Re: computer-go: gnugoclient 2.0

[Gunnar Farnebäck <gunnar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Don wrote:
>    And even if an engine doesn't keep track of the moves,
>    the driving program could use gtp commands to reset the
>    state and replay the moves..?
> 
> It's my  opinion that  this would  be poor engineering,  a bad  way to
> implement takeback.  This absolutely requires something in the minimal
> protocol a lot  more complicated that "undo."  I'm  really against the
> idea of requiring a GUI to perform this complicated operation in order
> to trick a program into taking back a move.

No, this doesn't require anything extra in the protocol, only that the
GUI keeps tracks of the moves that have been made. The "black" and
"white" commands suffice to set up a position.

> Also, some programs will lose  important state if the position is just
> reset as if  it's from a completely different  game.  Even though this
> can be preserved by making  the engine more complicated, it's a pretty
> ugly hack and  the goal is to simplify the  engine, not complicate it.
> And what if  the engine is keeping a  log of the game?  Is  it to view
> this a brand new position?

This on the other hand is a valid point.

My opinion is that the first revision of the GTP needs to be split
into one minimal set, containing the absolutely necessary (*) commands
for making it useful for tournament kind of use, and an extended set
with useful but less critical commands that would be good to
standardize early. Undo doesn't get into the first group but well into
the second.

This message is cross-posted to the computer-go, gnugo, and gtp
lists. From now on I will continue discussion about gtp only on the
latter list. Those who want to take part in this should subscribe to
the gtp list, see http://lists.lysator.liu.se/mailman/listinfo/gtp
It's also possible to follow the discussion through the list archive,
available from the same page. Currently the list is configured to
allow posting from non-members, but this may change later (i.e. if
necessary for spam reasons).

/Gunnar

(*) Plus some completely trivial ones like name and version.