---------------
WhichSys Update
for ALAN
---------------
December 1999


Bob Newell wrote the excellent FAQ 'Which IF Authoring System is Better'
in 1996. While the approach and the overall conclusions in WhichSys
are still very useful, some of the facts and details are naturally no longer
one hundred per cent accurate.

The following comments are intended to correct the few items of information
in WhichSys about the ALAN authoring system which are now clearly outdated.



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ALAN Version is now 2.8
Author's email now [email protected]



1. Documentation
The manual is now available in different formats and there is additional
documentation available.

The ALAN 2.8 author's manual is available in HTML and Adobe Acrobat PDF
formats. The PDF version is useful as an on-line, searchable reference
guide. (The version 2.7 manual is still available and can be downloaded in
Postscript, Win3.1 Helpfile or plain text formats. There are no great
differences between ALAN 2.7 and 2.8 so the 2.7 text or Helpfile versions
can still be useful as an on-line reference guide for users whose computers
can't use the 2.8 PDF version.)

The WhichSys FAQ mentioned that the manual lacked sufficient examples and
sample code. That deficiency has been addressed in a couple of ways in
addition to changes in the manual itself.

Firstly, a beginner's tutorial is now available. The tutorial works
through the development of a ALAN game and comes with a collection of ALAN
source code examples.

Secondly, Thomas Nilsson now has an ALAN website. The website has
additional ALAN code examples and answers to frequently asked questions.

The website URL is http://www.welcome.to/alan-if


2. Ease of use

   -


3. Parser

   -


4. Support
Thomas Nilsson continues to offer enthusiastic support via email to ALAN
users. WhichSys mentions the shortage of other knowledgeable users able to
answer questions via the rai-f newsgroup. This situation has improved since
1996. There is now a good-sized handful of users who respond to queries
posted to the rai-f newsgroup. In addition, there is an ALAN email list
which users can subscribe to. The newsgroup and list probably reach pretty
much the same audience but some users may find the list a useful alternative.

In WhichSys, Bob postulated that the difficulty of obtaining the ALAN
compiler was contributing to the slow growth in the size of the ALAN user
group. In 1996, when WhichSys was written, the compiler software was
distributed via multipart email attachment. This is no longer the case.
The compiler can now be easily downloaded from the IF Archive or from the
ALAN website along with the manuals and the runtime interpreter software.


5. Language Depth
This section in WhichSys mentions the lack of a standard ALAN library.
A library is now available. It is labelled 'the proposed standard library'
but though it is in its infancy it is still fully useable. It provides many
of the basic player commands that an ALAN author would otherwise have to
program themselves.


6. Portability
As listed in WhichSys, current MSDOS PC, Macintosh and Amiga ALAN
interpreters are still available.

The promised Linux port has indeed been released. The other Unix systems
supported are Sun Solaris and HPUX. (However the HPUX version has not been
updated since ALAN 2.7.)

There is a Windows 95 (or newer) version which offers some additional player
conveniences over the MSDOS version such as command history and status bar.

An MSDOS version for sub-386 PCs which WhichSys predicted has not been
released. I don't know if support for 8088 and 80286 PCs is such an issue
nowadays as it was in 1996 when Bob wrote WhichSys.

A port to the GLK system has recently been completed. This system makes
adding new features and porting to different platforms easier. So this new
release suggests ports of future versions will be made quickly.


7. Run Speed

   -

8. Literature Library
There is still no epic-sized source code example such as the 'Colossal Cave'
example hoped for in WhichSys. However there are now several more examples
illustrating specific features and the source code for two small games --
'Saviour' and 'Skipping Breakfast' -- has been released.


9. Debugging Features

   -

10. Future Prospects
The prospects for ALAN are largely the same as stated in WhichSys. Thomas
Nilsson continues to steadily improve the program. Access to the source code
is still restricted to porters only.  The new GLK port of the interpreter
was done by Joe Mason who hasn't worked with ALAN before. Which shows that
Thomas Nilsson is happy to share the ALAN workload with a variety of people.


11. Object Orientation

   -

12. Game Size

   -

13. Distribution Policy

   -

14. Programming Skill Required

   -

15. Cost

   -

16. Source Code

   -

17. Compiler Speed

   -

18. Compiler Platforms
The Linux version mentioned in WhichSys is available and up-to-date. (As
are the PC, Mac and Sun Solaris versions.)  Only older, version 2.7, ports of
the compiler are available for the Amiga and HP-UX, though the Amiga port of
the interpreter is up-to-date.


19. Dynamic Object Creation

   -

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