root/1.8.3/tags/p6/CHANGES.OLD

This is the old changes file for PennMUSH.  Changes are reported in reverse
chronological order (more recent first.) Starting with 1.7.4, each minor
version has its own changelog, in CHANGES.174 and so on.

[TN] is Thorvald Natvig, a PennMUSH developer (aka Trivian)
[TAP] is T. Alexander Popiel, a former PennMUSH developer (aka Talek)
[SW] is Shawn Wagner, a PennMUSH developer (aka Raevnos)
[LdW] is Luuk de Waard, a former PennMUSH developer (aka Halatir)
[RLM] is Ralph Melton, a former PennMUSH developer
[NJG] is Nick Gammon, the former Win32 porter
[DW] is Dan Williams, the former MacOS porter
[2.2] refers to code which originated with the TinyMUSH 2.2 developers
[3] refers to code by (or inspired by) TinyMUSH 3.0
[Rhost] refers to code by (or inspired by) RhostMUSH

==========================================================================

Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 14                    January 29, 2001

Major Changes:
      * Commands and functions can now be aliased to other names
        in mush.cnf, so you can provide translated command names
        as well as the english one, etc. Suggested at various times
        by Krad@M*U*S*H and David@M*U*S*H. New file aliases.cnf
        in game/ is created to put these command_alias and function_alias
        directives (as well as reserve_alias). [SW]
Minor Changes:
      * smalloc and bigram compression options are no longer supported. [SW]
      * Internal improvements to @search/lsearch, which are now more
        consistent with one another. [SW]
      * mush.cnf options that refer to dbrefs now understand #<number> as 
        well as just <number>. They are also formatted as dbrefs in @config 
        and config(). [SW]
      * Much longer game/names.cnf file contributed by Kyieren@M*U*S*H.
      * New internal function notify_format() to replace notify+tprintf
        more safely. [SW]
      * Tweaks to network activity timeout code. [SW]
      * @stat and lstats no longer needs to scan the entire database. [SW]
Commands:
      * @switch and @select can now take a /notify switch, like @dolist.
      * Players may @chown by dbref, but they must still be carrying
        the object if it's a thing. Suggested by Kyieren@M*U*S*H.
      * @clone can now clone rooms. Suggested by Kyieren@M*U*S*H.
      * @verb's matching of the <actor> argument has been relaxed so
        non-privileged objects can use it on remote actors, if the normal
        permission checks succeed. This makes @verb much more useful for zones
        and master room objects. [SW]
Attributes:
      * @forwardlist [2.2,SW]
Functions:
      * itemize() takes a list "a b c" and produces "a, b, and c" and 
        similar tricks. Also callable as elist() for Rhost compatibility.
      * ilev() returns the current iter nesting level. [Rhost,SW]
Fixes:
      * When indexing help files, ones that aren't in the right format
        weren't being properly closed. Report by Nammyung@M*U*S*H. [SW]
      * We're much more forgiving about help files that start with
        blank lines now.
      * Help updates by Kyieren@M*U*S*H, [SW]
      * Games w/o MAIL_ALIAS couldn't load maildbs that had mail aliases.
        Reported by Nymeria. [SW]
      * max_pennies had a limit of 10,000 in conf.c, even though it
        has always defaulted to 100,000. Reported by Intrevis@M*U*S*H.
      * src/filecopy.c didn't include hdrs/log.h. Fixed by Noltar@Korongil.
      * MacOS portability fixes. [DW]
      * vsnprintf used in place of vsprintf everywhere when available. [SW]
      * Cleanup of @atrlock code. [SW]
      * '#' without any trailing numbers was treated as #0 when used as a 
         dbref. [SW]
      * Added explicit checking for lower-case letters in good_atr_name(). [SW]
      * Trying to set an attribute with a bad name now gives a better 
        error message. [SW] 
      * Fix to potential overflow bug in revwords. [SW]
      * Fix to potential overflow bug in @grep. [SW]
      * Configure checks for snprintf. Systems unfortunate enough not to
        have this (Solaris 2.5.1, for example) are stuck with sprintf.
        Report by Broncalo@DuneIII.
      * CHARGES were decremented whenever an A-attribute would be 
        executed, *even if the attribute wasn't set on the object*.
        Reported by Kyieren@M*U*S*H.

Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 13                    January 9, 2001

Major Changes:
      * Semaphores may use attributes other than SEMAPHORE. These 
        "named semaphores" make it easier to have multiple semaphores
        waiting on the same object. [SW]
      * New attribute flag AF_NODUMP prevents attributes from being
        dumped to the db. It applies to QUEUE, SEMAPHORE, and attributes
        used as named SEMAPHORES. [SW]
Commands:
      * @wait/until can be used to put commands on the wait queue until
        some absolute time (in secs) is reached. [SW]
      * @cpattr/noflagcopy copies attribute data without flags.
        Same for @mvattr. Suggested by Noltar@Korongil.
Functions:
      * foreach() takes start and end arguments like TM3/MUX2. [3,SW]
      * locate() has a new option to force matching the preferred type, 
        and an undocumented option to eliminate ambiguous matching is now
        documented. [SW] 
Minor Changes:
      * Experimental support for translating 8-bit accented characters to HTML
        entities for Pueblo. [SW]
      * Objects without a @lock/zone that are used as zones are noticed and 
        warned about during dbcks. [SW]
      * Some people prefer that +channel "foo now cause you to say "foo 
        on the channel, instead of stripping the initial quote. Now
        it's a mush.cnf option (chat_strip_quote). Suggested by Dave Milford.
      * isint() now ignores tiny_math, so isint(foo) will always return 0. [SW] 
Fixes:
      * Hopefully fixed a problem with puppets doing look for non-Pueblo
        players with Pueblo support turned on. The line after the look
        could appear to come from the puppet even if it didn't. [SW]
      * If you disabled a command with a one-character token (like say),
        then running the command with the token ("hi!) would fail, but 
        wouldn't return the right thing for $command matching. Now it
        returns the canoncalized raw command (SAY hi!) so you can trap
        it in softcode. Reported by Mackenzie@SWGT Mush  
      * General linting [SW]
      * Help fixes by Eratl@M*U*S*H.
      * make customize doesn't try to link mkindx any more. And README and
        os2/Makefile don't refer to it either. By Bobby Bailey (Chil@M*U*S*H).
      * The internal tprintf() function is safer. [SW]
      * Crash bug in @edit fixed, and @edit code is cleaned up. [SW] 
      * max_pennies documented in mush.cnf. Noted by Oriens@Alexandria
      * cmdlocal.dst now includes cmds.h. Reported by David@M*U*S*H.


Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 12                    January 4, 2001

Locks:
      * A new @lock/chzone, set on a ZMO, controls who may @chzone
        objects to the ZMO. This can simplify multi-player building
        using ZMOs. Suggested by David@M*U*S*H
Commands:
      * @wcheck/me checks all of a player's objects for them.
Functions:
      * cflags() function gets channel flags.
      * ctitle() gets channel title for an object. Suggested by Luke@M*U*S*H.
      * strinsert() function does insert() on strings. Suggested by
        Reagan@M*U*S*H. [SW]
      * channels() on an object you can't examine now shows you channels 
        that you have in common with it. Suggested by Trispis@M*U*S*H
Minor changes:
      * Runaway objects are now logged, along with the command that
        pushed them over the edge. Suggested by Trispis@M*U*S*H.
      * All instances of fprintf(stderr,...) after logging is started
        are now handled through do_rawlog(LT_ERR,...). By David@M*U*S*H.
      * @atrchown works more reasonably. [SW]
      * @lock/link on an unlinked exit restricts who may link it.
      * Everyone (even mortals) sees object names at the top of
        their descriptions when they look at them. Suggested by Jeff
        Ferrell most recently.
      * New reserve_alias mush.cnf directive makes run-time command
        alias reservation possible. Suggested by Jeff Ferrell.
      * Mortals may use @command to get info about commands. Suggested by
        Chili@M*U*S*H.
      * Messages logged during help file indexing distinguish indexing
        of admin topics. Suggested by mith@M*U*S*H
Fixes:
      * Help fixes by [SW], Jeff Ferrell, mith@M*U*S*H, Mirth@AtheneuMUSH.
      * Help update to @cpattr based on behavior noted by Noltar@Korongil.
      * cwho and @chan/who behave better with hidden (@hide) players.
        Reported by Reagan@M*U*S*H.
      * MUSHes with no @functions crashed on @list calls due to a 
        problem with the hashtable code. Reported by Whiskey. [SW]
      * A bug in handling of errors under debug in process_expression
        was reported by Reagan@M*U*S*H. [SW]
      * Rare memory leak in process_expression fixed. [SW] 
      * Inconsistencies in the handling of destroyed objects/players
        and their locations fixed. [SW]
      * The QUEUE attribute was not properly cleared on restart
        for non-player objects. It was buggy in other ways, too. [SW]
      * The AF_SAFE attribute flag couldn't be reset. Reported by
        Pegasus@StarQuest.
      * @teleporting into garbage could cause crashes. Reported by Howie
      * The help_command and ahelp_command directives now look for
        whitespace generally, not spaces specifically. 
        Suggested by Krad@M*U*S*H
      * SIGHUP once again re-reads the config file. [SW]
      * If an exit @created an object, that object would be inside the exit 
        until the next dbck. Now it is created in the exit's source room. [SW]
      * Turning the lowest possible integer number into a string could 
        result in garbage output. [SW]
      * Solaris needed arpa/nameser.h before resolv.h in mysocket.c

Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 11                    December 4, 2000

Minor changes:
      * Added 'comsys' as help alias for 'chat'. Suggested by David@M*U*S*H
      * New win32 project files and MSVC build instructions by Jenny Lind.
Fixes:
      * Improved test for non-broken getdate and getnameinfo.
      * Loading panic dumps does better on chatdb. By Maverick@M*U*S*H
      * You may leave a channel even if you're the wrong type
        to get onto it. Suggested by Cheetah@M*U*S*H.
      * Typo in the win32 strcasecmp code fixed [NJG]
      * stddev's algorithm improved. [TAP]
      * If the go command is restricted, other commands produce spurious
        errors during the exit-matching phase of command parsing.
        Reported by Jamie@M*U*S*H

Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 10                    November 20, 2000

Major Changes:
      * Improved detection of errors saving the game. If any problems 
        are encountered, the save is aborted, and online admins notified so
        they can fix the problem before finding out about it too late. [SW] 
Flags:
      * The INHERIT flag has been renamed TRUST, which better describes
        its function. INHERIT remains as an alias.
Commands:
      * @chan now takes /ungag, /unhide, and /unmute as well as the
        usual @chan/gag <channel>=no. By David@M*U*S*H.
Minor Changes:
      * money() called on a no_pay player returns the value of
        MAX_PENNIES to ease softcode checks. Suggested by Oriens@Alexandria.
      * Removed help and &help entries from the distributed pennmush.nws
        because people will generally want to override them anyway
        and we shouldn't introduce problems. Suggested by Jeff Heinen.
      * safe_str and friends optimize trivial 0 and 1 letter strings. [SW]
      * A version of word-based compression that's almost 8-bit clean
        is now included. [SW]
      * We now use stricmp and friends for strcasecmp and friends on
        Win32, rather than roll our own. [SW]
Fixes:
      * @mail aliases couldn't be used by players who didn't have
        permissions to see the alias members, which is wrong.
        Fixed now. Report by Grinna@M*U*S*H.
      * lnum(1) and lnum(0,0) were broken. Report by Jeff Ferrell 
      * Help updates. [SW]
      * @set obj/notanattribute=flag now returns a 'No such attribute' error.
        Reported by David@M*U*S*H. [SW]
      * Help file indexing tries to detect files that aren't in the right 
        format. [SW]
      * function restrictions were checking the wrong object. [SW] 
      * objmem and playermem counted eval-locks and atr-locks incorrectly. 
        Reported by Javin@DynamixMUSH. [SW]
      * Fixes to win32 NT_TCP stuff. [NJG]
      * Rare memory leak in do_page fixed by David@M*U*S*H. 

Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 9                    November 20, 2000

Major Changes:
      * Help files and their associated commands are now defined with
        the 'help_command' (or 'ahelp_command') directive 
        in mush.cnf. So you can translate the help to french and
        add an "aidez-moi" command if you like. [SW]
      * Help file indexes are now kept in memory and built by the
        server. The mkindx program is no longer used. [SW]
      * Added restrict_function and @function/restrict, like the versions 
        for commands. [SW]
      * User @functions can now override built-in functions, if you
        @function/delete the built-in first. You can also @function/restore
        the built-in back. [SW]
Attributes:
      * @[oa]zenter and @[oa]zleave on ZMOs are triggered when someone
        enters or leaves a given zone. Motion between rooms in the same
        zone doesn't trigger these. "Zone" is based on the mover's
        absolute room (outermost container) so that entering and leaving
        an unzoned object in a zoned room doesn't trigger these either.
        Suggested by Michael Kurtz.
Commands:
      * New /silent switch for @teleport without @[o|a|ox]tport msgs.
Minor Changes:
      * Still less allocation involved in outputting text to connections. [SW]
      * @scan has better output when multiple attribs match. [SW]
      * Added internal absolute_room function for use by fun_room
        and move.c and wiz.c, etc.
      * MEM_CHECK now uses a sorted linked list and is faster. [SW]
Fixes:
      * References to kill_timer removed from win32 sections. [SW]
      * conf.c reports error via logging routines, not fprintf. [SW]
      * Assorted minor bug and warning fixes. [SW]
      * Fix to example in help regedit by Amberyl.
      * @wait and other timing functions were broken under win32.
        Fixed now. [LdW]


Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 8                    November 12, 2000

Major Changes:
      * Objects' names are stored in a string tree like attributes, so
        we don't have hundreds of copies of 'West <W>;west;w' and such
        taking up memory. Attribute name "hash table" is now a strtree. [SW]
      * We no longer use alarm() to know when to run stuff on the queue. [SW]
      * @shutdown/reboot is now supported on Windows builds. This is
        slightly experimental. By Revian.
Minor Changes:
      * %qa-%qz now operate as global registers like %q0-%q9. 
        Suggested by Trispis@M*U*S*H and probably others.
      * Hashtable lookups are faster (collision chains are sorted) [SW]
      * @uptime/mortal suppresses the extra process information [SW]
      * Wizard @uptime prints better process information on linux. [SW]
      * @listen, @filter and @infilter respect the REGEXP and CASE attribute 
        flags.  Suggested by Maestro@M*U*S*H [SW]
      * Having many @waits or semaphores is more efficient, because we
        sort those queues by time and we stop looking sooner. [SW]
      * User-defined lock names must follow the same rules as attribute 
        names. The name part of attrib and eval locks have to also. [SW]
      * @chan/title's confirmation message is nicer. [SW]
      * Minor optimizations related to strcpy() and malloc() overhead. [SW]
      * safe_format uses vsnprintf if your system has it. By Luke@M*U*S*H.
      * replace_string is safer. By Luke@M*U*S*H.
Fixes:
      * iter() is smarter about quitting when the function invocation
        limit is reached or the buffer is filled. [TAP]
      * lnum() has been greatly sped up. [TAP]
      * RWHO references removed from game/mushcnf.dst, game/restart,
        etc. by mith@M*U*S*H.
      * Fix to help filter by Revian.
      * COMPRESSION_TYPE 0 didn't compile. Report by David@M*U*S*H.
      * Clarification of @lock/teleport in help @elock by Envinyatar@M*U*S*H
      * Compiling w/o MAIL_ALIASES didn't declare load_maliases.
        Reported by Envinyatar@M*U*S*H
      * clone() was stomping %0-%9. Report by Revian.
      * @dol with an empty list now does the right thing (nothing)
        instead of running the command once. Report by Linda Naughton [SW]
      * spname cleanup by mith@M*U*S*H.
      * Fixed a bug in @function function-name [SW]
      * make update should finally handle CHAT_TOKEN_ALIAS right.
        It's also smarter with mush.cnf
      * isword() on a null string now returns 0. Suggested by Ashen-Shugar.
      * channels(object) returns a better error when object isn't matched.
        Suggested by Trispis.
      * Fix to help rand() to reflect actual error return value. Reported
        by Philip Mak.
      * More translated strings noted by Krad.
      * Problems with encrypt()'s logic fixed by Ashen-Shugar. [Rhost]
      * Other encrypt() sillyness fixed by Brazil.
      * Potential crashers around DEBUG and other buffer overruns
        have been fixed. Report by Tajan and Rimnar. [SW]
      * notify_anything allocates less memory. [SW]
      * Fixed mistagged memcheck "restart.descriptor". 
      * MacOS portability changes. Should build on MacOS X public beta
        (Darwin) systems nearly straightaway. [DW]
      * Restart script test for already-running MUSH condensed to one
        line. Suggested most recently by Cory Albrecht.
      * Serious crash bug in page fixed. Reported by Revian.
      * Win32 bugs fixed by Luke@M*U*S*H: problems with dumping
        compression suffixes, problems with @uptime
      * MUSH no longer crashes if a player alias is > 32 chars in length.
        It truncates names that are too long instead. By Luke@M*U*S*H.
      * We don't check AF_PRIVATE attributes for $/^commands on children.
        By Luke@M*U*S*H.
      * Under win32, the MUSH would often start ignoring commands from
        players after the first 98 per connection. Fixed by Revian.
        
Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 7                    October 12, 2000

Functions:
      * filterbool(), for TM3 compatibility. Like filter(),
        but tests for any true value, not just 1. [3,SW]
      * case(), for TM3 compatibility, and caseall().  Like switch() 
        and switchall(), but does an exact match, not wildcard. [3,SW]
      * valid() takes more categories. [SW]
      * localize(), for TM3 compatibility. Like a cross between
        s() and ulocal(). [3,SW]
Commands:
      * @break, for Rhost compatibility. Stops processing the
        current action list. [Rhost,SW]
      * @enable and @disable can be used on any boolean config option. [SW]
      * @function/enable and @function/disable for built-ins
      * @function function-name reports some information on the function,
        like @command command-name.
Flags:
      * New attribute flag 'safe' prevents accidental modification.
        Suggested by Stephen Viscido. [TAP]
Minor Changes:
      * The daytime config option is no more. Do a few @searches in
        its honor. [SW]
      * lsearch() permission is controlled by @search, and entrances()
        by @entrances, for consistency with other functions that have
        a corresponding command. [SW]
      * The number of reboots is tracked, and the restarts() function
        added, for TM3 compatibility. [3,SW]
      * Rearranged some compile flags to suit systems that have
        /usr/local/include/ident.h. By Luiz Claudio Duarte.
      * More strings marked for translation. By Krad@M*U*S*H
      * :, [, ], (, and ) are no longer legal in attribute names
        due to ambiguities and security issues. [TAP,SW]
      * Ranges in @search, lsearch() and @find can be either #dbrefs or 
        (for backwards compatibility), integers. Inspired by ElendorMUSH. [SW]
      * Broadcast messages in bsd.c replaced with GAME prefix.
        Suggested by Krad@M*U*S*H.
Fixes:
      * Fixed a bug in filter() where it only looked
        at the first character of the evaluated attribute. [SW]
      * Some more noise from info_slave was removed. [SW]
      * do_pcreate and do_chownall now live in game.h and not
        externs.h. Reported by Maestro@M*U*S*H.
      * Clean-up of atr_add calls in void context. [TAP]
      * IPv6 buglet fixed. Report by Vexon@M*U*S*H. [SW]
      * @config/set can no longer be used to set options in the files   
        and messages categories, as this has icky consequences. [SW]
      * Fixed a logic bug in letters_to_privs where not all the letters 
        were being turned into privs properly. Report by Bolt@M*U*S*H [SW]
      * Fix to isint() so that isint(1a) is 0. [SW]
      * Added safe_boolean internal function, and fixed a hang bug
        in edit() reported by Walker@M*U*S*H. [SW]
      * Fixed problems in panic dumps/reads of maildb and chatdb. [SW]
      * @edit is a bit more efficient. [SW]
      * Assorted lock structures are allocated in big chunks like 
        attribute structures, to save malloc overhead. [SW]
      * User-defined lock names are stored in the attribute name tree. [SW]
      * Various help fixes [SW, Javelin]
      * LASTLOGOUT time now forces two-digit day for convtime niceness. [SW]
      * Very large malias names or member lists could cause buffer 
        overruns. [SW]
      * Buffer overrun fix, fix to str_chr. [TAP]
      * tprintfs removed from DEBUG output so DEBUG doesn't mess up
        messages in ^-commands anymore. [TAP]

Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 6                    September 20, 2000

Minor Changes:
      * Translation files are now archived separately on the ftp site.
      * A variety of options.h settings have been removed.
        EXTENDED_ANSI, DUMP_EMPTY_ATTRS, DUMP_LESS_GARBAGE and the *_LOCK 
        defines are totally gone. [SW]
        OLD_NEWLINES, DELETE_ATTRS and VISIBLE_EMPTY_ATTRS have been 
        moved out of options.h as they're special-purpose. [SW]
      * More common function error messages were made into variables 
        rather than being hardcoded in as string literals. [SW]
      * If a player is set HALT, their queued commands will not run.
      * Speedup in process_expression. [TAP].
Functions:
      * The regedit(?:all)?i? family of functions, like perl's s///. [SW]
      * Case-insenstive versions of regrab() and regraball(). [SW]
      * etimefmt(), which is to timestring() as timefmt() is to time(). [SW]
Fixes:
      * Error messages that were already variables are now translated. [SW]
      * Fixes to various metaconfig rules. [SW]
      * Open_Anywhere and Link_Anywhere were sharing the same
        bitmask. Fixed. [SW]
      * You can escape : in $command patterns that are being regexp-
        matched now. [SW]
      * Rewrites of the regexp functions so that, say, regrab() and
        regraball() point to the same actual code, using called_as to 
        know when to stop. They also use PCRE's match optimizing 
        pcre_study() function when appropriate. [SW]
      * Buglets in game/restart and game/mushcnf.dst fixed.
        Reported by Krad and Nymeria at M*U*S*H.
      * page_aliases directive in mush.cnf works now. Report by Nymeria.
      * Same for float_precision. Report by Oleo@M*U*S*H.
      * mushtype.h now included in compress.c. [DW]
      * Less noise in log/netmush.log from failed ident queries.
      * More strings marked for translation.
      * Fixes to problems with @search reported by Oleo@M*U*S*H. 
      * Weird evaluation of functions in softcoded commands fixed. [TAP]
      * Cleanup of typos here and there by Padraic@M*U*S*H.


Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 5                    September 7, 2000

Minor Changes:
      * FLOATING_POINT is no longer an option (it's always on). [SW]
      * EXTENDED_ANSI defaults to enabled. [SW]
Attributes:
      * @receive/@oreceive/@areceive triggered on the recipient
        after a get or give, so you've got access to who caused
        you to acquire the object and the object's dbref now.
      * @give/@ogive/@agive triggered on the giver with object's
        dbref in %0. Suggested by Oriens@Alexandria. 
Fixes:
      * Fixes for systems with broken or incomplete IPv6 support. [SW]
      * Uses of index() changed to strchr() for consistency. [SW]
      * Much removal of duplicate function prototypes and rearranging
        of headers.  hdrs/globals.h is now hdrs/case.h. hdrs/intrface.h is 
        no more, and hdrs/boolexp.h, hdrs/log.h were added. [SW]
      * @search supports "quoted player names".
      * We no longer report failed connect to ident servers in the log.

Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 4                    August 8, 2000

Major Changes:
      * Internationalization:
        * Support for international time formats via LC_TIME locale [SW]
        * Support for message translation
        * Support for locale-sensitive ordering of strings (LC_COLLATE) [SW]
        To take advantage of the new features, you should have your
        LANG environment variable set to an appropriate locale 
        before you 'make install' (which will cause the right message
        catalog to be compiled), and you should see the section 
        in game/restart for setting it there (which will actually cause
        the server to use it).
      * IPv6 support [SW]
Commands:
      * @dolist/delim and @map/delim [SW]
      * @stats/tables [SW]
      * SESSION command displays session statistics (experimental) [SW]
Functions:
      * uldefault(), like udefault but saves registers like ulocal() [SW]
      * switchall(), for Tiny compatibility. [SW]
      * cemit() with an option to act like @cemit/noisy [SW]
      * vmin() and vmax(), for returning the min and max of each pair in two
        vectors. [SW]
      * utctime(), convutcsecs() for UTC/GMT time instead of server-local. [SW]
      * convtime() uses getdate() if present, along with a variety of templates
      * that it can accept. [SW]
      * timefmt() - like the strftime() C function. [SW]
      * pcreate() side effect function suggested by Adamas and Padraic@M*U*S*H
      * starttime() now returns the first startup time, and 
        restarttime() returns the time of the last @shutdown/reboot [SW]
Minor Changes:
      * +help is mentioned in help help. Suggested by Trispis@M*U*S*H.
      * include directive for config files, with an example moving all
        the restrict_command's to another file. [SW]
      * make indent runs expand, then indent, because indent doesn't seem to
        handle tabs very well. [SW]
      * index-files.pl sorts patchlevels correctly. Patch by Jeff
        Heinen.
      * LASTLOGOUT attribute records logout time, like LAST, but not
        visual. Suggested by Oriens@Alexandria, and others.
      * Internal cleanup by David@M*U*S*H. New @config category 'messages',
        no more OBJECT_ENDOWMENT or OBJECT_DEPOSIT macros, etc.
      * Internal functions safe_integer(), safe_number(), and safe_dbref()
        to replace safe_str(unparse_FOO(data), buff, bp) calls  [SW]
      * You can now @trigger an attribute containing a $command or
        ^listen and it'll work (skipping the $...: or ^...: parts).
        So you can now do this:
         &DO_WHO obj=$who *: @pemit %#=[u(who,%0)]
         &DO_+WHO obj=$+who *: @tr me/do_who=%0
        (But you can do this much more efficiently with regexp...)
Fixes:
      * table() is less CPU-intensive in extreme cases. [SW]
      * Hopefully, Configure now determines pagesize on FreeBSD.
        Method suggested by Matt Harris.
      * CHAT_TOKEN_ALIAS comment clarification by Oleo@M*U*S*H.
      * pcre regexp engine updated to version 3.4.
      * Typo in @chan/who fixed by Vexon@M*U*S*H.
      * @attribute/access won't modify AF_INTERNAL attributes now.
      * Additional win32 portability fixes. [NJG]
      * con() was buggy in a bad way. Fixed now.
      * Configure -d should now work on linux systems that don't have
        crypt libraries. Reports by mith and Inek@M*U*S*H.
      * Fix to Z_TEL on things.
      * Help fix to @lock5 by Datron@SW2.
Languages:
      * Swedish and Hungarian translations for most strings are
        included in this patchlevel.


Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 3                    July 12, 2000

Major Changes:
      * Restrictions to the 7-bit ascii charset have largely been removed
        except in attribute names, to help international users. [SW]
      * If available, we now use setlocale to support international
        charsets (and eventually other conventions, though this should
        be considered experimental). If you set your LC_CTYPE environment
        variable to, say, 'fr_FR', french-accented characters should work.
        Wide (multibyte) charsets are not supported.
Minor Changes:
      * Internal cleanup of page/whisper code by David@M*U*S*H.
      * New mush.cnf directive, page_aliases, for showing alias of
        paging player. Supported by code by David@M*U*S*H.
        Requested by many. A contrib version by Flame dates to 1996.
      * @chat on a non-existant channel returns an error message. [SW]
      * Two new CRYPT_SYSTEM options. One checks both SHS and crypt(3)
        for passwords, and saves them back using SHS. The other does 
        the same for plaintext passwords. These should encourage folks
        who currently use crypt(3) to make a painless move to SHS. [SW]
Commands:
      * @remit can take /silent and /noisy switches now. Suggested by
        Philip Mak.
      * @lemit and @emit can take /silent switch. [SW]
      * @config/set can set configuration parameters at runtime. [SW]
Functions:
      * The set algebra functions can be given a sort order for output. [SW]
Fixes:
      * CHAT_TOKEN_ALIAS could get defined w/o a character value.
        Added a better explanation of CHAT_TOKEN_ALIAS in options.h.dist.
        and fixed utils/update.pl to handle commented defines that take 
        values a bit better. Report by Nymeria@M*U*S*H.
      * You can no longer initiate following a disconnected player.
        Report by Dave@Galactic.
      * CHANGES for 1.7.1 and 1.7.0 were missing. Back now.
      * Typo in options.h.dist corrected. Report by Padraic@M*U*S*H.
      * Small Configure portability improvements.
      * Better handling of cases where the maildb has messages from
        dbrefs that are out of range (due to truncating a db to remove
        corruption, for example). Suggested by Ashen-Shugar.
      * We now check for sitelocked sites before asking info_slave to
        do ident lookups.
      * Many help clarifications. [SW]
      * linux Configure can use nm to find symbols, finally.
      * help locate() now includes the z flag.


Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 2                    June 3, 2000

Commands:
      * New @sitelock options to control access to god, wizards, admin
        by site. [SW]
      * @force can now take /noeval [SW]

Functions:
      * squish() can take a second argument to squish non-spaces. [SW]
      * div(), floordiv(), modulo(), and remainder(), a set of functions
        jointly adopted by MUSH and MUX servers for compatibility. [TAP]
      * @@() and null() functions suggested by [LdW].

Minor Changes:
      * @uptime now shows initial restart time, not just time since
        last reboot.
      * Each player now has a limit to the number of @mail messages
        in their inbox (folder 0), configurable in mush.cnf.
        Suggested by Edwin@M*U*S*H.

Fixes:
      * More linting and improved indenting [SW]
      * PARANOID works right for broadcast messages (like @cemit) now
        too. Report by Vexon@M*U*S*H.
      * You can no longer follow what you can't see.
      * CHAT_TOKEN_ALIAS info appears in options.h now. Report by 
        Rhysem@M*U*S*H.
      * Mac portability changes. [DW]
      * Disconnected players don't follow any more. Suggested by Don Burks.
      * Various fixes to better resist crashing due to attacks involving
        overwhelming connections. 
      * @mail/stats for all was broken. Fixed now.
      * Clearer message after failed @pemit. Suggested by Eratl@M*U*S*H
      * Destroyed things stop following/leading. Report by Ashen-Shugar.
      * follow didn't properly set up the followers as enactors.
        We no longer short-circuit process_command. Report by Moe@Chicago.

Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 1                    May 18, 2000

Commands:
      * @oemit now takes a list of players. Adapted from patch by Philip Mak.

Minor Changes:
      * Reconnecting is less spammy - we don't show motds again
        to players already connected. Suggested by Trispis@M*U*S*H.

Fixes:
      * Configure problem that resulted in weird compile failures on
        bind/accept in src/bsd.c fixed.
      * Further linting. [SW]
      * FreeBSD getrlimit problem diagnosed by [SW] is worked around.
      * Couldn't compile w/o FLOATING_POINTS defined. Fixed.
      * Fixed a few dependencies in the Makefiles to insure that
        hdrs/patches.h and hdrs/switches.h are rebuilt properly.
      * Indentation cleanup.
      * We now recognize egcs as if it were gcc 2, and set ccflags
        accordingly.
      * Increased size of some hash tables for performance. [SW]
      * Help fixes. [SW]
      * flags(obj/attrib) behaved badly unless attrib was CAPITALIZED.
        Fixed now. Reported by Vexon@M*U*S*H.

Version 1.7.3 patchlevel 0                    April 20, 2000

Major Changes:
      * If you create a 'patches' subdirectory and keep any user-contrib
        patches you apply in there, and if the patches are properly 
        formatted, i.e., they include these lines:
              # Patch name:
              # Patch version:
        your MUSH's @version and INFO output will report them.
        In addition to being helpful for you, this will help the
        developers when you send us a bug report including your 
        @version. [TN]
      * As @cemit doesn't override @chan/gag and allows 
        NOSPOOF notification, it basically now operates just like
        @pemit/list (you can protect yourself from spoofing, and you can
        silence it). Accordingly, the cemit power is no longer 
        necessary. It's now a runtime option.
      * @malias (@mailing lists) by Daniel Peters.
      * Attribute names are now stored in a single string tree,
        so we don't have thousands of copies of the string
        "FINGER_NOTE", etc., taking up memory. [TAP]
      * As a consequence of the attribute name tree, the STARTUP flag 
        is no longer needed, and will be automatically removed from
        dbs.
      * Attributes are now inserted in alphabetical order, which
        speeds lookup. [TAP]
      * Panic dumps now dump the maildb and chatdb, appended to the
        end of PANIC.db. The MUSH handles breaking them up on restart.
      * New link_anywhere power allows @link'ing to any destination.
      * Mortals may create VARIABLE exits. At the time the destination 
        is computed, the exit is check to see if it has permission to
        link there (i.e., the exit controls the destination or the
        exit is link_anywhere or the destination is link_ok).
        To keep old code from breaking, all existing variable exits are 
        given the link_anywhere power at first db read in this patch.
        Suggested by David@M*U*S*H.
      * The follow command is implemented!
      * Nested iter is now useful. The itext(n) function returns
        the value of ## for the nth innermost iteraction, where
        0 is the most inner, and inum(n) does the same for #@. [TN]
      * New regexp library, pcre, now allows perl 5.005 compatible
        regular expressions! Suggested by [SW].
      * Objects are now limited in the number of attributes that may
        be set on them. This prevents a DoS attack. Suggested by
        Ashen-Shugar.
      * Some more english-style matching (look my 2nd box). [TN]

Functions:
      * config() returns a list of config option names. 
        config(<option>) returns the value of a config option.
        (e.g. config(money_singular))
      * sort() now accepts an output delimiter, a la iter().
        Suggested by Jason Newquist.
      * channels() now accepts a delimiter. Suggested by Trispis@M*U*S*H.
      * money(<integer>) returns the name of the money, either singular
        or plural, depending on <integer>. Suggested by Trispis@M*U*S*H.
      * timestring() with a pad flag of 2 forces 2 digit numbers.
        Suggested by Trispis@M*U*S*H.
      * fmod() function returns floating point remainder on division.
        Written by Michael Thole.
      * brackets() function returns bracket counts for its unparsed
        argument. Handy for debugging. By Jason Wilcox.
      * edit() can take multiple find-replace pairs. By Chili@M*U*S*H.
      * clock() function by Ari@SpaceMUSH and Chili@M*U*S*H.
      * flags() function can show attribute flags as well. 
        Suggested by Kami@SW2
      * mailstats(), mailfstats(), and maildstats() added by Kami@SW2
      * nattr() (aka attrcnt()) returns number of attributes on 
        an object. Suggested by Ashen-Shugar.
      * map() and foreach() now provide the element's position
        through %1. [LdW]
      * spellnum() function spells out numbers in words. [LdW]
      * wrap() for server-based line wrapping. Adapted from code by [LdW]
      * lmath() function lets you do math on delimited lists, and makes
        it easy to emulate Tiny's ladd/lsub/etc. [SW]
      * bitwise math functions. [SW]
      * mean(), median(), and stddev() functions. [SW]
      * bound() function for bounding numbers. [SW]
      * regrab(), regraball(), and regrep() regular expression 
        versions of grab/graball/grep. [SW]
      * controls() can now be used if you control either the <obj> or
        the <victim>. [RLM] suggested this in July 1998, but we were
        too boneheaded at the time to agree on it.

Commands:
      * teach <command> shows others in your room the (unparsed)
        command that you want to demonstrate, and then causes you
        to execute it. Suggested by Reed Riner.
      * /preserve switch for @clone and @chown to preserve privbits.
        By Kurt Fitzner.
      * rpage and rwho have been removed.
      * @nameformat on a room allows you to specify how the room's
        name should be displayed to those inside it when they look.
      * An optional second token for chat (in addition to +) can
        be set if you'd like + and = (or whatever) to both work.
        Patch by Kami@SW2.
      * @scan returns the matched attribute name as well as object.
        Suggested by many, including Thi@M*U*S*H.
      * ; waves is treated as :waves, instead of as ;waves.
        Suggested by Sandi Fallon, for tiny compatibility.
      * cv command at connect screen forces a !DARK connect.
        Suggested by David@M*U*S*H.
      * with obj=command tries a $command on a specific object. [TN]
      * @mailsignature finally implemented.
      * @chan/join and @chan/leave are aliases for @chan/on and @chan/off,
        respectively. Suggested by [LdW]
      * @chan/decomp/brief decompiles a channel without listing players.

Flags:
      * LISTEN_PARENT flag causes the object to inherit ^listens
        from its parent. By Kurt Fitzner.
      * Internal ACCESSED flag removed.
      * PARANOID player toggle replaces the old paranoid_nospoof
        configuration directive, and allows per-player setting of
        nospoof format. Suggested by Trispis@M*U*S*H

Minor Changes:
      * New lock @lock/command controls who may use $commands on an
        object. @lock/listen controls ^patterns, @lock/use controls both.
        Patch by Kurt Fitzner.
      * The max_obj_val and max_wiz_obj_val configuration options
        have been removed, as they're rarely used. You can change them
        in hdrs/conf.h (search for ENDOWMENT).
      * src/connect.c is no longer distributed. It wasn't ever used
        for anything anyway.
      * @fixdb command removed.
      * @config/functions and commands can show listings in lowercase.
      * match_list changed to try to match player aliases. Allows
        "look <alias>" for a player in the same room. Reported by Corum.
      * See_All players can now see/check AF_WIZARD attributes
        (but AF_MDARK still requires that you be roy/wiz).
        Suggested by Balazs Gasparin.
      * VERBOSE PUPPETs relay to their owners even if the owner's
        in the same room. Dedicated to Julianna@ATS.
      * You may now @dest objects that you control via a zone,
        as you could have done so indirectly before anyway.
        Reported by [LdW]
      * Sending the MUSH process an INT signal now causes graceful
        shutdown (not panic dump). Sending a USR2 signal causes
        a normal dump. As before, HUP causes config reload and
        TERM causes a panic dump. [TAP]
      * @chan/list shows your gag status. Suggested by Matt@M*U*S*H
      * When chatting, we only match partial channel names against
        channels you're actually on. Suggested by Matt@M*U*S*H
      * By default you can no longer speak to a channel you're not
        on. This is configurable per-channel with the new "open"
        priv. Suggested by Akiko@M*U*S*H.
      * If you can't go through an exit because it's linked to
        garbage or its variable destination is invalid, we no longer
        process the SUCC and DROP message set on the exit.
      * The Inherit() macro no longer includes a Wizard test -- we
        don't need it anymore as we protect Wiz objects in controls().
      * getrandom has been replaced by get_random_long, with a better
        algorithm and interface. Suggested by Stephen Dennis. [TAP]
      * Win32 compilers now get the __cdecl hint so they can compile
        using __fastcall which can greatly increase speed. Patch by
        Stephen Dennis.
      * For WIN32, use GetSystemTime instead of timeGetSystemTime.
        Patch by Stephen Dennis.
      * For WIN32, use a combination of wsadata.iMaxSockets and
        options.max_logins to pick a reasonable number of available file
        descriptors. Patch by Stephen Dennis.
      * Default dump messages now call it a 'save', not a 'dump',
        to avoid newbie confusion. Suggested by Vedui.
      * You're notified if you set an attribute/flag on a quiet object
        that you don't own. Patch by Kurt Fitzner.
      * @decomp now comments its "No attributes found" message so as
        not to break scripts.  Report by Kurt Fitzner.
      * More Mac tweaking. [DW]
      * \ and % are no longer valid in attribute names. Suggested by Ali Abdin
      * Cleanup to logging code. We now try to do almost all of it through
        log.c functions for better encapsulation. Patch by David@M*U*S*H.
      * New @lock/examine to restrict who may examine visual objects.
        Suggested by [LdW]
      * Examining objects now shows channels they're on, if any.
        Suggested by Big Spoon@M*U*S*H.
      * Channel-hidden players are now marked in @chan/who for those
        who are allowed to see them.
      * @uptime shows more upcoming events, and shows them to mortals.
        Suggested by Kyieren@M*U*S*H.
      * @chzone obj works like @chzone obj=none. Suggested by Mystery8@M*U*S*H
      * Player creation is now announced to MONITOR players. Suggested
        by Paul@M*U*S*H.
      * Poll message kept across @shutdown/reboot. Suggested by [SW].
      * The military_time directive is removed from mush.cnf. It only
        affected the way time was shown in @idle/@haven/@away messages
        anyway. Reported by Angelus@M*U*S*H.

Fixes:
      * help for lnum() and dig() improved. Leo@ATS TrekMUSH
      * help for @charges improved. Suggested by Scott Weber
      * @mvattr a/b=a/b would clear the attribute. No longer.
        Reported by Octavian@M*U*S*H
      * type(obj) would log a "WEIRD OBJECT" message if obj was 
        a garbage object. Reported by RLM. [TAP]
      * Bug in deciding when to take a penny for queued commands fixed
        by Stephen Dennis.
      * Portability fixes for gcc 2.95.2 and other compilers who require
        that function pointers in prototypes include the function args. 
        Reported by Gepht.
      * @chan/decomp should include the channel description, too. 
        Report by David@M*U*S*H.
      * Two other ways to be inside an object inside yourself reported by
        Ashen-Shugar, and one by Rhysem@M*U*S*H.
      * Small memory leak when doing @cpattr of a standard attribute to a
        non-standard attribute is fixed.
      * Help clarification for pemit() suggested by Falor@M*U*S*H.
      * Help parents and @search3 fixed. Suggested by rodregis@M*U*S*H.
      * Tport_anything didn't allow teleporting things to exits. 
        Noted by Vexon@M*U*S*H.
      * Z_TEL flag works on ZMO's as promised now. Report by [SW].
      * Potential crash in moveit fixed. Report by Howie@NF TrekMush
      * @cemit now does the checks that @chat does, in regard to being
        of the right type, allowed to speak, on the channel, etc.
        Suggested by Oleo@M*U*S*H.
      * getstring_noalloc was doing an fgetc into a char variable,
        instead of an int, so wasn't 8-bit clean. Report by Slava.

Version 1.7.2 patchlevel 35                        January 27, 2001

Fixes:
      * Fixed a bug in filter introduced in p34. Report by Jason Rhodes.
      * Help for sort() now indicates that 'n' sorts integers. Report by
        Dave Milford.


Version 1.7.2 patchlevel 34                        October 2, 2000

Fixes:
      * filter now looks at the whole result, not just the first
        character, when checking if the filter function returned '1'. [SW]
      * raw_input and raw_input_at are now unsigned char *, so
        they build right on HP/UX and similar. Report by Jeff Hildebrand


Version 1.7.2 patchlevel 33                        August 17, 2000

Fixes (backported from 1.7.3p4):
      * Bug in con() patched.
      * Bug in deciding when to take a penny for queued commands fixed
        by Stephen Dennis.
      * Configure portability fixes
      * Better handling of cases where the maildb has messages from
        dbrefs that are out of range (due to truncating a db to remove
        corruption, for example). Suggested by Ashen-Shugar.
      * Various fixes to better resist crashing due to attacks involving
        overwhelming connections. 
      * @mvattr a/b=a/b would clear the attribute. No longer.
        Reported by Octavian@M*U*S*H
      * type(obj) would log a "WEIRD OBJECT" message if obj was 
        a garbage object. Reported by RLM. [TAP]
      * Small memory leak when doing @cpattr of a standard attribute to a
        non-standard attribute is fixed.
      * Tport_anything didn't allow teleporting things to exits. 
        Noted by Vexon@M*U*S*H.
      * Z_TEL flag works on ZMO's as promised now. Report by [SW].
      * Potential crash in moveit fixed. Report by Howie@NF TrekMush
      * getstring_noalloc was doing an fgetc into a char variable,
        instead of an int, so wasn't 8-bit clean. Report by Slava.

Version 1.7.2 patchlevel 32                        April 17, 2000

Fixes:
      * @cpattr from a non-standard attribute to a standard one
        didn't preserve the AF_STATIC flag, and a subsequent atr_clr
        could cause a crash.

Version 1.7.2 patchlevel 31                        April 9, 2000

Minor Changes:
      * The SAY_TOKEN now applies to channels. That is, +public "Hi!
        will not result in a doubled initial quote any more.
        Suggested by Tyler Spivey.
Fixes:
      * Uninitialized negate_perms in the monitor flag table.
        Report by Concordia@Beyond the Fire.
      * Updates to help changes to match CHANGES.
      * Another way to end up in an object in your inventory has been 
        fixed. Report by Lensman.
      * Unused ancient ccflags cruft removed from hints files.
      * Considerable linting and cleanup. [SW]
      * MacOS portability improvements. [DW]
      * You may reset your @alias to itself in different case.
        Suggested by Bolt.

Version 1.7.2 patchlevel 30                        March 14, 2000

Major Changes:
      * New US export rules allow us to include shs.c and funcrypt.c
        in the Penn distribution! Yay!
      * Code is included in bsd.c for Windows NT users that uses
        NT's native i/o instead of the bsd socket layer for
        much improved performance. If you want it, edit src/bsd.c
        and uncomment the define at the top. [NJG]
Minor Changes:
      * New eplayer, eroom, eexit, eobject classes for searches,
        like Tiny. By Rhysem.
      * @sitelock/access.cnf can now use regexp patterns. By Raevnos.
      * The Exits() macro is replaced with Source(), Home(), etc.
        where sensible. By Maverick@M*U*S*H.
      * Example of bzip2 compression defines in mushcnf.dst by David@M*U*S*H.
      * shs.c can now be configured to reverse endianness, so you
        can more easily use win32 dbs on unix (or vice versa) without
        password hassles. This is in mush.cnf. [NJG]
      * JUMP_OK no longer allows anyone to @tel an exit into your room.
        You must control the destination or have the open_anywhere 
        power in order to do this now. Report by rodregis.
Fixes:
      * Calling do_log with LT_TRACE resulted in no logging. Report by David.
      * MacOS (and general) portability improvements, suggested by [DW]
      * help for before(), after() notes case-sensitivity. By Audumla.
      * hasflag() didn't work with MONITOR. Report by Mystery8.
      * A little more linting. [NJG]
      * Fixed help reference to 'global functions'. Report by Falor.
      * Some gmalloc fixes around missing newlines. Report by Raevnos
      * Improvements to help switch(). Report by Omozali.
      * Buffer overflow in @wall fixed. Report by rodregis.
      * Fixed (I think) the FreeBSD/Linux problem of not finding
        sigchld/sigcld and similar ilk. Hints for FreeBSD are back.
      * Crash bug in @link fixed. Report by Howie@New Frontier TrekMUSH

Version 1.7.2 patchlevel 29                        January 23, 2000

Fixes:
      * src/sig.c didn't include config.h. As a result, some systems
        with sigaction that didn't keep signal handlers installed
        (some linuxes) would crash very quickly on the second SIGALRM.

Version 1.7.2 patchlevel 28                        January 14, 2000

Minor Changes:
      * New 'deny_silent' option for access.cnf sites.
        Turns off logging of denied connection/creation/guest/register
        from a site, to prevent logfile spamming by twinks.
        Reported by Kludge-BC.
      * TFPREFIX attribut