Xref: utzoo comp.sources.bugs:583 rec.games.hack:1824
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!oberon!cit-vax!elroy!mahendo!jplgodo!wlbr!scgvaxd!stb!michael
From: michael@stb.UUCP (Michael)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.bugs,rec.games.hack
Subject: Nethack on 7 char systems--PLEASE
Message-ID: <10010@stb.UUCP>
Date: 18 Dec 87 06:19:46 GMT
Reply-To: michael@stb.UUCP (Michael)
Organization: STB BBS, La, Ca, USA, 90402
Lines: 29

Way back when, when Nethack version 1.4something came out, I made a
set of mods to it to compile on 7 char systems with 7 char preprocessors.
I also sent a copy off to the source maintainers.

Now, 2.2 comes out, and I find that none of the 7 char stuff is in.

Does anyone have a copy of the old sed script that I posted back then
to convert to 7 chars? Or will I just have to make a new script thats
probably incompatible with the old.

For the maintainers: PLEASE, PLEASE, **PLEASE***, Don't Make Constants
Prefixes Like DEAD_ or CROSSBOW_ which guarantee name conflicts. Not
everyone has, or even can get at any price, a flex name compiler.
ARRRGGGHHH.
 
What makes NetHack so bad is that some of the header files are generated
by a C program, and that program 
A) Cannot simply have the sed file applied to it
B) Does not output to standard output so you can filter it through sed
making automated source compiling that much harder. Not to mention that
since the 32 char version is now the baseline version, this problem
will be with us for eternity. (Context diffs would be around the size
of the distribution.)

			Michael
-- 
: Michael Gersten		ihnp4!hermix!ucla-an!remsit!stb!michael
:				sdcrdcf!trwrb!scgvaxd!stb!michael
: "Copy Protection? Just say 'Off site backup'. "