPE\_REASON}}, 95.
Lord Byron, 14.
Louis MacNeice, 7, 164.
low ceiling, 125.
low mist, 34.
low numbers in French, 90, 190.
{{\tt Lowstring}}, 165.
Ludwig Wittgenstein, 46, 68.
Macbeth, 58.
macram{\accent 19 e} bag, 38, 167.
Mahu, 177.
mainframe `Adventure', 8.
making actions, 27.
making attributes, 64.
making grammar, 27.
making properties, 65.
Manga, 166.
maniacal laughter, 124.
map, 38.
map connection, 32.
Marc Blank, 38, 42.
Martha, 52, 175.
Martin Luther King, 118.
``master catburglar", 150.
matchbook, 70.
Max Beerbohm, 92.
{{\tt MAX\_CARRIED}}, 62.
{{\tt MAX\_SCORES}}, 63.
{{\tt MAX\_TIMERS}}, 56.
Mayan directions, 35, 165.
``me'', 60.
medicine bottle, 28.
medieval French, 67.
``megalook'' verb, 93, 196.
memory, 112.
\quad compiler settings, 130.
\quad dynamic allocation, 103.
\quad maximum size of game, 102.
\quad small, large or huge, 130.
\quad typical consumption of by compiler, 130.
{{\tt menu\_item}}, 106.
menu of text options, 105.
message numbers, 66.
{{\tt meta}}, 84.
`meta' actions, 26.
Metropolitan Museum, 29.
Michel de Montaigne, 46.
microphones, 49.
mid-air location, 57.
midnight, 57.
Modo, 177.
Modular extensions, 66.
Moli{\accent 18 e}re, 82.
Monty Python's Flying Circus, 36.
{{\tt move}}, 19.
{{\tt moved}}, 95, 140.
moving room, 59.
Mrofni, 52, 175.
\cstok{multiexcept} token, 87.
\cstok{multiheld} token, 87.
mummified priest, 48.
mushroom, 11.
``myself'', 60.
nagual, 61, 180.
{{\tt name}}, 23, 32, 76, 117, 145.
{{\tt (name)}}, 122.
named rooms, 86, 188.
names per object (limit), 103.
Naming of Cats, 76.
narrow inventory, 74.
{{\tt Nearby}}, 15, 22.
neo-Platonist philosophy, 55.
NetHack, 107.
New Testament, 45, 168.
new-line character, 112.
{{\tt NewRoom}}, 59, 150.
{{\tt NextWord}}, 77, 90, 91, 148, 195.
{{\tt NextWordStopped}}, 90, 148.
nightfall, 57, 178.
{{\tt @nn}}, 165.
{{\tt NO\_PLACES}}, 64.
nominative pronoun, 68, 180.
normal rules, 139.
{{\tt NormalWorld}}, 166.
`northness', 147.
nose, 96, 199.
Noslen Maharg, 52, 175.
{{\tt nothing}}, 19, 100, 114.
{{\tt notify\_mode}}, 64.
``notify'' verb, 64.
{{\tt notin}}, 121.
{{\tt NotUnderstood}}, 49, 50.
{{\tt noun}}, 33.
\cstok{noun} token, 87.
{{\tt NounDomain}}, 148, 195.
{{\tt NULL}}, 28, 114.
{{\tt number}}, 145.
{{\tt NUMBER\_TASKS}}, 63.
\cstok{number} token, 87.
{{\tt (number)}}, 122.
number-parsing, 89.
numbers, 112.
{{\tt Object}}, 15, 21.
object 31, 79.
{{\tt OBJECT\_SCORE}}, 63.
{{\tt objectloop}}, 124.
objects, 18.
\quad articles of, 69.
\quad attributes and properties, 19.
\quad creation and destruction at run time, 103.
\quad defined in library, 147.
\quad definition, 21.
\quad definition of (full syntax), 116.
\quad direction and compass objects, 165.
\quad duplicate and plural, 80.
\quad error messages, 134.
\quad grouping of in lists, 74.
\quad inventory entries of, 70.
\quad listed in room descriptions, 72.
\quad maximum number of, 103.
\quad maximum number of names for, 103.
\quad movement of, 19, 123.
\quad names of, 76.
\quad printing lists of, 73.
\quad referred to by number, 79, 187.
\quad short names of, 68.
\quad tree of, 18.
\quad with embedded routines, 22.
``objects'' verb, 64.
obsolete usage warnings, 138.
Occitan, 67.
`offers light', 53.
{{\tt OffersLight}}, 53, 148.
ogre with limited patience, 56.
Oliver Goldsmith, 102.
{{\tt on}}, 40, 140.
``on'', ``at'' or ``in'', 90.
once-only rules, 28.
{{\tt only}}, 86.
{{\tt open}}, 36, 140.
{{\tt openable}}, 36, 140.
operators, 120.
{{\tt or}}, 121.
orange cloud, 35, 165.
{{\tt Order}}, 47.
{{\tt orders}}, 49, 60, 144.
ornate box, 71, 181.
other four senses, 34.
``out'' verb, 43.
{{\tt @output\_stream}}, 109.
P. David Lebling, 36, 38, 42, 52.
packed address of function, 114.
packed address of string, 114.
packing case, 37.
pairs of verbs to separate, 86.
Palladas of Alexandria, 128.
Panoramic Hillside, 22.
{{\tt parent}}, 18, 100.
{{\tt parse}}, 91.
{{\tt parse\_name}}, 77, 81, 93, 145.
{{\tt parsed\_number}}, 90, 127.
{{\tt ParseNoun}}, 78, 150.
{{\tt ParseNumber}}, 89, 150.
parser, 14, 77.
{{\tt Parser}}, 10.
\quad breaking up text into word stream, 77.
\quad error numbers, 97.
\quad parsing quoted strings, 91, 195.
\quad parsing the player's questions, 93.
\quad tidying up questions asked by, 86.
\quad tracing and levels, 101.
{{\tt parser\_one, parser\_two, parser\_action}}, 81.
{{\tt ParserError}}, 97, 150.
\quad text buffer holding commands, 77, 91.
{{\tt PARSING\_REASON}}, 95.
passing messages, 27.
peculiar book, 70.
Pepper Room, 24.
Percy Bysshe Shelley, 55.
perfectionism, 32.
perfectly sensible, 20.
persona of player, 60.
pet moth, 54, 176.
Peter and Jane, 113.
phone number, 77.
phone number parsing, 90, 191.
pinfocom, 107.
{{\tt PlaceInScope}}, 94, 148.
``places'' verb, 64.
plagiarism, 62.
plank bridge, 40, 167.
platinum pyramid, 71.
Plato, 55.
player's origin, 58.
player-object, 147.
{{\tt PlayerTo}}, 59, 148.
{{\tt plural}}, 80, 145.
plural objects, 80.
``pluralobj.h'', 67, 73.
possessions, testing direct, 121.
precedence of class inheritance, 30.
precedence of operators, 120.
pregnant mouse, 69.
{{\tt pretty\_flag}}, 105.
priest, 47.
prime factorisations, 125, 205.
Prince of darkness, 177.
Princess, 78, 185.
{{\tt print}}, 33.
{{\tt print (a) obj}}, 68.
{{\tt print (address)}}, 101.
{{\tt print (name) obj}}, 68.
{{\tt print (string)}}, 101.
{{\tt print (the) obj}}, 68.
{{\tt print\_addr}}, 123.
{{\tt print\_char}}, 123.
{{\tt print object}}, 69, 101.
{{\tt print\_paddr}}, 123.
printf exercise, 110, 204.
printing commands, 122.
printing routines, 68.
{{\tt PrintOrRun}}, 30, 65.
{{\tt PrintRank}}, 63, 150.
{{\tt PrintShortName}}, 148.
{{\tt PrintTaskName}}, 63, 150.
{{\tt PrintVerb}}, 86, 150.
prompt, 66, 105, 180.
pronouns, 48, 68, 97, 180.
{{\tt proper}}, 69, 140.
proper noun, 69.
properties, 12, 20.
\quad additive, 30.
\quad defined in library, 141.
\quad definition of, 65, 116.
\quad holding arrays, 20.
\quad holding routines, 22.
\quad length and address, 21.
\quad maximum number of, 103.
{{\tt Property}}, 65, 116.
proportional font, 104.
public holidays, 118.
puff of garlic, 122.
pumice ball, 43, 168.
punctuation in dictionary words, 77.
``purloin'' verb, 95, 100, 196.
purple liquid, 69.
{{\tt PushDir}}, 43.
pygmy statuette, 29.
questions, asking yes or no, 104.
questions, parsing the player's, 93.
quotations beautiful, 105.
quoted text, 195.
``quotes off'' verb, 105.
R. B. Sheridan, 64.
radio, 56.
{{\tt random}}, 100.
``random'' verb, 100.
raw text, 91.
{{\tt react\_after}}, 48, 145.
{{\tt REACT\_AFTER\_REASON}}, 95.
{{\tt react\_before}}, 34, 48, 145.
{{\tt REACT\_BEFORE\_REASON}}, 95.
{{\tt @read\_char}}, 109.
``read'' v. ``examine'', 46.
reading books, 44.
{{\tt real\_location}}, 59.
real time, 108.
reasons for scope searching, 95.
{{\tt Receive}}, 37.
{{\tt receive\_action}}, 37.
recondite directives, 116.
``recording'' verb, 100.
recursion (limit), 103.
red sticky label, 96, 200.
reflecting the map, 35, 165.
regions of the machine, 65.
{{\tt Release}}, 115.
release number, 115.
{{\tt Remove}}, 37.
removing conversation actions, 49, 169.
removing rules, 28.
{{\tt REPARSE\_CODE}}, 148, 195.
{{\tt Replace}}, 67, 85, 115.
replacing grammar, 85.
``replay'' verb, 100.
replicator, 52, 173.
resolution, 77, 102.
resolving ambiguity, 97.
{{\tt @restore}}, 110.
restoring data, 110.
resurrection, 61.
returning from routines, 123.
reusing attributes, 64.
reverse video, 106.
{{\tt ReversedWorld}}, 166.
Richard Barnett, 35.
rising water, 123.
`Robots', 110.
role-playing games, 110, 202.
roman text, 106.
room descriptions, 41, 71.
room divided in half, 96, 196.
{{\tt ROOM\_SCORE}}, 63.
routine errors, 135.
routines, 16, 119.
\quad as property values, 22.
\quad embedded in objects, 22.
\quad in bracketed printing rules, 123.
\quad maximum depth of recursion, 103.
\quad simple example of, 13.
\quad tracing calls to, 101.
``routines'' verb, 100.
Royal Society For Putting Things On Top Of Other Things, 36.
rucksack, 88.
`Ruins', 8, 10, 15, 21, 22, 24, 25, 29, 31, 34, 36, 37, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 47, 56, 59, 62, 63, 110, 168, 178, 202.
run-time crashes, 100.
run-time format, 102.
running out of memory, 132.
{{\tt SACK\_OBJECT}}, 62.
Sam Hulick, 57.
satchel, 62.
{{\tt @save}}, 109.
saving data, 109.
saving the character, 110, 202.
{{\tt scenery}}, 32, 72, 140.
scenery penalised, 98.
scope, 92.
\quad addition to, 38, 96.
\quad looping over, 93.
\quad testing, 93.
{{\tt scope\_reason}}, 52, 56, 95.
{{\tt scope\_stage}}, 94.
``scope'' verb, 100.
``scope'' verb exercise, 93, 196.
{{\tt ScopeWithin}}, 148.
score notification, 64.
``score'' verb, 84.
{{\tt scored}}, 140.
scoring in `Ruins', 29.
scoring systems, 62.
Scott Adams, 8, 73.
Scrabble pieces, 75, 182.
screen, 52, 175.
script of player's commands, 109.
scrolling screen, 105.
scuttling claws, 56, 178.
sealed room, 52, 175.
{{\tt Search}}, 26, 37.
searchlight, 40.
{{\tt second}}, 33.
`see-through', 92.
{{\tt self}}, 125.
{{\tt selfobj}}, 124, 147.
senses, 34.
{{\tt Serial}}, 116.
serial number, 115.
{{\tt @set\_colour}}, 108.
{{\tt @set\_cursor}}, 108.
{{\tt @set\_window}}, 108.
{{\tt SetTime}}, 57, 148.
shaft of sunlight, 32.
``shazam'' verb, 86.
`Shell', 10.
shopping mall, 67.
{{\tt short\_name}}, 69, 146.
{{\tt Show}}, 46.
``showobj.h'', 101.
{{\tt ShowR}}, 175.
Shrine, 47, 49.
{{\tt sibling}}, 18.
signed operations, 112.
silence, imposition on player, 60, 179.
silent actions, 27.
Simon Says, 50, 170.
small array, 20.
small memory, 130.
``smartcantgo.h'', 35.
smell (sense), 34.
snake, 48.
``snavig'' spell, 60.
sodium lamp, 41.
`Sorcerer', 59.
`Sorceror', 99.
sound of scuttling claws, 56, 178.
source file format, 111.
source-level debugger, 100.
{{\tt sp}}, 118.
Space Invaders, 107.
spaceship control panel, 91, 194.
{{\tt special\_number}}, 47.
special objects, 147.
\cstok{special} token, 87.
speckled mushroom, 11.
`Spellbreaker cubes', 81.
`Spellbreaker', 35, 60, 151.
spiny trees, 33.
{{\tt @split\_window}}, 108.
Square Chamber, 32.
St Peter, 82.
stack frame, 109.
stack pointer, 118.
stack usage (limit), 103.
Standard games, 17, 21, 23, 64, 65, 102, 104, 106, 117, 119, 138.
Star Trek: The Next Generation, 52, 173, 175.
`Starcross', 50, 51, 170.
Starship Enterprise, 52, 175.
{{\tt StartDaemon}}, 55, 148.
{{\tt StartTimer}}, 56, 148.
{{\tt static}}, 39, 140.
statistics, 129.
status line, 104, 203.
{{\tt Statusline}}, 57, 115.
stealing actions, 34.
steel box, 38.
steel grate, 39.
sterilising machine, 96, 200.
stone altar, 42.
stone door, 39.
stone-cut steps, 21, 22.
{{\tt StopDaemon}}, 55, 148.
{{\tt StopTimer}}, 56, 148.
story files, 7.
stream of words, 77.
stream running through forest, 56.
streams of input/output, 109.
{{\tt String}}, 165.
{{\tt (string)}}, 122.
strings, 118.
{{\tt style}}, 106, 122.
style of list, 73.
sub-objects, 38, 96.
sunrise and sunset, 57, 178.
``superbrief'', 151.
{{\tt supporter}}, 36, 42, 140.
supporting scenery, 72.
{{\tt switch}}, 125.
switch variable, 125.
{{\tt switchable}}, 40, 140.
{{\tt Switches}}, 116.
switches (on command line), 129.
sword, 56.
symbol names, 133.
synonyms, 82.
{{\tt System\_file}}, 66.
T. S. Eliot, 76.
tab character, 112.
table of holidays, 118.
tables, 118.
``take all'', 98.
``take'' verb, 83.
{{\tt talkable}}, 49, 140.
{{\tt TALKING\_REASON}}, 52, 95.
talking, preventing player from, 60, 179.
tape recorders, 49.
tapestry and key, 28.
{{\tt task\_scores}}, 63.
{{\tt TASKS\_PROVIDED}}, 63.
taste (sense), 34.
team of four adventurers, 60.
Ted Hughes, 201.
tedious scruples, 119.
telekinesis, 52, 175.
telepathic contact, 52, 175.
telephone number parsing, 90, 191.
teleportation, 59.
television set, 37, 166.
{{\tt Tell}}, 46.
temperature dial, 96.
Tera, 8.
{{\tt TestScope}}, 148.
{{\tt TESTSCOPE\_REASON}}, 95.
text buffer (of buffer), 77.
text buffer (of parser), 91.
text cursor, 108.
text formatting, 108.
text of a command, 77.
text style, 106.
`The Legend Lives', 89.
The Prisoner, 42.
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog, 190.
the Sun, 34.
`The Thief', 52, 76, 176.
`The Witness', 66.
{{\tt (the)}}, 122.
{{\tt thedark}}, 59, 147.
{{\tt TheSame}}, 81.
thief in `Zork', 55, 56, 176.
third parameter for parser, 92, 195.
three denominations of coin, 75, 182.
{{\tt @throw}}, 109.
{{\tt ThrowAt}}, 28, 46.
{{\tt ThrownAt}}, 28.
tidying-up operations, 55.
tilde character, 20, 111.
{{\tt time\_left}}, 146.
time of day, 57.
time of day (parsing), 91, 192.
{{\tt time\_out}}, 56, 146.
time sequence, 57.
timed input, 108.
{{\tt TimePasses}}, 150.
timers, 56.
\quad clash with daemons, 56.
\quad maximum number active, 56.
\quad starting and stopping, 56.
``timers'' verb, 100.
`timewait.h', 58, 91.
Timothy Anderson, 42.
title page, 110, 202.
{{\tt TitlePage}}, 59.
toadstool poisoning, 13.
toffee apple, 24.
token for `any object', 196.
token never matching anything, 92, 195.
{{\tt @tokenise}}, 109.
tokenising, 108, 195.
tokens, 83, 87, 148.
tomato, 76.
Tony Harrison, 128.
toothed bag, 37, 166.
{{\tt top\_object}}, 124.
Torbj\o rn Andersson, 110.
touch (sense), 34.
`Toyshop', 8, 30, 35, 38, 52, 58, 62, 63, 70, 195.
``trace'' verb, 100.
tracing a routine, 101.
tracing code, 119.
tracing routines, actions, daemons and timers, 100.
tracing the parser, 101.
transcript, 105, 108, 109.
translating Inform to foreign languages, 67.
{{\tt transparent}}, 37, 48, 140.
treasure class, 29.
treasures on status line, 110, 203.
treating {\fam \ttfam \tentt name} as a word array, 76.
tree felling, 124.
tree of objects, 18.
``tree'' verb, 100.
tricorder, 52, 173.
trigrams, 75, 183.
`Trinity', 35, 110, 204.
troll, 54.
{{\tt TryNumber}}, 77, 148, 149.
two-way door, 39.
txd (disassembler), 100.
types (lack of), 20.
UHS format hints, 106.
underlining, 106.
``undo'' verb, 103, 107.
{{\tt UnknownVerb}}, 86, 150.
unsigned operations, 112.
{{\tt UnsignedCompare}}, 149.
`untypeable verbs', 51.
untypeable words, 77.
up-arrow character, 111.
upper-level window, 108.
urchin and hacker, 48.
``use'' verb, 89.
{{\tt vague\_obj}}, 97.
{{\tt vague\_word}}, 97.
vampire, 57.
variable strings, 165.
variables, 118.
vehicles, 42.
{{\tt Verb}}, 16, 83.
{{\tt verb\_num}}, 50.
{{\tt verb\_word}}, 82, 97.
{{\tt VerbLib}}, 10.
verbose mode, 72.
``verbose", 71.
``verbose'', 151.
verbs (Inform and English), 82.
Versions 7 and 8, 102.
versions of the Z-machine, 102.
very verbose mode, 72, 181.
{{\tt visited}}, 141.
vocabulary size (limit), 102.
voice-activated computers, 49.
VT100, 106.
W. H. Auden, 38.
W. S. Gilbert, 73.
{{\tt WakeOther}}, 46.
Waldeck's Mayan dictionary, 45.
walking into walls, 65.
walls, 147.
`wandering monsters', 55.
warnings, 138.
warthog, 180.
washing-machine, 96.
weights, 55, 177.
weird thing, 78.
`welcome' message, 11.
``what is a grue'', 93.
``What next?'', 66, 180.
{{\tt when\_closed}}, 39, 146.
{{\tt when\_off}}, 146.
{{\tt when\_on}}, 146.
{{\tt when\_open}}, 39, 146.
``white'' and ``black'', 87, 189.
wide inventory, 74.
wild boar, 178.
wild-card, 79, 187.
William Shakespeare, 58, 92, 177, 188, 202.
William Tyndale, 45, 168.
Willie Crowther, 9.
window 0, 108.
{{\tt with}}, 21.
{{\tt with\_key}}, 36, 146.
{{\tt WITHOUT\_DIRECTIONS}}, 35.
`Witness', 66, 180.
wizened man, 77.
woodpecker, 99.
word array, 76.
word arrays, 118.
word breaking, 77, 108.
word stream, 77.
{{\tt WordAddress}}, 77, 91, 149, 195.
{{\tt WordLength}}, 77, 91, 149, 195.
{{\tt workflag}}, 141.
world colours, 35, 165.
World Wide Web, 8.
{{\tt worn}}, 141.
{{\tt WriteListFrom}}, 73, 149.
``xyzzy'' verb, 84.
{{\tt YesOrNo}}, 104, 149.
``you don't need to refer to'', 32.
{{\tt younger}}, 19.
{{\tt youngest}}, 19.
Z-encoded text, 109.
Zen, 50, 174.
``zero'', 90.
Zip, 100, 107.
`Zork I', 56.
`Zork', 18, 52, 55.
{{\tt ZRegion}}, 65, 149.
zterp, 107.
\endindex
\tenpoint
\closeout\conts
\end
% --------------------------------------------------------------------------
