README

Welcome to PurlMUSH, a different way to do MUSH. This project is a labor of love more than anything else. It is a determined effort to take the robust and functional platforms provided by PennMUSH and TinyMUX and implement them using the Perl programming language. That means that, by definition, it is a proof-of-concept.

Of course, that also means that you can have fun with it, as well. Everything that has gone into the development of this project is based on the idea of code being fun...and something of an obsession as well.

A little bit of history on this project:
- Originally this project was started sometime around 2000 or 2001, when Santiago downloaded and registered a copy of PerlMUD from Boutell.com. Yes, the software was registered, conferring the rights to modify the code on to the Santiago. The idea was tantalizing...a MU*, in Perl. And thus, PurlMUSH was born.

- Help was solicited from a number of people online, most notably Steele from steelemountain.com, who shared Santiago's vision for doing outrageously cool stuff with the code.

- June 2005 - Project was effectively halted when Santiago began the RL trauma of separating and divorcing his wife. The code was lost to the divorce, and has not been seen since. Baby Jesus cried. The code had been some of the best work he had ever done in Perl.

- February 2008 - A new version of PerlMUD was downloaded by Santiago, and he felt the pull and tug of that earlier obsession. He renewed his license with
Boutell.com and began working on the code in earnest. Friends were able to provide server space, and the work began.

A little bit of the vision for what PurlMUSH might become:
- Fully object-oriented code structure, with each db object type having its own corresponding code object. Ideally, Flags and Logging will get OOP'ed too.

- Well-formed and fully compliant XML database flatfile structure.

- Internal systems such as comm/channels, BBS, Places/Mutter, IC time (with configurable ratios), Cron, and whatever other goodies are considered to be 'standard' softcoded systems on MUSHes today. Myrrdin's amazing softcoded systems are the de facto standard for BBS and Cron, there's two standard places and mutter packages out there, and a million things for IC time and other functionality like weather (Keran's *shudder*) or a +wear-style multi-descer (MANY many of these out there). One of the 'standard' and dreaded jobs that goes into starting a MU* is quoting in these very standard bits of code. Why? Projects like Sandbox Globals Project (SGP, again *shudder*) are built around the idea that your game comes with code. Comes with the systems that you need, "out of the box". Insta-MUSH, just add water.

- Easy to setup. Purl doesn't require compiling. You don't have to know a lot of fancy Unix/Linux commands to get your game running. Pretty much, as long as your server is connected to the Internet, has a "standard" installation of Perl (and eventually ActivePerl for Windows), you will be able to have a PurlMUSH up and running in under five minutes. No, seriously. There will be (eventually) a config script that you will run which will query for the necessary bits in the mush.cnf file, the things that won't be "assumed". For example, IP and hostname, file path for the db, etc. Other configuration options can be changed by hand-editing the file. Once you've been through the config script, you type ./Startpurl (or double-click the icon if you're on Windows) and VIOLA! You have a MUSH.

INSTALLATION
Download the code.
Unpack the code - tar jvxf purlmush-###.tar.bz2 (where ### is the version)
Edit the mush.cnf file to suit your mush and environment.
Type: ./Startpurl &
Connect to the host and port you have specified in the mush.cnf file and log in as the God character (default password: lollipops).

HELP
If you need help with PurlMUSH, first off: RTFM. Read the help files. If those don't help, read the blog (http://purlmush.blogspot.com). If that doesn't help, e-mail purlmush@gmail.com and Santiago will answer your query as best he can.

EXTENDING PURLMUSH
Yes, we want to be able to have modules that extend the functionality of Purl. If you have Perl-fu and want to build and contribute modules, please do so. In time, there will be a central repository for submissions, sort of a CPAN for Purl. For now, just e-mail them to Santiago (purlmush@gmail.com).

Good luck, and happy MUSHing!