[Wesnoth-bugs] [support #102787] A Server that works with all official wesnoth releases

[Guillaume Melquiond]

This mail is an automated notification from the support tracker
 of the project: Battle for Wesnoth.

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[support #102787] Latest Modifications:

Changes by: 
                Guillaume Melquiond <address@hidden>
'Date: 
                dim 02.01.2005 at 15:39 (Europe/Paris)

            What     | Removed                   | Added
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Resolution | None                      | Invalid
              Status | Open                      | Closed


------------------ Additional Follow-up Comments ----------------------------
Why is that a "Technical Support Request"? Closing.






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[support #102787] Full Item Snapshot:

URL: <http://savannah.nongnu.org/support/?func=detailitem&item_id=102787>
Project: Battle for Wesnoth
Submitted by: Blackbeard
On: dim 01.02.2004 at 12:05

Category:  None
Priority:  5 - Normal
Severity:  7 - Major
Resolution:  Invalid
Privacy:  Public
Assigned to:  None
Originator Email:  
Status:  Closed


Summary:  A Server that works with all official wesnoth releases

Original Submission:  The current approach is to develop the wesnothd server to 
match each release. This is major drawback to multiplaying. I almost set the 
severity to blocker because of this.

The way wesnoth intergrates multiplaying into the game almost requires specific 
servers, but intergrating it is not neccessary.

Rather, design a wesnoth transport protocol (WTP) that standardises data 
exchange between clients and the need for several servers vanishes.

Briefly, what HTTP is to HTML, WTP is to WML. While HTML has expanded and 
evolved, so WML can expand and evolve with wesnoth's development, but, just as 
HTTP has remained substantially unchanged for years, so WTP can remain static.

wesnoth places different demands on the transport layer, compared with HTTP, so 
at best we can only say they are both network protocols. Some requirements, in 
no particular order, are:

1- Broadcast (WML) game data to all participating players and observers.
2- Interleave data transfers so all clients get serviced regularly and clients 
moving a high volume don't hog the server.
3- Check for reconnects and remove the old connection without disturbing a 
possible game in progress.
4- Use a discovery method to identify a client's version and optionally its 
current configuration.
5- Resend data to a client who requests it.
6- Include a (WML) data compression option for clients that support it.
7- The protocol should be symetrical, as telnet is, so one implementation will 
work for both server and client.
8- The network sub-system is modular, based loosely on the 7 layer ISO model.
9- Build the network as a static or dynamic library. Players need only install 
an upgrade for their version, if neccessary. This is particularly important for 
binary only distributions (read Windows).

This does not mean different versions can play a game together. The server 
allows clients to negotiate with each other (the negotiation is _not_ part of 
the protocol) and accept or deny based on compatibilty factors only. It does 
mean that all clients can connect and participate.

In short, the protocol allows wesnoth applications to talk directly with each 
other, as though the remote apps are another ai (for example) in the local app. 
This means the current client/server method used need not be substantially 
modified.


Follow-up Comments
------------------


-------------------------------------------------------
Date: dim 02.01.2005 at 15:39       By: Guillaume Melquiond <silene>
Why is that a "Technical Support Request"? Closing.












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<http://savannah.nongnu.org/support/?func=detailitem&item_id=102787>

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