On Tuesday 23 January 2001 18:28, you wrote:
> I think using a file format and a database to retrieve all information is a
> bit double.
Both have different tasks. The file format contains all information needed to
run the game. The database contains extra info related to the game.
Not everyone has a permanent net connection. So it's impractical to have an
emulator retrieve the info needed to run the game from the database. Also,
there is a privacy issue: emulator users probably don't want the database
sysop to know exactly what games they play and when they play them. So it's
not a good idea to put everything in the database.
There are many types of related info about a game. Cover scans, game music,
tips etc. It's impractical to store all of that in the .msx file, both
because of the size and because it's hard to keep it up-to-date. Storing URLs
solves the size problem, but it doesn't solve the up-to-date problem (broken
URLs are everywhere). So we decided to move all of the related info to the
web and use a unique ID to retrieve a list of URLs from a database.
An additional benefit is that now the file format can be implemented
independently of the database. If the emulators support the format before the
database is finished, there is no problem.
> Why don't you use the full name of the game as ID? So "Penguin Adventure"
> is the unique descriptor.
It's useful to have a short version without special characters. For example,
on 8.3 filesystems the short ID can be used to generate filenames for save
games. And when doing a database query through CGI, there can be no problems
with special characters in the URL.
> By the way,
> CRC's are also a good ID (they should be 32-bit though, with 16-bit CRC's
> there is too much chance two games have the same CRC).
CRCs are specific to an image, not to a game. Two variants of the same game
will have different CRCs. And what if the image in a previous package turns
out to be broken? The correct image will have a different CRC.
> > I made a search on the web and couldn't find the RFC.
> > If it is not available anywhere, we should make our own
> > language codes.
>
> It's there, definately. Look in the references of the assigned numbers.
> Come to think of it, I bet it's an ISO or IEEE standard, and not an RFC.
I reported the number of the ISO standard this morning. It would be more
efficient if you read all your email before you reply...
Bye,
Maarten
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