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KaVir · 07-30-2010, 10:50 AM

That's pretty good, but do they permit you to host muds as well?

Depends on the documentation, but if the codebase you look at is too large and intimidating, you could just download a instead.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great to see people creating muds from scratch. I just disagree with the idea that it should be done because it's easier than using an existing codebase.

For a typical hobby developer, the cost of maintenance is indeed a constant $0 regardless of language - which is more than can be said for the hosting costs.

However if you're using a well-developed codebase, it shouldn't require much in the way of maintenance anyway. How often do LPmud developers need to maintain their drivers?

A fair point, but you did also respond to the discussion by suggesting writing a mud from scratch as the alternative. My argument is that there are many other alternatives, and I wouldn't suggest starting from scratch purely because you don't want to use Diku, at least not without first considering the other alternatives out there.

The primary advantage of languages such as Python is in terms of development speed. If you're writing commercial software, faster development means it's cheaper to produce. If the codebase already has the core functionality you require, then you don't need to develop it yourself, because it's already been done for you. You don't see people taking large C programs and translating them into Python just for the sake of having them in Python.

And what if you don't?

What if you want to write "a tiny and highly optimised mud server with embedded support for a high-level scripting language"?

What if you want to write "a fun mud using no more than 16K of source code"?

What if you want to write "a mud with processor-intensive functionality but a low hosting cost"?

What if you want to write "a mud that lets me showcase and/or reuse my extensive archive of C snippets"?

What if you want to write "a mud just like my favourite Diku derivative, but with a few changes here and there"?

Maybe you even just want to write "a mud in a particular programming that I personally enjoy using". As I said before, identify what you want to do first, and then decide on the appropriate tool for the job. If it really is simply the case that you enjoy programming in Python, and the mud is your hobby, then of course you should take that into account - the hobby isn't going to last long if you don't enjoy it! But even if you decide you want to write the mud in Python, that doesn't mean you have to start from scratch.

07-30-2010, 10:50 AM	#6
KaVir Legend Join Date: Apr 2002 Name: Richard Home MUD: God Wars II Posts: 2,052	Re: Developing from scratch That's pretty good, but do they permit you to host muds as well? Depends on the documentation, but if the codebase you look at is too large and intimidating, you could just download a instead. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great to see people creating muds from scratch. I just disagree with the idea that it should be done because it's easier than using an existing codebase. For a typical hobby developer, the cost of maintenance is indeed a constant $0 regardless of language - which is more than can be said for the hosting costs. However if you're using a well-developed codebase, it shouldn't require much in the way of maintenance anyway. How often do LPmud developers need to maintain their drivers? A fair point, but you did also respond to the discussion by suggesting writing a mud from scratch as the alternative. My argument is that there are many other alternatives, and I wouldn't suggest starting from scratch purely because you don't want to use Diku, at least not without first considering the other alternatives out there. The primary advantage of languages such as Python is in terms of development speed. If you're writing commercial software, faster development means it's cheaper to produce. If the codebase already has the core functionality you require, then you don't need to develop it yourself, because it's already been done for you. You don't see people taking large C programs and translating them into Python just for the sake of having them in Python. And what if you don't? What if you want to write "a tiny and highly optimised mud server with embedded support for a high-level scripting language"? What if you want to write "a fun mud using no more than 16K of source code"? What if you want to write "a mud with processor-intensive functionality but a low hosting cost"? What if you want to write "a mud that lets me showcase and/or reuse my extensive archive of C snippets"? What if you want to write "a mud just like my favourite Diku derivative, but with a few changes here and there"? Maybe you even just want to write "a mud in a particular programming that I personally enjoy using". As I said before, identify what you want to do first, and then decide on the appropriate tool for the job. If it really is simply the case that you enjoy programming in Python, and the mud is your hobby, then of course you should take that into account - the hobby isn't going to last long if you don't enjoy it! But even if you decide you want to write the mud in Python, that doesn't mean you have to start from scratch.