Author: Bruce Moreland
Date: 09:37:33 10/18/00
Go up one level in this thread
On October 18, 2000 at 10:51:25, Steve Maughan wrote:
>I'm writing a PGN / EPD parser for my program. I've managed to find the PGN
>standard on the Internet and implemented most of it.
>
>I'm hoping to make my parser as robust as possible so it would be great if it
>could cope with the situation when other programs produce less than standard PGN
>output e.g. using o-o ('zero'-'zero') instead of O-O?. My question is does
>anyone know of a document that discussed how people have alterned the PGN
>standard?
>
>All help appreciated!
>
>Steve Maughan
The guy who owns PGN is Steven J. Edwards. He has been claiming for several
years that a revision is in the works. He does not want help. When I proposed
some new NAG's that would get PGN in line with Informant notation he told me
essentially that he would be discussing the new standard with "experts such as
Bob Hyatt", which I took as "go away".
Steven J. Edwards has decreed that 0-0 (zero-zero) means double forfeit, so he
reserves that token.
This is obviously wrong but good luck getting him to change it.
An obvious compromise is to check for 0-0 (zero-zero) in the result tag, and if
it's present, don't convert 0-0 (zero-zero) as O-O (oh-oh) in the move list.
Good luck getting him to listen.
A problem with PGN is that it was designed as an interchange format. This means
that computers generate it, and computers eat it. Computers don't have to deal
with 0-0 (zero-zero) or "e2e4" or "ba6" (when B is either a bishop or a pawn),
and so forth.
This is a problem because people type the stupid stuff in by hand, and even
people who program computers mess up more or less constantly. So you do have to
cope with non-standard algebraic. I don't think there is a "standard" regarding
how you deal with non-standard algebraic.
bruce
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