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<H1>[MUD-Dev] Re: clients anyone?...</H1>
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<LI><em>To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
<LI><em>Subject</em>: [MUD-Dev] Re: clients anyone?...</LI>
<LI><em>From</em>: Andrew Wilson <<A HREF="mailto:andrew#aaaaaaaa,demon.co.uk">andrew#aaaaaaaa,demon.co.uk</A>></LI>
<LI><em>Date</em>: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 03:51:59 +0100 (BST)</LI>
<LI><em>Cc</em>: <A HREF="mailto:andrew#aaaaaaaa,demon.co.uk">andrew#aaaaaaaa,demon.co.uk</A> (Andrew Wilson)</LI>
<LI><em>Reply-To</em>: <A HREF="mailto:mud-dev#kanga,nu">mud-dev#kanga,nu</A></LI>
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<PRE>
Adam J. Thornton:
> On Wed, Aug 12, 1998 at 10:29:59PM -0700, Bruce Mitchener, Jr. wrote:
> > Why not use a protocol described by an XML DTD? This would allow you to
> > parse it easily with standard libraries in multiple languages and validate
> > the data fairly easily.
>
> Yeah, but I don't think I want the overhead of a real XML parser. I don't
> think my data stream is going to be so complex as to need it.
As an aside. XML is an integral component of the RVP protocol
currently being championed by M$. RVP is a URL based mechanism
being to identify people online, it uses access control lists
defined in XML. It's all analogous to Mirabilis' ICQ#, but with
a bit more flexibility. The instant messenger Ding! (www.activerse.com
/ www.ding.com) is geared to use this. So in a sense XML is already
a player in the chat/mud sphere.
The software is widely available too, and you probably don't meed
much more than a parse/encoder component, you might even do without
the strict in-spec validation routines in situations where you
'own' the agents transmitting and receiving the xml data, ie the
mud is yours and any clients you talk to would use libraries also
approved by you.
XML is meant to be lightweight, so it probably won't cause too much
of a noticable performance hit clientside, unless your client is
especially graphics hungry. I'm not sure how much of the client
machine's processing capacity is used up by something as intensive
as UO's client. My guess is that it's "as much as possible".
> > For robots, NPCs and AI, they would be receiving the same data available to
> > any user and could be hosted anywhere, not requiring the main game server(s)
> > to be bogged down by AI. Logging mechanisms could even be handled this way
> > to provide a more intelligent AI-based log monitoring system. You could
> > even stick a weather control system on the client side of this (albeit, a
> > different type of data headed down that pipe).
>
> I do like the idea of doing this to offload scripted player/AI code to work
> without bloating the server. But I don't think it's going to take XML.
> I've been playing with the idea of about 200-byte packets, but I don't have
> a packet structure I like yet.
What problem are you trying to solve by restricting yourself to
200b packets? There's always a concern when using out-of-band
stuff to make sure your seekrit messages don't swamp the connection
to the detrement of the player's own typed commands or urgent messages:
You see the mighty dragon, it hasn't noticed you, yet...
<netwedge....>
So one trick is to split a big download into small chunks and
dribble it out to the client which reassembles it gradually till
it's complete and ready to be used. At the same time of course
you can comfortably type 'flee' and evade the dragon's claws for
another few hours at least.
Of course, not all the information the client receives needs to be
piped laboriously through the mud server's text filters. If you
use a lot of graphics, online help texts etc then it makes good
sense to use a different server for that (HTTP anyone?). Just tell
the client to go get its image data from somewhere else. This way
you end up freeing time on your 300 user mud for more interesting
weather, ecology and economics simulation code.
But anyway, a lot of these performance quibbles can only be resolved
sensibly if the design of the client/external-ai/chatbot is also
a factor in your calculations.
> Adam
Ay.
Andrew.Wilson#cm,cf.ac.uk <A HREF="http://www.cm.cf.ac.uk/User/Andrew.Wilson/">http://www.cm.cf.ac.uk/User/Andrew.Wilson/</A>
Voice/Fax: +44 (0) 1865 513 091
</PRE>
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<li><strong><A NAME="00716" HREF="msg00716.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: clients anyone?...</A></strong>
<ul compact><li><em>From:</em> "Adam J. Thornton" <adam#phoenix,Princeton.EDU></li></ul>
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<UL><LI><EM>From:</EM> "Adam J. Thornton" <adam#phoenix,Princeton.EDU></LI></UL></LI>
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<ul><li>Thread context:
<BLOCKQUOTE><UL>
<LI><STRONG>[MUD-Dev] Re: Eye movement.</STRONG>, <EM>(continued)</EM>
<ul compact>
<ul compact>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00705" HREF="msg00705.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: Eye movement.</A></strong>,
Hans-Henrik Staerfeldt <a href="mailto:hhs#cbs,dtu.dk">hhs#cbs,dtu.dk</a>, Thu 13 Aug 1998, 17:32 GMT
</LI>
</ul>
</ul>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00698" HREF="msg00698.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: clients anyone?...</A></strong>,
Bruce Mitchener, Jr. <a href="mailto:ubmitche#mcs,drexel.edu">ubmitche#mcs,drexel.edu</a>, Thu 13 Aug 1998, 05:29 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00700" HREF="msg00700.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: clients anyone?...</A></strong>,
James Wilson <a href="mailto:jwilson#rochester,rr.com">jwilson#rochester,rr.com</a>, Thu 13 Aug 1998, 12:22 GMT
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00712" HREF="msg00712.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: clients anyone?...</A></strong>,
Adam J. Thornton <a href="mailto:adam#phoenix,Princeton.EDU">adam#phoenix,Princeton.EDU</a>, Fri 14 Aug 1998, 01:45 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00714" HREF="msg00714.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: clients anyone?...</A></strong>,
Andrew Wilson <a href="mailto:andrew#aaaaaaaa,demon.co.uk">andrew#aaaaaaaa,demon.co.uk</a>, Fri 14 Aug 1998, 02:52 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00716" HREF="msg00716.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: clients anyone?...</A></strong>,
Adam J. Thornton <a href="mailto:adam#phoenix,Princeton.EDU">adam#phoenix,Princeton.EDU</a>, Fri 14 Aug 1998, 03:56 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00727" HREF="msg00727.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: clients anyone?...</A></strong>,
Andrew Wilson <a href="mailto:andrew#aaaaaaaa,demon.co.uk">andrew#aaaaaaaa,demon.co.uk</a>, Sat 15 Aug 1998, 01:11 GMT
<UL>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00732" HREF="msg00732.html">[MUD-Dev] Re: clients anyone?...</A></strong>,
Adam J. Thornton <a href="mailto:adam#phoenix,Princeton.EDU">adam#phoenix,Princeton.EDU</a>, Sat 15 Aug 1998, 04:59 GMT
</LI>
</UL>
</LI>
<LI><strong><A NAME="00754" HREF="msg00754.html">[MUD-Dev] free XML Parser (was Re: clients anyone?...)</A></strong>,
James Wilson <a href="mailto:jwilson#rochester,rr.com">jwilson#rochester,rr.com</a>, Tue 18 Aug 1998, 00:47 GMT
</LI>
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