Don wrote
"You also need software (GMP needs software too, but it's linked into
the program.) The software can be linked into the programs just like
GMP if it makes you happy. Or it can be a separate program running in
the background on one of the computers. It will take very little
resources. If this bothers you or you think it unfair, keep in mind
that your computer probably has dozens of processes running in the
background, most of them also taking close to zero resources."
It is not the resources consumed by this process that bothers me.
It is the thought that I may be expected to provide it, or even merely
to specify it. If a contestant tells me "all you should have done was
write a script that slurps bytes from port 12345 and channels them to
your referee's default transport", then no-one is going to be happy.
Yes, I agree. I would also be very happy just to say, GTP over
stdin/stdout. Then it's very simple to run the tournament.
This does not seem simple to me. I have several questions. I am not
posing these as criticisms, but because I want to know the answers.