    LP versus Diku

    This is an intermud conversation that pretty much explains my
    opinion on the LP v Diku question. To read a related rant, click here.

    [2006.06.20-10.21] Darque@Steamworks <dead_souls> There are a few general
    questions I have about LPC in general and how DS applies to those notions.

    [2006.06.20-10.21] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> hopefully i'll have the
    answers

    [2006.06.20-10.21] Darque@Steamworks <dead_souls> I had always assumed that LPC
    was very talkerish without typical MUD functions, I assume that I wrong in this
    regard.

    [2006.06.20-10.22] Daelas@Moraelinost <dead_souls> works :)

    [2006.06.20-10.22] Darque@Steamworks <dead_souls> Is there a particular reason
    that LPC has not been used as often to make typical MUDs as DIKU and it's
    children?

    <some stuff removed here>

    [2006.06.20-10.28] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> ok ya good question

    [2006.06.20-10.28] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> the problem is historical

    [2006.06.20-10.28] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> diku uses c

    [2006.06.20-10.28] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> meaning that pretty much
    anything you code for diku mud A will work on diku mud B

    [2006.06.20-10.29] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> i presume there are exceptions,
    but that's generally the case

    [2006.06.20-10.29] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> this has created a sort of
    "snippet culture" in which there are hundreds, if not thousands, of code pieces
    called snippets people can download

    [2006.06.20-10.29] <dead_souls> Daelas@Moraelinost nods

    [2006.06.20-10.30] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> they can put these together,
    download some pre-fabricated areas, and shazam, they have a mud
    people can play on immediately

    [2006.06.20-10.30] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> because this is relatively
    easy to do, there are many diku muds, many more than lpc. because with lpc, you
    can't really do that

    [2006.06.20-10.30] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> each mud is usually
    customized right from the start, so that code pieces from one dont work
    on another

    [2006.06.20-10.31] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> add to this the lack of an
    olc, and lpc's have dwindled over the years

    [2006.06.20-10.31] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> because you have to know
    what you're doing, in order to make a mud that people will want to play on

    [2006.06.20-10.32] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> dead souls is supposed to
    mitigate that a bit. it has an olc, and an upcomping "compatibility project"
    will hopefully cut down on the code incompatibility problems

    [2006.06.20-10.32] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> the end

    [2006.06.20-10.32] <dead_souls> Karri@Dionea applauds!

    [2006.06.20-10.32] <dead_souls> Cratylus@Dead Souls bows.

    [2006.06.20-10.32] <dead_souls> Daelas@Moraelinost agrees wholeheartedly.

    <some stuff removed here>

    [2006.06.20-10.35] Daelas@Moraelinost <dead_souls> I'd be lost trying to futz with C.

    [2006.06.20-10.35] <dead_souls> Karri@Dionea nods.

    [2006.06.20-10.35] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> with lpc, doing substantial
    modifications requires cubstantial LPC expertise, but it is much easier than C

    [2006.06.20-10.36] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> if you happen to be a whiz
    at C, diku might be the right choice

    [2006.06.20-10.36] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> there are other advantages
    that come with being a C only mud. evaluation speed chief among them

    [2006.06.20-10.37] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> if the mud doesn't have to
    waste time interpreting code, and just runs the binary, you can do things
    much more quickly

    [2006.06.20-10.38] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> the theoretical top limit
    of number of simultaneous players, therefore, is higher for diku than lpc on
    the same machine

    [2006.06.20-10.38] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> as an example

    [2006.06.20-10.38] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> but for the most part these
    advantages are not of practical use

    [2006.06.20-10.38] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> since most muds do not have
    hundreds of players, and LPC can easily handle 200 or more

    [2006.06.20-10.39] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> cf Discworld

    [2006.06.20-10.39] <dead_souls> Karri@Dionea thinks C is easier in some ways.
    With LPC, I have to figure out where all the files are and how they interact.
    With a C program, you have a distinct beginning and end.

    [2006.06.20-10.40] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> there are definite pluses to
    diku. i dont diss it as a codebase. if i seem to sneer at it, it's at the
    snippet kiddies that pretend they "run a mud" when they really just run someone
    elses code

    [2006.06.20-10.40] Zeus@Empire of Rome <dead_souls> thats what I'm doing :P

    [2006.06.20-10.41] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> not really

    [2006.06.20-10.41] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> i mean yes i suppose in a way

    [2006.06.20-10.41] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> but i've visited your mud a bit

    [2006.06.20-10.41] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> it's clearly your own thing

    [2006.06.20-10.41] Zeus@Empire of Rome <dead_souls> your code base though, without
    that I couldn't do jack heh

    [2006.06.20-10.41] Zeus@Empire of Rome <dead_souls> for which I am thankful

    [2006.06.20-10.41] Zeus@Empire of Rome <dead_souls> QCS rocks heh

    [2006.06.20-10.42] Cratylus@Dead Souls <dead_souls> it's just a tool.
    that's my point. dead souls is a tool you can use, which is itself open
    to modification. a lot of dikus are "black boxes" to their owners, who need
    to beg for people who know C to come work for them so they can do things

- Cratylus
<my name here>@comcast.net
LPMuds