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Subject: Re: PGN 1998 Standard

Author: Bruce Moreland

Date: 09:04:49 05/30/98

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On May 30, 1998 at 01:39:05, Steven J. Edwards wrote:

>Fellow programmers:
>
>The PGN 1998 Standard revision process is underway.  If fact, it has
>been underway for some time, but it is only recently that I have had the
>opportunity to put some more intensive effort into it.
>
>There are no big changes.  Mostly just clarifications; the only really
>new item is the Broket Form.  A broket form is nothing more than an EPD
>record that appears in the movetext delimited by "<" and ">".  (Angle
>brackets == "brokets".)  This provides a uniform way to represent
>extended descriptions (e.g., predicted variations, time usage,
>evaluations, and structured commentary.)
>
>Oh, and the import/export distictions go away.

I hope that the standard will continue to allow "1.e4" (no space), it
would be a very big mistake if the standard is so tightly defined that
common "mistakes" are rendered un-parsable.

So I guess I hope that I mean that you want to loosen the syntax rather
than tighten it.

I think the current scheme is fine, you write a reader that eats
anything and a writer that writes files that should be byte-compatible
with other files.

>And yes, all of you will have an opportunity to assist in the review
>process.  And speak now, or hold your peace until the next revision in
>2002.
>
>Naturally, I intend to have a full implementation of the 1998 Standard
>in the OCD for all to use.

1) I want the Informant NAG set.

2) I want an "insert diagram" NAG.

I've suggested both of the above here, and in r.g.c.c., and gotten
nothing but enthusiastic response.

3) I don't want to be forced to use your code.  I want the standard to
be a standard and not a library.  I don't want your code to be the
standard, I want the standard to be the standard.  I'm happy that you
want to write code, but I would like it not to be any more "official"
than anyone else's, the rules should all be in the standard.

4) The PGN standard is really weak when it comes to handling non-English
character sets.  When you import files you will find a variety of ways
of handling characters with diacritical marks.  I'm not sure exactly how
to address this, this is not my area of specialty, but I suggest either
that code page be standardized, probably to the Ansi code page (I think
this is the one used by default by Windows), or at least that these
escaped characters that people are using be codified and included in the
standard.

I have a lot of interest in this and would be delighted in discussing
revisions to the standard, hopefully before they are adopted.

bruce




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