Patching the LambdaMOO Server for the eDUcore

If you are going to run a MOO based on the Diversity University eduCore on a UNIX system, there are several server patches that are desirable. Patches should be installed by creating a subdirectory named "patches" in the location of the MOO server source files, and copying the patches to there. Then, from the MOO server source files directory, use:

patch -l < patches/patchfile where "patchfile" is the name of the patch file to apply. Note that patch command switch is the letter "ell" and not the number one. These patches are specifically for the LambdaMOO Server running on UNIX systems only.

Installing the Patches

We suggest the following procedure:

1. Unpack the server package. It should create a directory named MOO-1.8.0p6 containing all the source files.

gzip -dc LambdaMOO-1.8.0p6.tar.Z | tar -xf -

2. From in the MOO-1.8.0p6 directory, issue "sh configure" to create a Makefile file for your system.

3. Edit the options.h files, as described in the LambdaMOO server README file. Usually, the only changes to make are to set the port and to uncomment the OUTBOUND_NETWORK line.

4. Use "make" to compile the server. If the server doesn't compile, first solve that problem before dealing with any patches.

5. If the server compiles successfully, proceed with installing the patches.

6. Create a "patches" subdirectory in the MOO-1.8.0p6 directory, and place all the unpacked patches there.

7. Edit the patches as needed, as described below.

8. Install the patches using the "patch" utility.

9. Use "make" again to recompile the server.

If the server now won't compile, start over, but this time recompile (with "make") after each patch is installed to determine which is the culprit.

None of the patches is actually critical for operation of the eduCore.

If you place the patch files as described, then you'll be using the following set of commands to install them:

and possibly

patch -l < patches/moo-1.8.0-FUP.errfix.patch

Recommended Patches

The recommended patches are available together as a compressed archive, or individually as listed:

pAS5

Description: Written by Alex Stewart. Provides additional built-in functions that allow the MOO to access certain UNIX time zone functions. That is preferable to using the plain MOO server's rather weak support for time zones.

File names: moo-1.8.0-pAS5.patch and moo-1.8.0-pAS5.c.patch

Installation: Although it might not be absolutely needed on your machine, it's probably a good idea to set the TZ variable in the moo-1.8.0-pAS5.c.patch file. Look for the line

+ static char tzdefault[] = "TZ=localtime";

And change `localtime' to the appropriate UNIX time zone for your site (e.g. US/Eastern). Save the changed patch file, and install BOTH patches, in the standard way.

pAS9

Description: Written by Alex Stewart. Provides backspace support for bad telnet clients. Some really poor telnet clients handle backspace/delete keys in a nonstandard way. This patch makes the MOO a bit more forgiving for those.

File name: moo-1.8.0-pAS9.patch

Installation: Install the patch in the standard way.

FUP

Description: Written by Jaime Prilusky and Gustavo Glusman. This is the File Utiltiies Pacakage system, written as patch files. FUP allows the MOO to store various sections of database information externally in files on the UNIX server. See the FUP documentation for more details on custom configuration of the FUP system. This patchfile is set to provide the most commonly desired configuration.

File names: moo-1.8.0-FUP.patch and moo-1.8.0-files.c.patch

Installation: Install BOTH patches in the standard way.

FUP.errfix

Description: This patch is to be used ONLY if there is a problem with version.c after you try using "make" to compile the system. If you get the error "`FUP_version' undeclared (first use this function)" and the compilation fails.

File name: moo-1.8.0-FUP.errfix.patch

Installation: Install this patch in the standard way, but ONLY if you get the stated error when compiling. After applying the patch, issue the "make" command again to recompile.