Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
Path: nntp.gmd.de!news.ruhr-uni-bochum.de!news.uni-stuttgart.de!news.belwue.de!swidir.switch.ch!surfnet.nl!howland.erols.net!www.nntp.primenet.com!nntp.primenet.com!netcom.com!erkyrath
From: erkyrath@netcom.com (Andrew Plotkin)
Subject: Re: [INFORM] Additive propert
Message-ID: <erkyrathE2BD79.6ov@netcom.com>
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL1]
References: <66.6661.1727@tabb.com> <32AFF77C.546F@shef.ac.uk>
Date: Thu, 12 Dec 1996 18:40:21 GMT
Lines: 42
Sender: erkyrath@netcom10.netcom.com

Robert Fisher (COP96RDF@shef.ac.uk) wrote:
> > I'd like to suggest that in the next update of the Inform specs, the
> > Orders property be made additive.  Right now, Life is but Orders isn't.
> > I'd hacked my copy of the 5/12 library, and it seemed to work with no
> > problems at all, until of course I switched to 6/2 and couldn't figure
> > out why none of my Orders properties were working any more!

> I agree, although I don't think hacking the library is ever a good idea. It's too easy 
> to forget what you've hacked.

Heh. I hack the Inform libraries all the time. 

I strongly recommend the following trick: put all your hacks inside 
conditional directives (IFDEF HACKNAME/ENDIF.) This means that, by default, 
the libraries behave as documented; you have to put a Constant HACKNAME 
statement in your source code to invoke a change. Then, to see what 
you've done, you can just look at the top of your source code.

This is all in Inform 5, though. If you're going to precompile modules 
you'll have to change the plan a little. Dunno how yet. Probably just 
have separate link modules for each game.

In case you're curious, "sofar.inf" begins with the following lines...

Constant AMUSING_PROVIDED;
Constant AMUSING_WORD 'afterword';
Constant NO_PLACES;
Constant INITIAL_DAEMONS;
Constant DEATH_MENTION_UNDO;
Constant ALLOW_INTERRUPT_MULTI;
Constant ALLOW_HIDDEN_GENDER;
Constant SKIP_DEXTERITY_CHECK;
Constant ALTER_AMBIG_BEHAVIOR;

Inform sculptors may enjoy figuring out what hacks they represent. :)

--Z

-- 

"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the
borogoves..."
