Re: Go Modem Protocol

[Daniel Hallmark <dgh@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, 28 Sep 1998, Darren Cook wrote:

> The problem with sockets is each program has to know the IP address of the
> other machine before it can initiate the connection. In a competition this
> is no problem. Over the internet (if using dial-up your IP address is
> different each time) you'd probably need to tell the other person your IP
> address by email first.


If folks want to use sockets there is a very good way to get IP addresses
for potential opponents.  ICQ (one of the first online contact/messaging 
packages) available at www.icq.com stores your current IP address each 
time you log on and can pass that address to other users who have you in 
their contact list (if you allow IP reporting).  It also will immediately
show you which of your potential opponents are online without having to 
wait to see if anyone responds to your emails.

There are options for initiating external programs via ICQ.  These 
typically involve passing the IP address of the target individual via 
commandline to the external application.  I have used this feature for 
starting other multiplayer game software that uses IP connections.

Daniel Hallmark