Command Analysis CS690 Project: Modernizing the Dark Ages Talker Jeffrey K. Brown 6/22/03 This report runs down the most important commands on the Dark Ages Talker that will be implemented. Additionally, the Command Report will be taken into account, as I will implement some of the most popular commands, too. For the examples of the command's output, I will use two example names, Summoner and Penguin. Public Communication Commands: .say The .say command is the most often used command. On the command report, it is not listed, because it is the default command. It is used to communicate with all users in the same room as the user with something to say. Called using: .say Hello Everyone Summoner sees: You say: Hello Everyone Everyone sees: Summoner says: Hello Everyone .emote The .emote command is used to show emotion that humans in the real world would ordinarily communicate nonverbally with expressions. Evolution of the talker has made it used to show action as well. Called Using: .emote smiles at everyone Summoner sees: Summoner smiles at everyone Everyone sees: Summoner smiles at everyone .afk The .afk command is short for "Away from Keyboard". When this command is called, a message is displayed to the users in the room informing them of the user's intent to go away from the keyboard. Additionally, all private communication to the user is returned with a message to the sender informing them that the user is away from the keyboard. The .afk command takes a parameter that informs the rest of the room of any additional information about where the user may be going. Called using: .afk feeding the dog Summoner sees: You go .afk, feeding the dog Everyone sees: Summoner goes .afk, feeding the dog .review .review is used to review the last 20 lines of public conversation that took place in a room. If a conversation is going on and someone missed an important point, they may call this .review command and get that point again. Called using: .rev Summoner sees: Penguin says: Java is fun Summoner says: Yes, I agree Penguin nods. .cbuff Suppose someone was discussing a controversial topic and do not want anyone coming into the room later and doing a .review command and reviewing the conversation. The command, .cbuff will allow a paranoid user to clear the public conversation buffer, and protect the messages from those who have not already seen it. Called using: .cbuff Summoner sees: Conversation buffer cleared. Offline Public Communication Commands: .write Each room has a message board in it. If a user wanted to post a message that all users who enter the room may read, the user would use the .write command. The .write command takes the message to be displayed as a parameter. Called using: .write Today is Penguin's birthday Summoner sees: You write the message on the board. Everyone sees: Summoner writes a message on the board. .read To read messages on the board, one would use the .read command. Called using: .read Summoner sees: From Summoner (Jun 22, 2003: 12:45): Today is Penguin's birthday Everyone sees: Summoner reads the message board. .wipe If a message board in a room gets cluttered with too many messages, an enabled user may wipe the message board using the .wipe command. The .wipe command takes one parameter, either all or a number. If the parameter is all, all of the messages are deleted. If the parameter is a number, the line number of the message is deleted. Called using: .wipe all Summoner sees: You wipe all messages from the board. Everyone sees: Summoner wipes all messages from the board. Private Communication Commands: .tell The .tell command is the private equivalent of .say. Private commands require an additional parameter saying to whom the message is sent. These private messages are invisible to other users on the talker. Called using: .tell penguin Hi Penguin Summoner sees: You tell Penguin: Hi Penguin Penguin sees: -> Summoner tells you: Hi Penguin Everyone sees: .remote Like the .tell command, .remote is the private equivalent of .emote. This command sends an .emote privately. Called using: .remote penguin gives a high five Summoner sees: -> You emote to Penguin: Summoner gives a high five Penguin sees: -> Summoner gives a high five Everyone sees: Offline Private Communication Commands: .smail The .smail command is short for "send mail". This command stores a message in the mailbox of individual users, allowing for communication or sending of a message to a user whether they are logged on or not. Because it is private, users in the room do not see anything either. Called by: .smail penguin Hello Penguin Friend Summoner sees: Your mail is delivered to Penguin Penguin sees by .rmail: From Summoner (date and time): Hello Penguin Friend .rmail The .rmail command is short for "read mail". This command lists all the messages stored in a user's mailbox. Called by: .rmail Summoner sees: From Penguin (Jun 06 2002; 12:39): What's new buddy? From Penguin (Jun 14 2002; 15:02): Nice Joke... .dmail Mail is deleted using the .dmail command. Dmail takes one argument. Depending on whether the argument is all or a number, the .dmail command deletes either all of the mail, or the specific line number of the mail listing. Called by: .dmail all Summoner sees: All mail deleted. World Commands .help The command, .help, is used to display the online help documentation. Called by: .help Summoner sees the help file .quit The .quit command is used to disconnect the user from the system safely, saving settings and displaying a message to inform the other users that the quitting user has left. Called by: .quit Summoner sees: You leave the realm of Dark Ages, Goodbye! Everyone sees: Leaving Us: Summoner .examine .Examine is used by a user to check another user's or one's own settings, profile or user information. Called by: .examine pengin Summoner sees Penguin's user information and profile. .who The .who command displays a list of users currently signed on the system. This list includes user's name, short description, their current room, their level, and the elapsed time logged on. Called by: .who Summoner sees the list of users logged onto the system. .look The .look command displays information about the room, including the topic, the number of messages on the message board, the users in the current room, and the description of the room. Called by: .look Summoner sees the room description, users in the room, number of messages on the board and the users in the room. .idle The .idle command displays the idle time of users on the system. This gives the user an indication of whether or not a user is paying attention or not. Called by: .idle Summoner sees the list of users on the system along with their idle time. .topic The .topic command allows a user to specify or change the topic of conversation in a room. Called by: .topic Socket Programming Summoner sees: You have changed the topic to "Socket Programming" Everyone sees: Summoner changed the topic to "Socket Programming" .go The .go command is used to change from one room of the talker to another. When a user changes rooms, users in the starting room see a message notifying them that the user has left, and the users in the fininshing room see a message notifying them that the user has arrived. Called by: .go Penguin Summoner sees the description of the Penguin room Penguin sees: Summoner enters the room Everyone sees: Summoner leaves the room.