gvanderest/grump

Guillaume's Really Useful MUD Protocol

GRUMP 1.0

Guillaume's Really Useful MUD Protocol

Intended to be found within normal TELNET output from a game, with special delimiters. Handshaking can be possible at login using TELNET protocol specifications; however, in-game toggling is also possible via the game's own settings.

Updates in the protocol are called frames, which allow you to do two actions:

• Key - A type of update whose overwrites are intended to overwrite
• Mask - A type of update that is partial/merge, and includes additional notations

Sending a GRUMP Frame

Frames can consist of both a key- and a mask-type update, but it is expecting that it will only receive one of each or both. If multiple updates are

<grump>{"overwrite": "this overwrote an entire base key", "abc": [123,
456]}</grump>
<grump-mask>{"+abc":["added a string to the array"]}</grump-mask>

Keyframes

These are frames whose trees denote they are used for recreating base nodes. All nodes from the base downward will be removed. Only siblings at the root level will be kept intact.

Examples below have extra whitespace for readability.

Example:

Frame 1

<grump>
{
    "group": {
        "members": {
            "123": {"name": "Gui", "health": 100, "effects":["poison"]},
            "555": {"name": "Steve", "health": 200, "effects":[]}
        },
        "owner_name": "Gui"
    },
    "inventory": []
}
</grump>

Frame 2:

<grump>
{"group": {
    "members": {
        "123": {"name": "Gui", "health": 50, "effects":[]}
    }
}}
</grump>

Expectation: The group.members list will only have one person in it, but the "owner_name" node will also be removed, but the "inventory" base node would remain intact because it's a sibling root node.

{
    "group": {
        "members": {
            "123": {"name": "Gui", "health": 50, "effects":[]}
        }
    },
    "inventory": []
}

Mask Frames

Not yet defined, because it might be too complicated to be worth it.

Basic concept: Define a prefixing symbol for fields to denote an overwrite, merge, or "set" notation.

Primarily aimed for lists, this will denote how to handle a merge if a field already exists.

Any fields not prefixed with a symbol will be non-destructive, and keep sibling fields.

Prefixes:

• + Addition - If a key exists, add the two values together
• - Removal - If a key exists with a value, remov ethe vlu
• $ Set - If a value exists in both, keep it, but don't add a new one

Example Frame 1

<grump>
{"group": {
    "members": {
        "123": {"name": "Gui", "health": 100, "effects":["poison",
"weaken"]},
        "555": {"name": "Steve", "health": 200, "effects":[]},
        "980": {"name": "Bilbo", "health": 10, "effects":["bleeding"]}
    },
}}
</grump>

Frame 2

<grump-mask>
{
    "group.members.123.health": 5,
    "+group.members.123.effects": ["weaken"],  # add items, can have
duplicates
    "$group.members.123.effects": ["bleeding", "blinded"],  # add items,
as a set
    "-group.members.555.effects": ["poison"],  # delete items from a
list
    "-group.members.980": true,  # delete a node entirely
    "=group.members.555": "group.members.777",  # copy
    ">group.members.777": "group.members.888",  # move
    "?group.members.123.name": "Gui"  # test
}
</grump-mask>

• Gui - Health to 5, added bleeding and blinded and removed poison, also a second weaken.
• Delete Bilbo
• Copy Steve, we now have two Steves, great
• Move Steve from node 777 to 888
• Only apply this patch as a whole, if the name of 123 member is "Gui"

Defined Protocol Standards

Any protocol standards defined here are prefixed with "g" to denote they use the standard. The standard definitions are not exhaustive, and additional fields can always be added to further enhance your game.

gResources

Health, mana, energy, movement, currency, etc.

{
    "gResources": {
        "health": {  # custom identifier of resource
            "name": "Health",  # String (optional) assume undefined if
not provided
            "value": 10,  # Number the current value
            "minValue": 0,  # Number (optional) assume 0 if not provided
            "maxValue": 1000,  # Number (optional) assume undefined if
not provided
        }

    }
}

Potential Expansions

• Keyframe identification number, an incrementing number that does not need to increment by a set value, but is used for ordering any frames that might be received at the same time by the client-- but need ordering due to an asynchronous task being the cause for the order to change?

• Compression, denoted by to put the data in a

• Notes on TELNET implementation IAC SB GRUMP MASK {"room":{"exits": ... }} IAC SE IAC SB GRUMP SET {"room": {"name": "The Hall of Heroes", ... }} IAC SE

• Masking similar to http://jsonpatch.com/