Hello all, I've recently got the itch to learn a new skill, and since I love muds and computer gaming in general thought I'd try my hand at learning some programming. I figured what better way to learn then to mess around with coding a mud. So I was just curious what codebase you all would suggest. Although I never plan on opening this mud I do have an interest in classless systems, and while I'm sure any codebase can be made classless given enough time and ingenuity I was curious if there is a certain codebase that is just more suited to that type of system. Thanks in advance for your responses.

I've always been fond of the good ole fashion "dikumud" codebase.

You can use Diku of course. But if you're looking for a codebase that you can use for learning programming I'd advice that you start with something more developed. Merc, Rom, Smaug, or whatever suits your taste.

Either of these can be turned classless (though Merc or Rom would be easier than Smaug) with a little work. I advice that you start with simpler things first though. Start with doing small changes and see how the mud reacts. Then install some well-documentet snippets, and try to change them to your taste. To learn programming commands and skills it's easiest to start by copying the code of another command/skill that does something similar, then change whatever needs changing to turn it into what you want.

Once you've done these things for a while, you can start coding new features from scratch. Also, and this is very important, buy a good book on C programming. Read, code, compile, code, compile, then read some more and start again from step one.

The reason I don't suggest starting with Diku is because you will probably have to do a lot of work to shape it into what you need (depending on what that is). Once you've gained more experience though, Diku can provide a good base for your new mud.

This is just my two cents anyway. Good luck!