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interpreter

  • noun The part of the MUD system which executes commands in the context of the current world model (commands can also be said to be 'interpreted', which is basically synonymous with 'executed' in this definition). Commands arrive non-deterministically from FEs, and are queued up on arrival. They are taken in turn, processed in full, and the results passed back to the FEs for the attention of the players. The manner in which a (MUD2) command is processed is defined in MUDDLE, but essentially it is first passed through a binder to tie the nouns to objects, then actually executed, and then output streams are examined and text despatched as necessary.

    NB: this description if for the operation of MUD2's interpreter, which is synchronous; MUD1 uses a synchronous approach, fusing the FE and interpreter into a single program and employing a system of signals and waits to guarantee single-user access to critical areas of memory. The use of the word 'interpreter' comes from the fact that the program interprets intermediate code derived from the definition language rather than executing a compiled version directly. However, as it can also be seen to 'interpret' the language of commands, the term can be applied to all such programs whether they interpret the definition language or not. The interpreter is also sometimes known as the driver. See C.


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23rd September 1999: interpreter.htm