Source Code 1994 March/Source_Code_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_March_1994.iso/compsrcs/misc/volume28/ldb/part04

Text File | 1992-03-14 | 31.7 KB | 806 lines

Newsgroups: comp.sources.misc
From: [e-mail] ("Perry R. Ross")
Subject:  v28i096:  ldb - Play backgammon by e-mail, Part04/05
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
X-Md4-Signature: c5d99c7e611cf0b553629092ef802c0b
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 1992 03:55:53 GMT
Approved: [e-mail]

Submitted-by: [e-mail] (Perry R. Ross)
Posting-number: Volume 28, Issue 96
Archive-name: ldb/part04
Environment: UNIX, C, VMS, VAXC, CURSES, 32BIT

#! /bin/sh
# This is a shell archive.  Remove anything before this line, then unpack
# it by saving it into a file and typing "sh file".  To overwrite existing
# files, type "sh file -c".  You can also feed this as standard input via
# unshar, or by typing "sh <file", e.g..  If this archive is complete, you
# will see the following message at the end:
#        "End of archive 4 (of 5)."
# Contents:  ldb.man
# Wrapped by ross@emf780 on Tue Mar 10 09:24:25 1992
PATH=/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/ucb ; export PATH
if test -f 'ldb.man' -a "${1}" != "-c" ; then
  echo shar: Will not clobber existing file \"'ldb.man'\"
else
echo shar: Extracting \"'ldb.man'\" \(29974 characters\)
sed "s/^X//" >'ldb.man' <<'END_OF_FILE'
X.\" ldb.man        8/4/91
X.\"
X.\" Copyright 1991  Perry R. Ross
X.\"
X.\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its
X.\" documentation without fee is hereby granted, subject to the restrictions
X.\" detailed in the README file, which is included here by reference.
X.\" Any other use requires written permission from the author.  This software
X.\" is distributed "as is" without any warranty, including any implied
X.\" warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
X.\" The author shall not be liable for any damages resulting from the
X.\" use of this software.  By using this software, the user agrees
X.\" to these terms.
X.\"
X.TH LDB 1 "September 25, 1991"
X.nh
X.nr si 5n
X.ie \nT .pl \nTv
X.UC 4
X.SH NAME
Xldb \- Play backgammon by e\-mail
X.SH SYNOPSIS
Xldb [options] [input files...]
X.br
X.SH DESCRIPTION
X.I Ldb
Xallows two people to play backgammon over a
Xnetwork using electronic mail.  It runs on character\-oriented
Xterminals, or emulators thereof, using the
X.I curses
Xscreen package.  It will run on most UNIX dialects, as
Xwell as VAX\-C under VMS.
X.I Ldb
Xwill display a picture of the board, prompt the user to
Xenter a move, check the move for legality,
Xand send the move to the opponent.
XWhen it arrives, it will be displayed on the opponent's screen,
Xafter which the opponent will be prompted for a move to
Xbe sent back.
X.SH "IF YOU'RE IMPATIENT..."
X.PP
XIf you're one of those people that don't read manuals,
Xthe README file has a quick overview, or you can
Xskip ahead to the section entitled "STARTING A GAME".
X.SH FEATURES
X.IP "Multiple Games"
X.I Ldb
Xcan keep track of an arbitrary number of games simultaneously,
Xand will display them one at a time for you to play.
XYou can exit from
X.I ldb
Xat any time; when you run ldb again, it will pick up
Xyour games where you left off.
X.IP "Move Checking"
XBoth your moves and your opponent's moves are checked for legality.
XThis includes:
X.IP \-
XLanding on an occupied point.
X.IP \-
XBearing off before your inner table is full.
X.IP \-
XTrying to move pieces that are on the board when you
Xhave a piece on the bar.
X.IP \-
XTrying to bear off a piece
Xwhen there is a piece on a higher point, and
Xthe roll is not being used exactly.
X.IP \-
XTrying to leave a usable move unused.
X.IP \-
XTrying to leave a move unused when it is usable and has
Xa higher roll than the move that is used.
X.IP \-
XTrying to double when you doubled last.
X.IP "Message Reliability"
X.I Ldb
Xdetects (and rejects) duplicate messages, and can
Xregenerate lost messages.
X.IP "Remote Start"
X.I Ldb
Xcan start a game between two players on remote hosts.
XThis could be used to set up a "game starter" host,
Xwhere people interested in finding new opponents could
Xbe matched by some criteria (such as ability, or by a
Xtournament schedule), and have their games started
Xautomatically.
X.IP "Game Value"
X.I Ldb
Xdetects the end of the game, gammons, and backgammons,
Xand notifies both players of the game value when the
Xgame is over.
X.PP
X.SH OPTIONS
X.IP "\fB-read \fP"
XMail is read, and the games are updated and saved.
XThe user is not prompted for his moves.
X.IP "\fB-play \fP"
XAny games that are waiting for local input are
Xdisplayed for the user to process.  No mail is read.
X.IP "\fB-color xy\fP"
XThe colors for any games started are set to x and y.
XThe first color is played by the local user, and the
Xother is played by the opponent.  Legal color
Xcharacters are r(red), w(white), and b(black).
XThe default is "\-color rw".  This argument is positional,
Xand only affects games started after it has been scanned.
X.IP "\fB-direction up/down\fP"
XThe direction of play for any games started by the local user
Xis set to the specified value.
XThe default is "\-direction up".  This argument is positional,
Xand only affects games started after it has been scanned.
X.IP "\fB-myaddr addr\fP"
XYour mail address is set to
X.I addr
Xfor games started after the
X.I \-myaddr
Xoption is scanned.  This overrides the address
Xspecified in
X.I .ldbrc.
X.IP "\fB-start user\fP"
XA game is started with the specified user.
XThe
X.I user
Xargument may be any e\-mail address that is valid for
Xyour host.  Some e\-mail addresses will need to be quoted
Xif they contain shell metacharacters.
X.IP "\fB-remotestart user1 user2\fP"
XA game is started between user1 and user2.  The local
Xhost sends a remote start message to user1 instructing
Xit to start a game with user2.  The local host
Xdoes not participate thereafter in the game.
XFor the purposes of the \-color and \-direction options,
Xuser1 is considered the local user.
X.IP "\fB-broadcast file\fP"
XThe specified file is mailed to all current opponents.
XThis is useful for announcing vacation absences, etc.
X.PP
XThe default mode for the \-read and \-play options
Xis to do both.  This is also what happens if both
X\-read and \-play are given.  Any arguments not beginning
Xwith \- are treated as input files and are searched for
Xincoming moves from opponents.  It is not an error for
Xany of these files to not exist.
X.PP
X.SH SCREEN
XThe screen is divided into seven basic sections.  These are:
X.IP \fBOpponent\fP
XThe e\-mail address and personal name of the opponent are displayed
Xon the top line of the screen.  This can help identify the
Xgame if you have many games in progress at once.
X.IP "\fBBoard Label\fP"
X.I Ldb
Xdisplays one of three possible board images at a time;
Xthe name of the board currently displayed is shown on
Xthe second line of the screen.
XThe significance of these three boards is explained below.
X.IP "\fBBoard\fP"
XThe board is displayed near the left side of the screen, and takes
Xup most of the screen area.  It consists of an outline, drawn
Xwith ASCII characters, and 28 "points" where pieces can reside.
XOf these, 24 are the normal points making up the main body of the
Xboard (numbered 1\-24),
X2 are the "BAR" points, located between the left
Xand right halves of the main board, and 2 are the "OFF"
Xpoints (where pieces go when they are borne off), located to the
Xleft of the board.  Pieces are represented by lower case letters,
Xtaken from the set [bwr], and represent the colors black, white,
Xand red, respectively.  To help you remember which direction you
Xare playing, there are arrows drawn at the four corners of the
Xboard indicating your direction of play.
X.IP "\fBDoubling Cube\fP"
XThe current value of the doubling cube is displayed in reverse
Xvideo on the left side of the screen.  The cube will appear
Xon the side of the board where the home board of the owner
Xof the cube is located, or in the middle if neither player
Xhas doubled.  For example, if the player whose home board is
Xat the bottom of the screen doubled last, the cube will appear
Xbeside the top of the board.
X.IP "\fBMove Blocks\fP
XThe move blocks are located on the right of the screen.  There
Xare two move blocks; one for you, and one for your opponent.
XYou will use your move block to enter your moves, and you will
Xsee your opponent's moves displayed in his move block.  A move
Xblock consists of a header, which identifies the owner of the
Xmove block, and two columns of either two or four lines.
XEach line in a move block is one roll, and shows the value
Xof the roll (in the range 1\-6) and how that roll has been used.
XIf doubles were rolled,
Xthe third and fourth lines will also
Xbe used to display the two additional rolls that may be used.
X.IP "\fBCommand Box\fP"
XThe bottom right corner of the screen contains a small box
Xthat displays the commands that are legal at any given time.
XYou can execute a command by typing the first letter; you
Xshould not hit return afterwards.  There may be legal commands
Xother than those shown in the command box, depending on
Xthe state the game is in.
X.IP "\fBMessage Area\fP"
XThe bottom 6 lines of the screen are reserved for messages of
Xvarious types.  The bottom line is used for error and informative
Xmessages that occur as a game is played.  The top line in this
Xarea displays messages pertaining to the status of a game, such as
Xblots hit by an opponent's move.  The remaining 4 lines are used to
Xenclose a message to your opponent with your move, and to display
Xthe one your opponent sent to you.  These messages may be up to
X2 lines of 56 characters.
X.PP
X.SH "STARTUP FILE"
XThe first time you run
X.I ldb,
Xit will ask you if you want to
Xcreate a
X.I .ldbrc
Xfile.  You should answer "yes", unless you have a reason
Xnot to.  If you want the ldb startup file to be named something
Xother than
X.I .ldbrc,
Xyou should set the environment variable LDBRC to the
Xname you want before
Xrunning ldb for the first time.
XIf you do this, the LDBRC variable must be set
Xevery time you run ldb.
X.I Ldb
Xmoves to the directory in the HOME environment variable,
Xif it is set, before accessing any files.
XThis makes all files (including .ldbrc) relative
Xto $HOME.
X.PP
XThe
X.I .ldbrc
Xis organized as a sequence of name/value pairs, one per line,
Xin the format
X.I "name=value".
XThere should be no spaces before
X.I name
Xor before or after the equals sign.  Comments are not allowed.
XThe following names are defined:
X.IP myname
XThis line is where you enter your (human) name.
XIt is sent to your opponent when a game is started, to
Xmake things a little more personal.  You can put anything
Xyou like here, of course, but I highly recommend you just
Xstick to your name; the novelty wears off cute stuff
Xpretty fast.  Also, remember that upper\-case\-only terminals
Xwent out of style somewhere around the same time as
XPresident Carter, and I think we're probably better off
Xwithout both.  Enter your name with only the first letter
Xof each word capitalized, and avoid shouting at your opponents.
XThis line is mandatory; if you don't want your name
Xsent to people, you can just put an empty string after the equals,
Xbut you must have something.
X.IP myaddr
XThis line defines your e\-mail address.  This is sent to your
Xopponent when you start a game so they know how to send
Xmail back to you.  For people with multiple mail paths, put
Xthe one here you use the most (e.g. the Internet domain\-style
Xpath), and for games that need to use a different address,
Xuse the
X.I \-myaddr
Xcommand line argument to override the path in
X.I .ldbrc.
XThe
X.I myaddr
Xline is mandatory.
X.IP gamefile
XThis line sets the file name that is used to store games
Xin progress.  It is optional, and if it is not given, the
Xgame file defaults to
X.I .ldbdata.
XMy advice, if you care, is that you should avoid
Xusing a file name containing the string
X.I games
Xor any other giveaway string that would let your boss, sysadmin,
Xor other local Nazi\-type know that you're using
Xa multi\-million dollar piece of high\-tech equipment to goof off,
Xwhen you could do that with nothing more exotic than
Xa rubber band and some spitballs.
X.IP backupfile
XThis is the file your old
X.I gamefile
Xwill be moved to just before a new
Xone is created.  It defaults to
X.I ".oldldbdata."
X.IP mailfile
XWell, you've got a couple of options here.  One is to just put
Xsome file name here (the default is ldb.rcv) and, when you receive
Xmail containing an
X.I ldb
Xmove, just save it to this file.  When you are done reading your mail,
Xrun ldb, and it will scan this file and extract all your incoming
Xmoves, just like magic.  If your mail program is like most, it will
Xappend messages if the file you are saving to already exists,
Xwhich is just what you want.
X.I Ldb
Xwill silently ignore moves that it has already seen for games in
Xprogress, so you don't have to clean them out of your mailfile
Xif you don't want to.
X.I BUT,
Xyou DO need to clean START messages out sometime before the
Xgame they started ends; once the game is
Xover and is deleted from the gamefile, ldb will think the START
Xmessage is a new one and
Xstart a spurious game.  So the best course is to delete all messages
Xafter ldb has read them.
X.IP ""
XFor those fortunate enough to be on real UNIX,
Xyour second option is to set the mailfile to point to your
Xactual mail file (e.g. /usr/spool/mail/username), and let ldb
Xscan your mail directly.  This will only work if your system
Xkeeps mail in ASCII format, but many do.  Ldb will not
Xdelete these messages from your mail
Xso you will have to.  The same note applies here as in the
Xfirst option regarding START messages; odd things will happen
Xif you let a START
Xmessage sit in your mail after the game
Xit started ends.
X.IP ""
XVMS users should read the section entitled "VMS NOTES"
Xfor more information on extracting mail.
X.IP sendcmd
XThis tells ldb how to send a file with your particular
Xmail command.  This string is passed to the system, after making the
Xfollowing substitutions:
X.IP "     $a" 10n
Xis substituted with the address to mail to.
X.IP "     $f" 10n
Xis substituted with the file containing the message.
X.IP "     $s" 10n
Xis substituted with the subject of the message.
X.IP "" 5n
XMost mail systems will work fine with the default, which is
X.nf
X     mail \-s '$s' $a < $f
X.fi
XNote that the $ substitutions are
Xmade by ldb, not by a shell, and thus are not subject to
Xany quoting.  If you need a $ in the string, use $$.
XVMS users should use the string
X.nf
X     MAIL/SUBJECT="$s" $f $a
X.fi
Xto send VMS mail (if both you and your opponent are using VMS mail),
Xotherwise you may need to include a mailer string in your command;
Xfor example, to send UNIX mail using Wollongong TCP/IP, you would
Xuse the string
X.nf
X     MAIL/SUBJECT="$s" $f WINS%"""<$a>"""
X.fi
Xand yes, that really is three quote marks after "WINS%".
X.IP tempfile
XThis line specifies a temporary file that ldb can use to compose
Xmail messages.  The file will be created in your home directory,
Xthus avoiding file name conflicts in /tmp.  It defaults to ldb.tmp.
X.IP colors
XThis is a two\-character string from the set [rwb] (red, white, and
Xblack, respectively), and defines
Xyour preferred colors for any games you start.  The first character
Xin the string is the color you will play, and the second is the
Xone your opponent will play.  It defaults to "rw", and is
Xoverridden by the
X.I \-color
Xcommand line argument.
X.IP direction
XThis is either "up" or "down", and defines your preferred direction
Xof play for games you start.  The direction of play only refers to
Xwhether you play toward increasing or decreasing numbered points.
XAlthough by default upward play goes toward the top of the screen,
Xthis can be reversed (for your screen only) by the "Invert"
Xcommand in the Control menu,
Xaccessible via the
X.I \-control
Xcommand line argument.  The default for this line is "up",
Xand is overridden by the
X.I \-direction
Xcommand line argument.
X.IP initialboard
XAs was alluded to earlier, your screen shows one of
Xthree possible board images at any time.  Although
Xthe purpose for this
Xwill be explained later, this line allows you to select
Xwhich of these three boards should be displayed initially.
XThe legal values are "before", "after", and "current".
XThe default is "current".
X.IP autoroll
XIf you were the last to double, you have no option
Xbut to roll the dice when it is your turn.  If
Xautoroll is enabled, ldb will roll the dice for you automatically
Xin this case.  For those that prefer consistency, autoroll
Xmay be disabled, although attempting to double when you
Xdoubled last will provoke a nasty (and well\-deserved)
Xerror message.  Possible values for autoroll are "yes" and "no",
Xwith "yes" being the default.
X.IP automove
XEach time you roll the dice, ldb determines how many
Xlegal ways there are for you to use your rolls.  In the
Xrelatively unusual case where there is only one way
Xfor you to use your rolls, ldb can automatically apply
Xthis move to your board before displaying it.  Automove
Xis disabled by default because it's really
Xpretty annoying.  Possible values for automove are "yes"
Xand "no", with "no" being the default.
X.IP autodouble
XOne of the official rules of backgammon allows for
Xautomatically doubling the game value when the opening
Xroll is a tie.  The rules go on to state that automatic
Xdoubling is only to be used when the players agree beforehand
Xon its use and limitations.  The method ldb uses to implement
Xthis somewhat vague rule is to allow each player to specify
Xa maximum number of autodoubles they are willing to accept in
X.I .ldbrc,
Xand for the maximum number of autodoubles applied to any game
Xto be the lesser of the two players' specified limits.
XFor example, if you set
X.I "autodouble=4"
Xin your .ldbrc, no game you play will ever be autodoubled
Xmore than 4 times, although the number of tied opening rolls
Xis obviously not limited.  However, if you were to start a game
Xwith someone who had set
X.I "autodouble=2",
Xthat game would be limited to at most 2 autodoubles.  If you don't
Xwant to play automatic doubles, set
Xautodouble=0, which is also the default.
X.IP superkey
XSome people don't have bosses.  Some people have private desks.
XSome people play from home.  Some people liked it so much,
Xthey bought the company.  If you're not one of them,
Xyou may want to enable the superkey function.
XJust pick a key on the keyboard you never use in ldb, such as the
Xbackquote, and put a line in
X.I ".ldbrc"
Xsetting superkey to the
X.I "decimal ASCII code"
Xof the key you want; for example, to use the backquote key,
Xuse "superkey=96".
XOnly single\-character keys are allowed, and
Xthe key you select will not be usable for normal purposes
Xwithin ldb.  Make it one you can hit in a hurry.
X.IP supercmd
XIf you'd rather have a program of your choice come up
Xinstead of the shell when the superkey is pressed,
Xput it on this line.  It will be passed
Xunchanged to a shell via the system() function.
X.PP
X.SH "STARTING A GAME"
XBefore you will be able to use the most important features
Xof ldb, such as actually playing backgammon, you will need
Xto start a game.  This is done by using the
X.I \-start
Xcommand line argument, along with the e\-mail address of
Xthe person you wish to play with.
XFor example,
X.nf
X     ldb \-start [e-mail]
X.fi
XIf you want to play white, and make your opponent play
Xblack, use the command
X.nf
X     ldb \-color wb \-start [e-mail]
X.fi
XSee the
XOPTIONS section for more details on the available
Xcommand line arguments.
XUnfortunately,
X.I ldb
Xwill not allow you to play with yourself, but
Xthat's ok because you'd probably lose.
X.PP
XWhen you start a game, a unique
X.I gameid,
Xor game identifier, is created using your e\-mail address
Xand the current time.  This gameid is sent to your opponent,
Xalong with your e\-mail address (so he can send back to you),
Xand your opening roll.  When your opponent receives
Xyour message, his ldb will roll his opening roll, and
Xdecide who won.  If you won, his ldb will send back
Xa message telling you to use the opening roll.  If he
Xwon, he will use the opening roll and his ldb will send
Xa message to that effect.  Either way, the game is off
Xand running.
X.PP
XIf, by unfortunate chance, the opening roll is a tie,
Xyour opponent's ldb will send
Xyour ldb a message to that effect.
XThis will cause a new opening roll, but hopefully
Xnot another tie.  A message will be printed telling you
Xwhat's going on;
Xjust keep feeding the incoming messages to ldb, and
Xit will take care of everything.
X.PP
X.SH "PLAYING A GAME"
XWhen you start a game, you roll a die and send that
Xroll to your opponent, who also rolls a die and
Xcompares them.
XIf you won, you will use the opening roll as your
Xfirst move, so skip on down to the next paragraph.
XOtherwise, he will have used those rolls,
Xand they will be displayed in his move block.
XYou will now find yourself
Xfaced with five options: Roll, Double, Concede, and Next Game.
XUnless you are very cocky, I would not suggest doubling
Xat this point.  You could always concede, but I really
Xthink that would be selling yourself short.  If you choose
X.I "Next Game,"
Xldb will save the current state of your game and go on
Xto the next one, but eventually you will re\-run ldb,
Xat which point you will be faced with this same choice,
Xand let's face it, you can't run from it forever.
XSo we're agreed, you should choose "Roll".
XJust press "r", and watch your roll appear on
Xyour move block (along the right side of the screen, under the
Xword "You").  You should see two numbers appear (four if you
Xrolled doubles), and the word UNUSED beside them.
X.PP
X(If you won the opening roll, you should join us here.)
XDecide which of the rolls you want to use first, and press
Xthe number of that roll.  For example, say you rolled
X1 6 (good roll!), and you want to move the obvious 8\-7, 13\-7 to
Xmake your bar point.
XJust hit "6".  Notice the cursor jump up to your move block, beside
Xthe "6" roll?  It is waiting for you to enter the point you want
Xto move from.  Press "1" "3" (don't hit return).  You should see
Xa piece move from 13 to 7, and this fact will be reflected in
Xyour move block as well.  Now, press "1".  Again the cursor
Xjumps to the move block, and you type "8", followed by some
Xnon\-numeric character such as the space bar (since ldb expects
Xtwo characters for a point).  The second entry in the move block
Xreflects this move, as does the board.  Happy?  If not, press
X"r"; this will reset your rolls to UNUSED and put
Xthe board back to how it was before you moved,
Xand then you can enter some different moves.  Otherwise, hit "s"
X(not "q"!)
Xto send the move.  The cursor will jump down to the message area,
Xwhere you get a chance to enclose a message to your opponent,
Xperhaps to gloat over the great move you just made.
XYou only get 2 lines of 56 characters, so keep it short.  When
Xyou are done, press <escape>.  Your move is on its way!
X.PP
XThere are three shortcuts you can use
Xafter you have entered your first move:
X.IP 1.
XYou can press <return>, which will "repeat" your last move.
XThat is, your next remaining roll will move from the same
Xpoint as your last one moved from.  This is handy when
Xusing doubles to move more than one piece from the same point.
X.IP 2.
XYou can press <space>, which will "continue" your last move.
XThat is, your next remaining roll will move from the
Xpoint your last move ended on.
X.IP 3.
XYou can press "p", which will attempt to make the point your
Xlast move ended on.  In our 1 6 example above, you could have
Xjust hit "p" after you moved 13\-7, and ldb would have figured
Xout that to make the 7 point with the remaining roll of 1,
Xit would have to move a piece from the 8 point.
X.PP
XIn addition, there is one more shortcut that may be used
Xwith any roll.  If you want to use a roll to bear off
Xa piece, you can just hit "o".  Ldb will locate the
Xpoint (if any) from which pieces may be legally borne off
Xby the next unused roll, and make that move automatically.
XYou can also select a roll, then hit "o".
X.PP
X.SH DOUBLING
XIf you decide to double, just choose "Double" instead of
X"Roll".  You will get to enclose a message, just like when
Xyou send a move, then your message gets sent.  Once you have
Xdoubled, you cannot double again until your opponent does so,
Xso ldb automatically selects "Roll" and sends you to the
Xnext menu.  If you don't like this, you can disable it by
Xsetting
X.I autoroll=no
Xin .ldbrc.
X.PP
XIf your opponent doubles, you will see a message just under
Xthe board to that effect, and a menu will come up
Xallowing you to Accept or Decline the double.
XDeclining the double means you lose the game for the
Xcurrent game value.  Accepting means that the game
Xcontinues, but its value is doubled.  The current
Xgame value is shown to the left of the board.  After
Xyou accept, you should see this display move next to your
Xhome board, indicating that you own the doubling cube.
X.PP
X.SH BOARDS
X.I Ldb
Xmaintains three board images at all times.  These are:
X.IP 1
XThe board before your opponent's last move.  This is,
Xof course, the same as the board after your last move.
XIt is for display purposes only, so you can see your
Xopponent's move "before and after".  The pieces your opponent
Xis going to move are highlighted.
X.IP 2
XThe board after your opponent's last move.
XThis is the same as the board before your current move,
Xand it is the one the Reset command uses to erase your moves
Xif you don't like them.  It also shows the condition of the
Xboard after your opponent's last move, with the pieces he
Xmoved highlighted.
X.IP 3
XThe current board.  This is the same as board #2, except any moves
Xyou have made are also reflected here.  Nothing is highlighted.
X.PP
XBy default, ldb displays the Current board at all times.  If
Xyou want to see the other boards, use the Board command
X(provided it is in the current menu).  This will cycle through
Xthe three boards in the order they are listed above.  The second
Xline of the screen tells you which board is displayed.  When
Xyou roll, ldb automatically switches to the Current board if
Xit is not already up.  You can set which of these three boards
Xis initially displayed via the
X.I initialboard
Xsetting in .ldbrc.
X.PP
X.SH "CONTROLLING A GAME"
XThe
X.I \-control
Xoption permits you to control your games in
Xcertain ways.  Each of your current games are
Xdisplayed, one at a time, just as they are when you
Xare playing, allowing you to perform any of the
Xfunctions on the control menu.
XThe control menu has the following commands:
X.IP "Invert"
XThis allows you to invert the board for this game.  The
Xboard will invert immediately on your screen, so you can
Xsee if you like it.  Pressing
X.I Invert
Xagain will put it back to normal.  Inverting the board does
Xnot affect the point numbering or the color you play,
Xit merely draws the board with the low-numbered points at
Xthe top of the screen rather than the bottom.  You may find
Xit easier to make all of your games play a certain direction.
X.IP "Resend"
XFrom time to time, messages may be lost due to faulty mailers
Xor human error.  If your last message gets lost, you can
Xregenerate it with the
X.I Resend
Xcommand.  There is no harm in regenerating messages, as
Xldb will ignore duplicate messages.  If you and your opponent
Xhave forgotten whose move it is, the easiest way to get going
Xagain is for both of you to resend your last message.  The one
Xthat got lost will be accepted, and the game will be off
Xand running again.
X.IP "Delete Game"
XThis command marks a game for deletion.  The game is not deleted
Xuntil you quit, and you can undelete it by pressing D again.
XNormally, you should not delete a game in this manner,
Xyou should play until someone wins or concedes.  The
X.I "Delete Game"
Xcommand can be used to get rid of games where your opponent
Xdoesn't answer his mail, or doesn't want to play, etc.
X.IP "Next Game"
XThe next game is displayed.  If there is no next game,
Xthis choice is equivalent to
X.I Quit.
X.IP "Quit"
XThis allows you to exit from
X.I "\-control".
XIf you made any changes to your games, you will be given the opportunity
Xto save these changes, then ldb will exit.
X.SH "VMS NOTES"
X.PP
XVMS users will have a few problems that UNIX users won't
X(I mean in addition to having to use VMS).
XVMS mail doesn't append
Xmessages to an existing file, it creates new versions.
XLdb will ignore all but the most recent version,
Xcausing it to miss moves.  There may be some obscure mail option flag
Xto make it append to a file instead,
Xbut I cannot find it because quite frankly I'm too lazy to look.
XThe easiest way around this is to save each message to a different
Xfile, then give all those file names as arguments to ldb.
XIf you'd rather save them to the same file, you can make ldb read
Xall the versions by putting them on the command line, as in:
X.nf
X     $ ldb ldb.in;1 ldb.in;2 ldb.in;3 ...
X.fi
Xbut you should remember not to execute a "PURGE" before
Xrunning ldb.
X.PP
XIf you have the Eunice package, ldb will compile and run under it just dandy,
Xbut any files created by the Eunice\-compiled version
X(most notably the games file)
Xwill be incompatible with the VAX C\-compiled version.  Use the
Xunixtovms command to convert.
X.PP
XAs ldb is distributed in "shar" format, you will need some
Xkind of shell to extract it, or if you're really
Xdesperate you could do it by hand with an editor.
XOnce you manage to extract it, you can just type:
X.nf
X     $ @makeldb
X.fi
Xto compile and link it.  After that, you'll probably want
Xto define a symbol such as:
X.nf
X     $ ldb :== $dua0:[me.ldb]ldb
X.fi
Xso you can run it.
X.PP
XFor some reason, the screen redraw (control\-L) does
Xnot work on the VAX\-C curses.  You may want to
X.nf
X     $ SET TERM/NOBROADCAST
X.fi
Xbefore running ldb, so that your screen doesn't get messed up.
XAlternatively, you can fix your screen by just quitting
Xand re\-running ldb (except while you're entering a message).
X.SH BUGS
X.PP
XA game file created by ldb under Eunice must be run through
X"unixtovms" before the VAX\-C ldb can read it.
X.PP
XThe "Concede" command violates the rules, in that it allows one
Xplayer to unilaterally settle the game for the current game value.
XThis could be used to avoid an impending gammon.
X.PP
XAn apparent deficiency in VAX\-C curses makes the ^L redraw feature
Xinoperable, and causes the screen contents to be lost
Xafter using the supervisor key.
X.PP
XLdb should be distributed in vms_shar format too, and the
Xmanual should be distributed in runoff format.  Until then,
XVMS users are on their own as far as unpacking the code and formatting
Xthe manual are concerned.  Sorry.
X.PP
XVAX\-C substitutes
Xbold for reverse video, which
Xprevents the cube from looking like a cube.
X.PP
XThe messages ldb prints regarding ties, new games, etc. are lost
Xwhen the first game is displayed.  There should also be
Xmessages for other cases, such as when games are started,
Xwhen ldb is invoked and there are no games
Xwaiting for local input, and when no activity has occurred on
Xa game for a week or so.
X.PP
XThe superkey function only works when ldb is waiting for a key.
XIf ldb is doing something time-consuming, such as calculating
Xlegal moves, the superkey will not work until the calculation
Xis complete.
X.PP
XLdb should log wins and losses by opponent, and should support
Xplaying up to a point total, rather than just a single game.
X.PP
XLdb could do all kinds of helpful things, such as calculate
Xa pip count on the fly.
X.PP
XThere should be a way to play interactively (using socket connections,
Xfor example), rather than via e\-mail.
END_OF_FILE
if test 29974 -ne `wc -c <'ldb.man'`; then
    echo shar: \"'ldb.man'\" unpacked with wrong size!
fi
# end of 'ldb.man'
fi
echo shar: End of archive 4 \(of 5\).
cp /dev/null ark4isdone
MISSING=""
for I in 1 2 3 4 5 ; do
    if test ! -f ark${I}isdone ; then
    MISSING="${MISSING} ${I}"
    fi
done
if test "${MISSING}" = "" ; then
    echo You have unpacked all 5 archives.
    rm -f ark[1-9]isdone
else
    echo You still need to unpack the following archives:
    echo "        " ${MISSING}
fi
##  End of shell archive.
exit 0


exit 0 # Just in case...