Merry +MHELP reference page

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$delay

Function:	$delay
Syntax:	$delay(mixed wait, mixed return[, string id])
Description:	$delay() is used to prematurely exit a script, and return to it a set amount of seconds later (wait, 1st argument), specified as a floating value (up to 60.0) or an integer value (no limit). Not only does the script exit, though, but if the script was called from another script, that script is returned the return value (return, 2nd argument). the script is an act/react/witness script, the first time a non-FALSE value is returned, the action will go through, as pointed out in the example(s) section below. Only the first argument is required, second is optional, third is automatic. second value defaults to FALSE, the third value becomes a four-digit unique character identifier for the switch. Make careful note that no two $delay() statements in a single script may contain two identical identifiers. The script will fail to compile with a "duplicate case labels in switch" error. Remove the third argument from the copied $delay() statements and another identifier will be generated. Note: only $variables and constants are maintained after a $delay() returns control to a script. The following script would fail, string s; = "Hello world!"; /* s == "Hello world!" / $delay( 1, FALSE ); / s is reset / ( $actor, s ); / s is nil */ - because the variable s is nil after the $delay() call. by storing the necessary variables in some appropriate object, or use $variables.
Example(s):	Example act:smile in the actor: EmitTo( $actor, "You won't smile ever, cause we return FALSE below." ); $delay( 1, FALSE ); Example act:smile in the actor: EmitTo( $actor, "You will smile after seeing this message, because we return TRUE below." ); $delay( 1, TRUE );

A

acos

Function:	acos
Syntax:	float acos(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Example(s):	Merry code: acos(0.0) Merry result: 1.5707963 Merry code: acos( 0.5 ) Merry result: 1.0471976 Merry code: acos( 1.0 ) Merry result: 0.0
See also:	asin and atan

Act

Function:	Act
Syntax:	void Act(object ob, string action, special arguments)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Another extremely powerful function, this is how Merry commands some object to perform an action, optionally specified by an array of arguments. The argument $silent can be sent as TRUE in order to suppress all output for (presumably) all signals.
Example(s):	Act( $actor, "drop", $what: sword_objects, $into: container_object );
See also:	Social

allocate

Function:	allocate
Syntax:	mixed * allocate(int size)
Return value(s):	mixed *
Description:	Allocate an array with size number of elements. All elements are initialized to zero. The new array is returned.
Example(s):	Merry code: allocate(5) Merry result: ({ nil, nil, nil, nil, nil })
See also:	sizeof

allocate_float

Function:	allocate_float
Syntax:	float * allocate_float(int size)
Return value(s):	float *
Description:	Allocate an array with size elements. All elements are initialized to 0.0. The new array is returned.
Example(s):	Merry code: allocate_float(5) Merry result: ({ 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0 })
See also:	allocate, allocate_int and sizeof

allocate_int

Function:	allocate_int
Syntax:	int * allocate_int(int size)
Return value(s):	int *
Description:	Allocate an array with size elements. All elements are initialized to 0. The new array is returned.
Example(s):	Merry code: allocate_int(5) Merry result: ({ 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 })
See also:	allocate, allocate_float and sizeof

Arr

Function:	Arr
Syntax:	mixed * Arr(mixed v)
Return value(s):	mixed *
Description:	Return <v> in the form of an array. If <v> is an array already, <v> will be returned in its present state, otherwise ({ <v> }) is returned.
Example(s):	Merry code: Arr( "Hello" ) Merry result: ({ "Hello" }) Merry code: Arr( ({ "Hello" }) ) Merry result: ({ "Hello" })
See also:	Str, Int, Flt, Num and Map

arr_to_set

Function:	arr_to_set
Syntax:	mapping arr_to_set(array a)
Return value(s):	mapping
Description:	Use arr_to_set to convert an array value to a mapping where each unique property in the array is an indice (key) in the resulting mapping. mappings are automatically represented in alphabetical order, arr_to_set may for instance be used to sort an array of strings. you see in the second example, applying map_indices to the result of an arr_to_set-call will result in an identical, but sorted, array. note, however, that if any two values in an array are identical (which is valid for an array), these two values will be merged into a single value by arr_to_set, as indices must be unique.
Example(s):	Merry code: arr_to_set( ({ "Kalle", "Anders", "Erik", "Maria" }) ) Merry result: ([ "Anders":1, "Erik":1, "Kalle":1, "Maria":1 ]) Merry code: map_indices( arr_to_set( ({ "Kalle", "Anders", "Erik", "Maria" }) )) Merry result: ({ "Anders", "Erik", "Kalle", "Maria" })
See also:	map_values, map_indices and reverse_mapping

ascii_to_mixed

Function:	ascii_to_mixed
Syntax:	mixed ascii_to_mixed(string str)
Return value(s):	mixed
Description:	Convert an ascii value into the appropriate property type.
Example(s):	Merry code: ascii_to_mixed( "15" ) Merry result: 15 Merry code: ascii_to_mixed( "({ \"a\", \"cute\", \"array!\" })" ) Merry result: ({ "a", "cute", "array!" }) Merry code: ascii_to_mixed( "" ) Merry result:
See also:	mixed_to_ascii and dump_value

ascii_typeof

Function:	ascii_typeof
Syntax:	string ascii_typeof(mixed value)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Return a string representation of the property type of value.
Example(s):	ascii_typeof( nil ) == "nil" ascii_typeof( 123 ) == "int" ascii_typeof( 3.14 ) == "float" ascii_typeof( "abc" ) == "string" ascii_typeof( $actor ) == "object" ascii_typeof( ({ "a", "b", "c" }) ) == "array" ascii_typeof( ([ "foo" : "bar" ]) ) == "mapping"
See also:	typeof

asin

Function:	asin
Syntax:	float asin(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Example(s):	Merry code: asin(0.0) Merry result: 0.0 Merry code: asin(0.5) Merry result: 0.52359878 Merry code: asin(1.0) Merry result: 1.5707963
See also:	acos and atan

atan

Function:	atan
Syntax:	float atan(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the arc tangent of the argument.
Example(s):	Merry code: atan(0.0) Merry result: 0.0 Merry code: atan(0.5) Merry result: 0.46364761 Merry code: atan(1.0) Merry result: 0.78539816
See also:	acos, asin and atan2

atan2

Function:	atan2
Syntax:	float atan2(float y, float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the arc tangent of y/x, using the signs of the arguments to determine the quadrant of the result.
Example(s):	Merry code: atan2(0.0, 0.0) Merry result: 0.0 Merry code: atan2(1.0, 0.0) Merry result: 1.5707963 Merry code: atan2(0.0,1.0) Merry result: 0.0 Merry code: atan2(1.0,1.0) Merry result: 0.78539816
See also:	atan

B

base64_decode

Function:	base64_decode

Bilbo

Function:	Bilbo
Syntax:	void Bilbo(object ob, string signaltype, string signalname, special arguments)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Merry can call Bilbo directly – but as Merry at this point has exceeded bilbo in all/any aspect, it is recommended that you use this function scarcely; preferably never.
Example(s):	Bilbo( $actor, "react", "smile" ); /* will execute bilbo:react:smile found in $actor */

break_paragraph

Function:	break_paragraph
Syntax:	string break_paragraph(string head, string str, int len)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	For a fixed-size font, break str into lines each no longer than len characters, and start all of it with the string head.
Example(s):	Merry code: break_paragraph( "You say: ", "sputnik was a satellite", 20 ) Merry result: "You say: sputnik was\n a satellite\n" - which renders to You say: sputnik was a satellite (note that "a satellite" is directly below "sputnik was" if pre-formated)

C

calculate_stamp

Function:	calculate_stamp
Syntax:	int calculate_stamp(int year, int month, int day)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Create a UNIX timestamp pointing to midnight, year <year>, day <day> of month <month>.
Example(s):	Merry code: calculate_stamp( 1980, 9, 24 ) Merry result: 338616000 Merry code: ctime( 338616000 ) + ", Kalle was born." Merry result: "Wed Sep 24 00:00:00 1980, Kalle was born."
See also:	time, ctime, short_time, smalltime, get_day, get_month, get_year, get_hour, get_minute and get_second

Call

Function:	Call
Syntax:	mixed Call(object ob, string script, special arguments)
Return value(s):	mixed
Example(s):	Merry's means of calling other Merry functions. If the script argument is e.g. ‘checktimer', the property search will be for merry:lib:checktimer; there is no way to avoid the ‘lib' portion. All functions that are callable in Merry must exist in the ‘lib' namespace. This makes sense, as you will see in time. The third argument is on precisely the same format as in Act. For example, if you do Call(this, "inflict", $damage: 100); then the merry:lib:inflict script will be called, and inside this script $damage will contain the integer value 100. The local value is not changed, so after $damage = 50; Call(this, "inflict", $damage: 100); $damage will still be 50.
See also:	call_other, call_out and call_trace

call_other

Function:	call_other
Syntax:	varargs mixed call_other(mixed obj, string function, mixed args…)
Return value(s):	varargs mixed
Description:	Call a function in an object. The first argument must be either an object or a string. If it is a string, call_object() will be called in the driver object to get the corresponding object. non-private functions can be called with call_other(). If the function is static, the object in which the function is called must be the same as the object from which the function is called, or the call will fail. additional arguments to call_other() will be passed on to the called function. LPC, obj->func(arg1, arg2, argn) can be used as a shorthand for call_other(obj, "func", arg1, arg2, argn).

call_out

Function:	call_out
Syntax:	varargs int call_out(string function, int delay, mixed args…)
Return value(s):	varargs int
Description:	Call a function in the current object with a delay. The function to be called must not be private. The delay is specified in seconds. minimum delay is 1 second; if the given delay is less, it is changed into 1 second. returned value is the callout handle, an integer > 0 which must be used if the callout is to be removed.

call_trace

Function:	call_trace
Return value(s):	mixed **
Description:	Return the function call trace as an array. The elements are of the following format: ({ objname, progname, function, line, extern, arg1, …, argn }) The line number is 0 if the function is in a compiled object. Extern is 1 if the function was called with call_other(), and 0 otherwise. The last element of the returned array is the trace of the current function.
Example(s):	Merry code: call_trace() Merry result: ({ ({ "/kernel/obj/binary#10769", "/kernel/obj/binary", "receive_message", 85, 1 }), ({ "/kernel/obj/binary#10769", "/kernel/lib/connection", "receive_message", 233, 0 }), ({ "/usr/TextIF/obj/user#10798", "/usr/TextIF/obj/user", "receive_message", 371, 1 }), ({ "/usr/TextIF/obj/user#10798", "/usr/TextIF/obj/user", "receive_line", 720, 0 }), ({ "/usr/TextIF/obj/user#10798", "/kernel/lib/auto", "call_limited", 719, 0 }), ({ "/usr/TextIF/obj/user#10798", "/kernel/lib/auto", "_F_call_limited", 698, 0 }), ({ "/usr/TextIF/obj/user#10798", "/usr/TextIF/obj/user", "parse_command", 812, 1 }), ({ "/usr/TextIF/main", "/usr/TextIF/main", "command", 230, 1 }), ({ "/usr/Tool/sys/tool", "/usr/Tool/sys/tool", "cmd_DEV_tool", 117, 1 }), ({ "/usr/Tool/sys/merry", "/usr/Tool/lib/merry", "cmd_merry_eval", 133, 1 }), ({ "/usr/Tool/sys/merry", "/usr/Tool/lib/merry", "run_merry_code", 45, 0 }), ({ "/usr/SkotOS/data/merry#-1", "/usr/SkotOS/data/merry", "evaluate", 223, 1, ({ , nil, nil, ([ "actor":, "body":, "here":, "looker": ]), nil }) }), ({ "/usr/SkotOS/merry/c8a82e895d135325ccf56f4106de1b80", "/usr/SkotOS/lib/merrynode", "evaluate", 56, 1, , nil, nil, @14, nil, nil }), ({ "/usr/SkotOS/merry/c8a82e895d135325ccf56f4106de1b80", "/usr/SkotOS/merry/c8a82e895d135325ccf56f4106de1b80", "merry", 6, 1, nil, nil, "virgin" }), ({ "/usr/SkotOS/merry/c8a82e895d135325ccf56f4106de1b80", "/kernel/lib/auto", "call_trace", 524, 0 }) })
See also:	previous_object

capitalize

Function:	capitalize
Syntax:	string capitalize(string str)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Make sure the first letter of str is capitalized.
Example(s):	"zell" -> "Zell"
See also:	lower_case, upper_case, decapitalize and proper

cardinal

Function:	cardinal
Syntax:	int cardinal(string str)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Convert a string expression of a cardinal number into an integer value.
Example(s):	Merry code: cardinal( "one" ) Merry result: 1 Merry code: cardinal( "five" ) Merry result: 5 Merry code: cardinal( "fiftytwo" ) Merry result: 52 Merry code: cardinal( "ninetynine" ) Merry result: 99
See also:	ordinal, desc_ordinal and desc_cardinal

catch

Function:	catch
Syntax:	string catch(expression)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Execute the code for until an error results, or until execution is complete. If an error resulted, catch() will return the error message as a string; otherwise, it will return 0. Note: catch() is not a real kfun. catch(a, b) will evaluate the expression (a, b), rather than "call catch() with arguments a and b".
See also:	error

ceil

Function:	ceil
Syntax:	float ceil(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Round the argument towards positive infinity.
Example(s):	Merry code: ceil(14.1) Merry result: 15.0
See also:	floor and fmod

char_to_string

Function:	char_to_string
Syntax:	char_to_string(int ch)
Description:	Convert a numeric character code value into a string.
Example(s):	Merry code: char_to_string( ‘A' ) Merry result: "A" Merry code: char_to_string( 65 ) Merry result: "A"

clear_by_int

Function:	clear_by_int
Syntax:	void clear_by_int(mapping bigmap, int ix)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Clear the value in <bigmap> for the indice specified using integer identifier <ix>, effectively removing the map entry altogether.
See also:	get_by_int, set_by_int, get_by_ob, set_by_ob, clear_by_ob, get_by_str, set_by_str and clear_by_str

clear_by_ob

Function:	clear_by_ob
Syntax:	void clear_by_ob(mapping bigmap, object ob)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Clear the value in <bigmap> for the indice specified using object identifier <ob>, effectively removing the map entry altogether.
See also:	get_by_int, set_by_int, clear_by_int, get_by_ob, set_by_ob, clear_by_ob, get_by_str, set_by_str and clear_by_str

clear_by_str

Function:	clear_by_str
Syntax:	void clear_by_str(mapping bigmap, string str)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Clear the value in <bigmap> for the indice specified using string identifier <str>, effectively removing the map entry altogether.
See also:	get_by_int, set_by_int, clear_by_int, get_by_ob, set_by_ob, clear_by_ob, get_by_str and set_by_str

comma

Function:	comma
Syntax:	string comma(int num)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Make num readable by inserting a comma after every third digit.
Example(s):	Merry code: comma( 1344266 ) Merry result: "1,344,266"

contains

Function:	contains
Syntax:	int contains(string str, string sub)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	If sub is a sub-string of str, return TRUE, else FALSE. That is, if str contains sub.
Example(s):	Merry code: contains( "foobar", "ob" ) Merry result: TRUE
See also:	sscanf

copy

Function:	copy
Syntax:	mixed copy(mixed var)
Return value(s):	mixed
Description:	The copy() function is useful when modifying for instance arrays and/or mappings, to avoid harming the original source. VAR = ARRAY does not instantly create a copy of ARRAY, which means there is a slight chance that modifying VAR will also modify ARRAY (the original source).
Example(s):	Merry code: copy( "abc" ) Merry result: "abc Merry code: copy( ({ "a", "b", "c" }) ) Merry result: ({ "a", "b", "c" }) Merry code: copy( $actor ) Merry result:

cos

Function:	cos
Syntax:	float cos(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the cosine of the argument.
Example(s):	Merry code: cos(0.0) Merry result: 1.0 Merry code: cos(0.5) Merry result: 0.87758256 Merry code: cos(1.0) Merry result: 0.54030231
See also:	sin and kfun

cosh

Function:	cosh
Syntax:	float cosh(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the hyperbolic cosine of the argument.
Example(s):	Merry code: cosh(0.0) Merry result: 1.0 Merry code: cosh(0.5) Merry result: 1.127626 Merry code: cosh(1.0) Merry result: 1.5430806
See also:	sinh and tanh

crypt

Function:	crypt
Syntax:	varargs string crypt(string passwd, string salt)
Return value(s):	varargs string
Description:	Encrypt a password, of which only the first 8 characters are significant. If the optional second argument is given, its first two characters are used to perturb the encryption algorithm additionally; without one, the encryption is perturbed randomly. The returned string is 13 characters long, the first two of which are equal to the used salt.
Example(s):	Merry code: crypt("test") Merry result: "MKfcAguU0/rhs" Merry code: crypt("test", "te") Merry result: "teH0wLIpW0gyQ"

ctime

Function:	ctime
Syntax:	string ctime(int clock)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Convert the specified time, which is an integer such as is returned by the kfun time(), into a string of the form "Tue Aug 3 14:40:18 1993".
Example(s):	Merry code: ctime(0) Merry result: "Wed Dec 31 19:00:00 1969" Merry code: ctime(time()) Merry result: "Fri Apr 4 19:38:09 2003"
See also:	time, short_time and rfc_1123_date

D

days

Function:	days
Syntax:	string days(int n)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Generate a string value representation of the amount of days and hours since Jan 1st, 1970.
Example(s):	Merry code: days( time() ) Merry result: "12203 d, 12 h"
See also:	ctime, time, short_time, humanized_date, rfc_1123_date and smalltime

decapitalize

Function:	decapitalize
Syntax:	string decapitalize(string str)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Make sure the first letter of str is lower case.
Example(s):	"Chocolate" -> "chocolate"
See also:	lower_case, upper_case, capitalize and proper

desc_cardinal

Function:	desc_cardinal
Syntax:	string desc_cardinal(int n)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Describe the cardinal n in English.
Example(s):	123 -> "one hundred twenty-three"
See also:	desc_ordinal

desc_ordinal

Function:	desc_ordinal
Syntax:	string desc_ordinal(int n)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Describe the ordinal n in English.
Example(s):	123 -> "one hundred twenty-third"
See also:	desc_cardinal

Describe

Function:	Describe
Syntax:	string Describe(object o)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Describe() is used to get string descriptions of objects, like $actor, $target, etc. in a merry script. can take multiple objects simultaneously as ({ object one, object two, … }). can take an optional second parameter which will describe o in objective form. the second param is nil and the third parameter is o, Describe() will describe in first person (you). both the second and third parameters are o, Describe() will describe in possessive first person (yourself). fourth parameter is a flag that can optionally be set to: /* don't do the ‘his frog' thing / / the frog / / the frog in his bag / / the frog in your bag / / avoid look frogs -> four frogs / / allow i.e. ‘yourself' vs ‘you' / / (undocumented) / / don't show unseen objects / / don't replace Zell with You / / ignores luminosity from the actors p.o.v. */
Example(s):	Examples using the first and second parameters: Describe( $actor ) -> "StoryCoder Kalle" Describe( $actor, $actor ) -> "him" Describe( $actor, nil, $actor ) -> "you" Describe( $actor, $actor, $actor ) -> "yourself"

dgd_version

Function:	dgd_version
Return value(s):	int
Example(s):	Merry code: dgd_version() Merry result: 12071

do

Function:	do
Description:	Do..while loops work exactly like while-loops except that the condition is checked AFTER the block is executed, rather than before. This means the block will be executed at least once regardless.
Example(s):	Example #1: ———– int i; i = 0; do { i ++; EmitTo( $actor, "i is now "+Str(i) ); } while( i < 10 ); EmitTo( $actor, Str(i)+" is NOT less than 10, so the do..while-loop has ended." ); ———- Result: ——- i is now 1 i is now 2 i is now 3 i is now 4 i is now 5 i is now 6 i is now 7 i is now 8 i is now 9 i is now 10 10 is NOT less than 10, so the do..while-loop has ended. ——- Example #2: ———– int i = 0; do { i++; EmitTo( $actor, "i is "+Str(i) ); } while( FALSE ); EmitTo( $actor, "Loop has ended with i at "+Str(i)+"." ); ———- Result: ——- i is 1 Loop has ended with i at 1.
See also:	for and while

dump_value

Function:	dump_value
Syntax:	string dump_value(mixed value)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Convert any property into a string value.
Example(s):	Merry code: dump_value( $actor ) Merry result: "" Merry code: dump_value( args ) Merry result: "([ \"actor\":, \"body\":, \"here\":, \"looker\":, \"this\": ])"
See also:	ascii_to_mixed and mixed_to_ascii

Duplicate

Function:	Duplicate
Syntax:	object Duplicate(object ob)
Return value(s):	object
Description:	This function makes a copy of an existing object, just like the "Duplicate" button in WOE works. a merryized version of +spawn, check out Spawn().
Example(s):	$copy_of_Generic_drink_mug_coffee = Duplicate( ${Generic:drink:mug-coffee} ); $copy_of_Generic_drink_mug_coffee."base:objectname" = "Marrach:Coders:kalle:my_own_coffee_object";
See also:	Spawn and Slay

E

EmitIn

Function:	EmitIn
Syntax:	void EmitIn(object o, string s, object exclude_one, object exclode_another, …)
Return value(s):	void
Example(s):	Merry command to emit a string of text into an environment, such as a room. Example: EmitIn( $actor."base:environment", "This goes to everyone in the same room as $actor." ); EmitIn( $actor."base:environment", "This also goes to everyone in $actor's presence, except $actor himself.", $actor );
See also:	EmitTo

EmitTo

Function:	EmitTo
Syntax:	void EmitTo(object o, string s)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Merry command to emit a string of text to a single object.
Example(s):	EmitTo( $actor, "Tag! You're it!" );
See also:	EmitIn

error

Function:	error
Syntax:	void error(string errormessage)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Cause an error, which will stop execution. If the error is caught, execution will continue after the catch. that error() and Error() – with only error() documented here – do the exact same thing.
See also:	catch

Every

Function:	Every
Syntax:	string Every(string script, int frequency)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Every() is used to create an infinitely looping process. returns an identifier string for the process it creates, and it takes two arguments, - the timer:-script to execute - the frequency in seconds is no need to do any loops on your own, like while( TRUE ){ … }, when using Every(), but take note that the script is actually halted, and all variables it uses are reset each time it's called. is also very important to keep track of the identifier string it returns, as without it you cannot ever turn off the loop.
Example(s):	[Also see C. Allen's example torch at: Examples:complete:light:torch] Example script timer:my_loop —————————- /* my_loop is executed once every Nth second, specified in the Every() call below. *\/ EmitTo( ${Marrach:players:K:kalle}, "Alive and kicking!" ); \/* $actor isn't defined here, so we emit directly instead *\/ —————————- Example script lib:start_my_loop ——————————– /* To make sure we don't "screw up" and lose an identifier, we check if a loop is running already, and stop it automagically on our own if it is / if( $actor."my_loop:identifier" ) Call( this, "stop_my_loop" ); EmitTo( $actor, "Initiating loop. Call stop_my_loop to stop it!" ); $actor."my_loop:identifier" = Every( "my_loop", 60 ); / we must remember that identifier…! */ ——————————– Example script lib:stop_my_loop ——————————- EmitTo( $actor, "Stopping loop!" ); if( !$actor."my_loop:identifier" ){ EmitTo( $actor, "Whoops! No loop found!" ); return FALSE; } Stop( $actor."my_loop:identifier" ); $actor."my_loop:identifier" = nil; EmitTo( $actor, "Done!" ); ——————————-
See also:	(Stop)[#stop]

exp

Function:	exp
Syntax:	float exp(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the exponential value of the given argument.
Example(s):	Merry code: exp(0.0) Merry result: 1.0 Merry code: exp(0.5) Merry result: 1.6487213 Merry code: exp(1.0) Merry result: 2.7182818
See also:	(log)[#log], (lgo10)[#log10) and (pow)[#pow]

explode

Function:	explode
Syntax:	string * explode(string str, string separator)
Return value(s):	string *
Description:	Return an array of substrings of str, divided by the given separator. separators that str starts and ends with, if any, are not taken into account.
Example(s):	Merry code: explode("This is a test"," ") Merry result: ({ "This", "is", "a", "test" })
See also:	(implode)[#implode], (sscanf)[#sscanf] and (parse_string)[#parse_string]

F

fabs

Function:	fabs
Syntax:	float fabs(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the absolute value of the argument.
Example(s):	Merry code: fabs(-14.9) Merry result: 14.9

find_object

Function:	find_object
Syntax:	object find_object(string obj)
Return value(s):	object
Description:	The string argument is resolved as a file path, and the object with the resulting name is searched for. Either the object, if found, or zero is returned.
Example(s):	Merry code: find_object("/base/obj/thing#4803") Merry result:
See also:	(object_name)[#object_name]

FindMerry

Function:	FindMerry
Syntax:	object FindMerry(object src, string type, string name)
Return value(s):	object
Description:	FindMerry is used in cases where it is imperative to figure out 1) whether a particular Merry script is present in an object, and/or 2) where that Merry script is located. objects may have references for Merry scripts (aka "inherits"), the actual location of the script itself is at times not equal to the object nor either of its UrParents.
Example(s):	Merry code: FindMerry( $actor, "react-post", "hit-dob" ) Merry result:

first_elements

Function:	first_elements
Syntax:	mixed * first_elements(mixed arr, int num)
Return value(s):	mixed *
Description:	Retrieve <num> number of elements from <arr>, starting at the beginning and moving toward the end resulting in the first <num> values of <arr>.
Example(s):	Merry code: first_elements( ({ "1", "2", "3", "4" }), 2 ) Merry result: ({ "1", "2" })
See also:	last_elements

flatten

Function:	flatten
Syntax:	array flatten(mixed **value)
Return value(s):	array
Description:	Convert a two-dimensional array – e.g. ({ ({ 1 }) }) – to a regular array through the use of the flatten() function.
Example(s):	Merry code: flatten( ({ ({ "A1", "B1", "C1" }), ({ "A2", "B2", "C2" }) }) ) Merry result: ({ "A1", "B1", "C1", "A2", "B2", "C2" })

flatten_structmap

Function:	flatten_structmap

floor

Function:	floor
Syntax:	float floor(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Round the argument towards negative infinity.
Example(s):	Merry code: floor(14.9) Merry result: 14.0
See also:	ceil and fmod

Flt

Function:	Flt
Syntax:	float Flt(mixed value)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Convert an appropriate value to a float. that this does not work with all properties. - Strings must begin with a numeric character, and are truncated at the first non-numeric character (except points (‘.')), including e.g. ‘+', ‘-‘, e.t.c. - All floats and integers are applicable. - No objects, arrays or mappings are applicable.
Example(s):	Flt( 3 ) -> 3.0 Flt( 3+3 ) -> 6.0 Flt( 3.14 ) -> 3.14 Flt( "5.9" ) -> 5.9 Flt( "15" ) -> 15.0 Flt( "123 muffins" ) -> 123.0 Flt( "5+5" ) -> 5.0 Flt( nil ) -> 0.0 Flt( "Muffin" ) -> ERROR: cannot convert value to float Flt( $actor."base:intrinsiccapacity" ) -> 10.0 Flt( $actor."base:actualcapacity" ) -> 9.8574127
See also:	Int, Str, dump_value, mixed_to_ascii and ascii_to_mixed

fmod

Function:	fmod
Syntax:	float fmod(float x, float y)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the value f, for which there exists an integer k such that * y + f == x, f has the same sign of x, and the absolute value of is less than the absolute value of y.
Example(s):	Merry code: fmod(25.0,5.0) Merry result: 0.0 Merry code: fmod(25.0,6.0) Merry result: 1.0
See also:	ceil and floor

foo

Function:	foo

for

Function:	for
Syntax:	for(; ; )
Description:	for-loops are essentially a compression of the following: —/* for( <x>; <y>; <z> ){ <code> } */ <x>; ( <y> ){ <code> <z>; } — are traditional and frequently occuring in almost all programming languages. If the concept of for-loops still elude you, you may wish to look around on the internet for other, more verbose explanations.
Example(s):	Example #1: ———– int step; for( step = 0; step < 10; step ++ ){ EmitTo( $actor, "Taking step "+Str( step )); } EmitTo( $actor, "Done stepping. ‘step' is now: "+Str( step )); ———- Result: ——- Taking step 0 Taking step 1 Taking step 2 Taking step 3 Taking step 4 Taking step 5 Taking step 6 Taking step 7 Taking step 8 Taking step 9 Done stepping. ‘step' is now: 10 ——- Example #2: ———– int i; $colors = ({ "red", "green", "blue", "turquoise", "pink", "yellow" }) EmitTo( $actor, "These colors are available:" ); for( i = 0; i < sizeof( $colors ); i++ ){ EmitTo( $actor, $colors[i] ); } ———– Result: ——- These colors are available: red green blue turquoise pink yellow ——-
See also:	while and do

format_float

Function:	format_float
Syntax:	string format_float(float f, int dec)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Return f such that the result has dec decimal points.
Example(s):	Merry code: format_float( 0.3, 4 ) Merry result: "0.3000"

frexp

Function:	frexp
Syntax:	mixed * frexp(float x)
Return value(s):	mixed *
Description:	The argument is split into a fraction f and an integer exponent n, such that either f == 0.0, or 0.5 <= f < 1.0, and f * 2 ** n == x. ({ f, n }) is returned. If x == 0.0, both f and n will be zero.
Example(s):	Merry code: frexp(1.0) Merry result: ({ 0.5, 1 }) Merry code: frexp(1.1) Merry result: ({ 0.55, 1 }) Merry code: frexp(1.5) Merry result: ({ 0.75, 1 }) Merry code: frexp(2.0) Merry result: ({ 0.5, 2 }) Merry code: frexp(5.0) Merry result: ({ 0.625, 3 }) Merry code: frexp(10.0) Merry result: ({ 0.625, 4 }) Merry code: frexp(100.0) Merry result: ({ 0.78125, 7 })
See also:	ldexp and modf

full_explode

Function:	full_explode
Syntax:	string * full_explode(string str, string del)
Return value(s):	string *
Example(s):	Merry code: full_explode( "<br/>|", "|" ) Merry result: ({ "", "foo", "" }) (compared to) Merry code: explode( "<br/>|", "|" ) Merry result: ({ "foo" })
See also:	explode and implode

G

Get

Function:	Get
Syntax:	mixed Get(object ob, string property)
Return value(s):	mixed
Description:	Get() is used to retrieve a property from an object. It has a built-in shorter syntax as well, ( x, "y" ) -> x."y" shorter version only works if y is an absolute string value ("abc" is absolute, $property is not), otherwise the Get() function must be used.
Example(s):	$foo = Get( ob, "prop" ); /* Get the property "prop" from the object ob / $foo = Get( $actor, "prop" ); / Get the property "prop" from the actor / $propertyName = "appearance:eyecolor"; $eye = Get( $actor, $propertyName ); / Get the property "appearance:eyecolor" (as defined in $propertyName) from $actor / $otherProperty = "skin"; $skin = Get( $actor, "appearance:" + $otherProperty ); / Get "appearance:skin" (whereas ‘skin' is defined in $otherProperty) from $actor. $foo = ob."prop"; /* Get property "prop" from object ob (yes, exactly like above) / $foo = $actor."prop"; / Get "prop" from actor */ Currently, x = Get( y, "z" ); can be shortened to x = y."z"; But this only works if the property name argument (z) is absolute. That is, we cannot: x = y.$foo;
See also:	Set

get_by_int

Function:	get_by_int
Syntax:	mixed get_by_int(mapping bigmap, int ix)
Return value(s):	mixed
Description:	Get a value from a bigmap mapping from a bigmap indice specified using an integer identifier.
See also:	set_by_int, clear_by_int, get_by_ob, set_by_ob, clear_by_ob, get_by_str, set_by_str and clear_by_str

get_by_ob

Function:	get_by_ob
Syntax:	mixed get_by_ob(mapping bigmap, object ob)
Return value(s):	mixed
Description:	Get a value from a bigmap mapping from a bigmap indice specified using an object identifier.
See also:	get_by_int, set_by_int, clear_by_int, set_by_ob, clear_by_ob, get_by_str, set_by_str and clear_by_str

get_by_str

Function:	get_by_str
Syntax:	mixed get_by_str(mapping bigmap, string str)
Return value(s):	mixed
Description:	Get a value from a bigmap mapping from a bigmap indice specified using a string identifier.
See also:	get_by_int, set_by_int, clear_by_int, get_by_ob, set_by_ob, clear_by_ob, set_by_str and clear_by_str

get_day

Function:	get_day
Syntax:	int get_day(int n)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Derive the month day from the UNIX timestamp <n> and return this as an integer value.
Example(s):	Merry code: "Day of the month: " + get_day( time() ) Merry result: "Day of the month: 12"
See also:	time, ctime, short_time, smalltime, get_month, get_year, get_hour, get_minute, get_second and calculate_stamp

get_hour

Function:	get_hour
Syntax:	int get_hour(int n)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Return the hour as specified in the UNIX timestamp <n> as an integer value.
Example(s):	Merry code: "Current hour: " + get_hour( time() ) Merry result: "Current hour: 7"
See also:	time, ctime, short_time, smalltime, get_day, get_month, get_year, get_minute, get_second and calculate_stamp

get_minute

Function:	get_minute
Syntax:	int get_minute(int n)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Return the minutes passed since last new hour as specified in the UNIX timestamp <n> as an integer value.
Example(s):	Merry code: "Minutes since last new hour: " + get_minute( time() ) Merry result: "Minutes since last new hour: 40"
See also:	time, ctime, short_time, smalltime, get_day, get_month, get_year, get_hour, get_second and calculate_stamp

get_month

Function:	get_month
Syntax:	int get_month(int n)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Derive the month of the year from the UNIX timestamp <n> and return this as an integer value.
Example(s):	Merry code: "Month of the year: " + get_month( time() ) Merry result: "Month of the year: 5"
See also:	time, ctime, short_time, smalltime, get_day, get_year, get_hour, get_minute, get_second and calculate_stamp

get_second

Function:	get_second
Syntax:	int get_second(int n)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Return the seconds since last new minute as specified in the UNIX timestamp <n> as an integer value.
Example(s):	Merry code: "Seconds since last new minute: " + get_second( time() ) Merry result: "Seconds since last new minute: 33"
See also:	time, ctime, short_time, smalltime, get_day, get_month, get_year, get_hour, get_minute and calculate_stamp

get_year

Function:	get_year
Syntax:	int get_year(int n)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Return the year as specified in the UNIX timestamp <n> as an integer value.
Example(s):	Merry code: get_year( time() ) Merry result: 2004
See also:	time, ctime, short_time, smalltime, get_day, get_month, get_hour, get_minute, get_second and calculate_stamp

GetVar

Function:	GetVar
Syntax:	mixed GetVar(string n)
Return value(s):	mixed
Description:	GetVar() is used to retrieve the value of a variable with a name reference, usually used when the variable's name itself is unresolved at compile time.
Example(s):	$name = "address"; $address = "Skogsb. 27"; EmitTo( $actor, GetVar( $name )); /* * emits "Skogsb. 27", found in $address, to $actor */
See also:	SetVar, Set and Get

H

hash_crc16

Function:	hash_crc16
Syntax:	int hash_crc16(string str, string extra…)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Compute the 16 bit Cyclic Redundancy Code of the concatenation of all string arguments, with polynomial: ^16 + X^12 + X^5 + 1 -16 is considered suitable for strings of up to a total of 4096 characters.
Example(s):	Merry code: hash_crc16("text") Merry result: 49980
See also:	hash_md5

hash_md5

Function:	hash_md5
Syntax:	string hash_md5(string str, string extra…)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Compute the 128 bit MD5 message digest of the concatenation of all string arguments. The result is a string of 16 characters.
Example(s):	(test cases as per http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1321.txt ) Merry code: to_hex(hash_md5("")) Merry result: "d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e" Merry code: to_hex(hash_md5("a")) Merry result: "0cc175b9c0f1b6a831c399e269772661" Merry code: to_hex(hash_md5("abc")) Merry result: "900150983cd24fb0d6963f7d28e17f72" Merry code: to_hex(hash_md5("message digest")) Merry result: "f96b697d7cb7938d525a2f31aaf161d0" Merry code: to_hex(hash_md5("abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz")) Merry result: "c3fcd3d76192e4007dfb496cca67e13b" Merry code: to_hex(hash_md5("ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789")) Merry result: "d174ab98d277d9f5a5611c2c9f419d9f" Merry code: to_hex(hash_md5("12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890")) Merry result: "57edf4a22be3c955ac49da2e2107b67a"
See also:	hash_crc16

hex_digit

Function:	hex_digit
Syntax:	int hex_digit(int nibble)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Return the hexadecimal character of nibble, smaller than 16.
Example(s):	11 -> ‘b'
See also:	string_to_hex

humanized_date

Function:	humanized_date
Syntax:	string humanized_date(int n)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Extract a humanized date from a unix timestamp integer value, such as the one retrieved from time().
Example(s):	Merry code: humanized_date( time() ) Merry result: "8:19 AM, May 31st, 2003"
See also:	ctime, time, short_time, rfc_1123_date, days and smalltime

I

if

Function:	if
Syntax:	if()
Description:	Mastering if-statements is an absolute necessity for any programmer of almost any language. -statements occur regularly and are used to control and specify how a piece of code should react and handle various ‘situations' (conditions) by scanning conditions and variables and acting based on the results. are a good amount of examples describing a good amount (but not all) of the various ways if-cases can be used in merry. note, however, that things such as AND, OR, etc. are not exclusively used in if-statements (hence, it's not at all a bad idea to learn them all as soon as you can).
Example(s):	Example #1: (simple if) ———– if( 1 + 1 == 2 ) EmitTo( $actor, "Believe it or not! 1+1 is 2!" ); /* note that we use two equal-signs (‘=='), since one (‘=') is reserved for setting properties (like $a = 2) / ———– Result: ——- Believe it or not! 1+1 is 2! ——- Example #2: (not equals) ———– if( "abc" != "def" ) EmitTo( $actor, "‘abc' is not ‘def'" ); / TRUE / if( 123 != 456 ) EmitTo( $actor, "123 is not 456." ); / TRUE / if( 1+2+3+4 != 10 ) EmitTo( $actor, "1+2+3+4 is not 10." ); / FALSE / / == means equals. != means NOT equals, thus in the above if statements, we're asking if the left value is NOT equal to the right value / ———– Result: ——- ‘abc' is not ‘def' 123 is not 456. ——- Example #3: (less than, greater than, less/greater than or equal to) ———– if( 5 + 5 > 10 ) EmitTo( $actor, "5+5 is greater than 10" ); / FALSE / if( 103 > 20 ) EmitTo( $actor, "10 times 3 is greater than 20" ); /* TRUE / if( 50 / 5 < 20 ) EmitTo( $actor, "50 divided by 5 is less than 20" ); / TRUE / if( 10 >= 5 + 5 ) EmitTo( $actor, "10 is more than or equal to 5+5" ); / TRUE / if( 50 <= 25 * 2 ) EmitTo( $actor, "50 is less than or equal to 252" ); /* TRUE / ———– Result: ——- 10 times 3 is greater than 20 50 divided by 5 is less than 20 10 is more than or equal to 5+5 50 is less than or equal to 252 ——- Example #4: (if … else …) ———– if( 10 > 20 ) { EmitTo( $actor, "10 is more than 20." ); /* wrong / } else { EmitTo( $actor, "10 isn't more than 20." ); / right / } if( "George" == "James" ) { EmitTo( $actor, "George is James." ); / wrong / } else { EmitTo( $actor, "George is not James." ); / right / } ———– Result: ——- 10 isn't more than 20. George is not James. ——- Example #5: (multiple condition prerequisites; AND) ———– if( 1 + 2 == 3 && 5 > 4 ) EmitTo( $actor, "1+2 is 3, and 5 is more than 4." ); / TRUE / if( 5 == 2 + 3 && "kalle" == "you" ) EmitTo( $actor, "5 is 2+3 and ‘kalle' is ‘you'." ); / FALSE / if( 1+1 == 2 && 1+2 == 3 && 1010 == 100 ) EmitTo( $actor, "1+1 is 2, 1+2 is 3 and 1010 is 100." ); / TRUE / / && represents AND / ———– Result: ——- 1+2 is 3, and 5 is more than 4. 1+1 is 2, 1+2 is 3 and 1010 is 100. ——- Example #6: (multiple condition prerequisites; OR) ———– if( "kalle" == "you" || "you" == "you" ) EmitTo( $actor, "Either ‘kalle' is ‘you', or ‘you' is ‘you'." ); /* TRUE / if( 50 - 1 == 40 || 9 > 9 || 1+2+3 == 6 ) EmitTo( $actor, "50-1 is 40, or 9 is more than 9, or 1+2+3 is 6. Either one works (though only one is of course true)." ); / TRUE / / || represents OR / ———– Result: ——- Either ‘kalle' is ‘you', or ‘you' is ‘you'. 50-1 is 40, or 9 is more than 9, or 1+2+3 is 6. Either one works (though only one is of course true). ——- Example #7: (multiple condition prerequisites; parenthesis in if statements) ———– if( 15 == 7+8 || (1 == 2 && 2 == 3) ) EmitTo( $actor, "15 is 7+8, or 1 is 2 and 2 is 3." ); / TRUE */ ———– Result: ——- 15 is 7+8, or 1 is 2 and 2 is 3. ——- Example #8: (variables in conditions) ———– $name = "Kalle"; if( $name == "Kalle" ) EmitTo( $actor, "Hi Kalle!" ); else EmitTo( $actor, "You're not Kalle." ); $number = 123; if( $number == 100 + 20 + 3 ) EmitTo( $actor, Str( $number )+" is 100 + 20 + 3." ); $snack = ({ "muffin" }); if( $snack[0] == "muffin" ) EmitTo( $actor, "Element 0 in the array $snack is ‘muffin'! Mmm!" ); if( sizeof( $snack ) > 0 ) EmitTo( $actor, "Array $snack is not empty. It has at LEAST one element." ); ———– Result: ——- Hi Kalle! 123 is 100 + 20 + 3. Element 0 in the array $snack is ‘muffin'! Mmm! Array $snack is not empty. It has at LEAST one element. ——-
See also:	switch

implode

Function:	implode
Syntax:	string implode(string *arr, string separator)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Return a string, consisting of all string elements of the array arr concatenated, separated by the string separator.
Example(s):	Merry code: implode(({ "This", "is", "a", "test" }), " ") Merry result: "This is a test"
See also:	explode, sscanf and parse_string

In

Function:	In

index

Function:	index
Syntax:	int index(mixed val, array a)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	The index() function is used to retrieve the index position in an array of the first occurence of a value. () will return the integer index position, or -1 if the value is not found anywhere in the array.
Example(s):	Merry code: $array = ({ "Kalle", "Jess", "Jim", "Bob" }); EmitTo($actor, dump_value(index("Bob", $array))); Return value: 3 Merry code: $array = ({ "Kalle", "Jess", "Jim", "Bob" }); EmitTo($actor, (index("George", $array))); Return value: -1
See also:	member

Int

Function:	Int
Syntax:	int Int(mixed value)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Convert an appropriate value to an integer. that this does not work with all properties. - Strings must begin with a numeric character, and are truncated at the first non-numeric character, including e.g. ‘+', ‘-‘, e.t.c. AND points (‘.'), which are taken into account in Flt(). - All floats and integers are applicable. - No objects, arrays or mappings are applicable.
Example(s):	Int( 3.4 ) -> 3 Int( 3.5 ) -> 4 Int( 123 ) -> 123 Int( "5.9" ) -> 5 Int( "15" ) -> 15 Int( "15+1" ) -> 15 /* note math operation unresolved */ Int( "abc" ) -> ERROR: cannot convert value to integer Int( $actor."base:intrinsiccapacity" ) -> 10 Int( "1" + "0" ) -> 10 Int( "22 years old" ) -> 22 Int( nil ) -> 0
See also:	Flt, Str, dump_value, mixed_to_ascii and ascii_to_mixed

L

last_elements

Function:	last_elements
Syntax:	mixed * last_elements(mixed arr, int num)
Return value(s):	mixed *
Description:	Retrieve <num> number of elements from <arr>, starting at the end and moving toward the beginning resulting in the last <num> values of <arr>.
Example(s):	Merry code: last_elements( ({ "1", "2", "3", "4" }), 2 ) Merry result: ({ "3", "4" })
See also:	first_elements

ldexp

Function:	ldexp
Syntax:	float ldexp(float x, int n)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the value x * 2 ** n.
Example(s):	Merry code: ldexp(4.0, 0) Merry result: 4.0 Merry code: ldexp(4.0, 1) Merry result: 8.0 Merry code: ldexp(4.0, 2) Merry result: 16.0 Merry code: ldexp(4.0, 3) Merry result: 32.0
See also:	frexp and modf

log

Function:	log
Syntax:	float log(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the natural logarithm of the argument.
Example(s):	Merry code: log(0.5) Merry result: -0.69314718 Merry code: log(1.0) Merry result: 0.0 Merry code: log(2.0) Merry result: 0.69314718
See also:	exp, log10 and pow

log10

Function:	log10
Syntax:	float log10(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the logarithm of the argument to base 10.
Example(s):	Merry code: log10(0.5) Merry result: -0.30103 Merry code: log10(1.0) Merry result: 0.0 Merry code: log10(2.0) Merry result: 0.30103
See also:	exp, log and pow

lower_case

Function:	lower_case
Syntax:	string lower_case(string str)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Downcase each letter in str.
Example(s):	"SkotOS" -> "skotos"
See also:	upper_case, capitalize, decapitalize and proper

M

make_url

Function:	make_url
Syntax:	string make_url(string base, mapping args, varargs int secure)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	The make_url() function creates a string URL which includes page (<base>) and any amount of arguments (<args>).
Example(s):	Merry code: make_url( "some_page", ([ "some property" : "some value", "other property" : "other value", "actor" : $actor, "year" : 2004 ]) ) Merry result: "some_page?actor=Marrach%3Aplayers%3AK%3Akalle&other property=other+value&some property=some+value&year=2004"
See also:	url_decode, url_encode and url_absolute

map_indices

Function:	map_indices
Syntax:	mixed * map_indices(mapping map)
Return value(s):	mixed *
Description:	Return an array containing the indices of mapping map.
Example(s):	Merry code: map_indices(([ "Monday" : "Meatloaf", "Tuesday" : "Chicken", "Wednesday" : "Tater tots", "Thursday" : "Fish", "Friday" : "Leftovers", ])) Merry result: ({ "Friday", "Monday", "Thursday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday" })
See also:	map_values

map_sizeof

Function:	map_sizeof
Syntax:	int map_sizeof(mapping map)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	map_sizeof() is used to determine the size of a mapping.
Example(s):	Merry code: map_sizeof( ([ "foo" : "bar", "george" : "hamster" ]) ) Merry result: 2
See also:	sizeof and strlen

map_values

Function:	map_values
Syntax:	mixed * map_values(mapping map)
Return value(s):	mixed *
Example(s):	Merry code: map_values(([ "Monday" : "Meatloaf", "Tuesday" : "Chicken", "Wednesday" : "Tater tots", "Thursday" : "Fish", "Friday" : "Leftovers", ])) Merry result: ({ "Leftovers", "Meatloaf", "Fish", "Chicken", "Tater tots" })
See also:	map_indices

Match

Function:	Match
Syntax:	NRef * Match(object ob, string name, varargs object looker, string adj…)
Return value(s):	NRef *
Description:	Match a name (name) and any amount of adjectives (adj…) with a source's inventory (ob).
Example(s):	$black_cats = Match($actor, "cat", $actor, "black"); EmitTo($actor, "The following black cats are in your inventory: " + Describe($black_cats));
See also:	MatchPlural

MatchPlural

Function:	MatchPlural
Syntax:	NRef * MatchPlural(object ob, string pname, varargs object looker, string adj…)
Return value(s):	NRef *
Description:	Match a pname (plural name) and any amount of adjectives (adj…) with a source's inventory (ob).
Example(s):	$black_cats = MatchPlural( $actor, "cats", $actor, "black" ); EmitTo($actor, "The following black cats are in your inventory: " + Describe($black_cats));
See also:	Match

member

Function:	member
Syntax:	int member(mixed m, array a)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	To figure out whether an array contains a certain value, you use member(). The following: ( i = 0; i < sizeof( a ); i++ ) ( a[i] == val ) { /* found it! / } instead be written as: ( member( val, a )) { / found it! */ }
Example(s):	Merry result: 1 Merry code: member( "a", ({ "a", "b", "c" }) )

millitime

Function:	millitime
Return value(s):	mixed *
Description:	Return the current time as an array ({ time, fraction }), where time is an integer denoting the current time in seconds, and fraction is a float in range [0.0 .. 1.0>, denoting the fraction of the current second that has passed, with a resolution of 0.001.
Example(s):	Merry code: millitime() Merry result: ({ 1049514170, 0.983 })
See also:	time and ctime

mixed_to_ascii

Function:	mixed_to_ascii
Syntax:	string mixed_to_ascii(mixed value)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Convert any property to a string value. that this function is a clone of dump_value(). examples and further information, read the ‘dump_value' reference.
See also:	ascii_to_mixed and dump_value

modf

Function:	modf
Syntax:	float * modf(float x)
Return value(s):	float *
Description:	Split the argument into a fraction f and an integer part n, such that f < 1.0, and f + n == x. ({ f, n }) is returned. Note that n is returned as a float, and may not be representable in type int.
Example(s):	Merry code: modf(0.0) Merry result: ({ 0.0, 0.0 }) Merry code: modf(0.5) Merry result: ({ 0.5, 0.0 }) Merry code: modf(1.0) Merry result: ({ 0.0, 1.0 }) Merry code: modf(2.0) Merry result: ({ 0.0, 2.0 })
See also:	frexp and ldexp

N

NewNRef

Function:	NewNRef
Syntax:	NRef NewNRef(object obj, string detail)
Return value(s):	NRef
Description:	Create a new NRef for an object.
Example(s):	Merry code: NewNRef( $actor, "nose" ) Merry result: (43)O(/base/data/nref#-1, , "nose")
See also:	NRefOb and NRefDetail

NRefDetail

Function:	NRefDetail
Syntax:	string NRefDetail(NRef n)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Find out the detail ID an NRef is referring to.
Example(s):	Merry condition: Actor is smiling at someone's arm ($target). To figure out which part of ‘someone' the actor is smiling at: Merry code: NRefDetail( $target ) Merry result: "arm
See also:	NRefOb and NewNRef

NRefOb

Function:	NRefOb
Syntax:	object NRefOb(NRef n)
Return value(s):	object
Description:	Figure out which object an NRef is referring to.
Example(s):	Merry condition: Actor is smiling at someone's arm ($target). To figure out who ‘someone' is: Merry code: NRefOb( $target ) Merry result: (object reference for ‘someone')
See also:	NRefDetail and NewNRef

NRefsEqual

Function:	NRefsEqual
Syntax:	int NRefsEqual(NRef left, NRef right)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	NRefsEqual is used to check whether two NRefs are equal. that ‘if( NRef1 == NRef2 )' will always return FALSE, regardless. , you must do ‘if( NRefsEqual( NRef1, NRef2 ))' instead.
Example(s):	Merry code: NRefsEqual( NewNRef( $actor, "nose" ), NewNRef( $actor, "nose" )) Merry result: 1 Merry code: NRefsEqual( NewNRef( $actor, "default" ), $actor )) Merry result: 1 Merry code: NRefsEqual( $actor, $actor ) Merry result: 1 Merry code: NRefsEqual( $actor, NewNRef( $actor, "ear" )) Merry result: 0
See also:	NRefOb, NRefDetail and NewNRef

Num

Function:	Num
Syntax:	mixed Num(mixed v)
Return value(s):	mixed
Description:	Turn a string value <v> into a float or integer value. The function will cause an error if <v> is not convertable.
Example(s):	Merry code: Num( "4" ) Merry result: 4 Merry code: Num( "4.5" ) Merry result: 4.5
See also:	Str, Int, Flt, Arr and Map

number_digit

Function:	number_digit
Syntax:	int number_digit(int hexvalue)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Convert any numeric value into a one-digit number, based on the character code position (ASCII, in this case), into the numeric value it represents. ‘5', the char, equals 53, the numeric value. ( 53 ) equals 5, the numeric value.
Example(s):	Merry code: number_digit( 1 ) Merry result: 0 Merry code: number_digit( 50 ) Merry result: 2 Merry code: number_digit( 51 ) Merry result: 3 Merry code: number_digit( 52 ) Merry result: 4 Merry code: number_digit( 57 ) Merry result: 9 Merry code: number_digit( 58 ) Merry result: 0 Merry code: number_digit( ‘5' ) Merry result: 5 Merry code: number_digit( ‘9' ) Merry result: 9

O

Obj

Function:	Obj
Syntax:	object Obj(string s)
Return value(s):	object
Description:	Obj() is used to retrieve an object's reference through the object's string-name. instance, if you have a string objectname, which contains the name of an object you need to access, you could do ob = Obj( objectname ); the objectname is user-specified, you mustn't count on its validity; if the object <objectname> does not exist, Obj() will return nil. if( !ob ) /* object not exist error handling */ the object is static, i.e. the name of the object is predetermined and won't ever change, you are encouraged to use the syntax ${objectname} instead. This is the exact same thing as Obj() except that a reference in ${}'s will be updated automatically if the object is ever renamed.
Example(s):	Merry code: Obj( "Generic:UrMale" ) Merry result: Merry code: Obj( "Something:nonexistent" ) Merry result: nil

object_name

Function:	object_name
Syntax:	string object_name(object obj)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Return the name of object obj.
Example(s):	Merry code: object_name($actor) Runtime error: object_name() is replaced by name() and ur_name() Merry code: name($actor) Merry result: "Chatters:LC:ch:allen-christopher" Merry code: ur_name($actor) Merry result: "/base/obj/thing#4803"
See also:	find_object

obstat

Function:	obstat

oneof

Function:	oneof
Syntax:	string oneof(string alt1, string alt2, …)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Similar to the SAM oneof, {One<br/><br/>}, oneof() can be used to produce a random string based on a number of alternatives.
Example(s):	oneof( "George", "James", "John" ) -> either "George", "James" or "John". "Mr. " + oneof( "George", "James", "John" ) + " " + oneof( "Georgeson", "Jameson", "Johnson" ) -> Mr. George/James/John Georgeson/Jameson/Johnson, e.g. Mr. George Johnson.

ordinal

Function:	ordinal
Syntax:	int ordinal(string str)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Convert a string expression of an ordinal number into an integer value.
Example(s):	Merry code: ordinal( "first" ) Merry result: 1 Merry code: ordinal( "fifth" ) Merry result: 5 Merry code: ordinal( "tenth" ) Merry result: 10 Merry code: ordinal( "ninetyninth" ) Merry result: 99
See also:	cardinal, desc_ordinal and desc_cardinal

P

pad_left

Function:	pad_left
Syntax:	string pad_left(string var, int size)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Pad var with spaces to the left, so that the result is size long.
Example(s):	Merry code: pad_left( "foo", 8 ) Merry result: " foo" (note that the result above contains five spaces, but only one is displayed in non-pre style)
See also:	strip_left, strip_right, strip and pad_right

pad_right

Function:	pad_right
Syntax:	string pad_right(string var, int size)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Pad var with spaces to the right, so that the result is size long.
Example(s):	Merry code: pad_right( "foo", 8 ) Merry result: "foo " (note that the result above contains five spaces, but only one is displayed in non-pre style)
See also:	strip_left, strip_right, strip and pad_left

parse_string

Function:	parse_string
Syntax:	mixed parse_string(string format, string str)
Return value(s):	mixed
Description:	Parse a string as described by the grammar. The format of the grammar is described in the document called ‘Parsing'. If parsing is successful, the parse tree is returned as an array. The optional third argument specifies the number of alternative parse trees to integrate in the result, if the grammar is ambiguous. parse_string() uses internal object storage to cache grammars and generated automatons, which is not removed until the object is destructed. function cannot be used from a user or editor object. : parse_string kfun is a very powerful parser to which you supply a grammar of your choice. It's reminiscent of lex and yacc if you've used them before. DGD's parse_string, unlike most parsers, keeps track of all your ambiguous matches. That fact is both a great power and a great responsibility. that means is that if your grammar allows something to be parsed a couple of different ways then DGD will keep track of them all while parsing. If there are two ways to parse a double-if statement with else (the else can go with either if) in your grammar, and you feed parse_string a chunk with fifteen of those, you'll find that DGD is keeping track of 2^15 (that's around 32,000) different interpretations of your file. Then it will cheerfully return only the first. That's slow, just in case you hadn't guessed. , sometimes you want ambiguous parsing. For instance, you may have a natural language parser for player commands, and you'd like the player to be able to type "get down" and have it mean either of "get down from the platform" or "take the down pillow" according to two different grammar rules. DGD's parse_string will return both parses, and you can decide which makes more sense where the player is standing at the time. Most parsers won't do this for you. Lucky you found DGD, hey? fellow named Steve Foley has graciously put together a tutorial on parse_string, with the aid of our own Nino (Erwin Harte). You can find it at http://www.mindspring.com/~zeppo1/parse_string.html
See also:	sscanf, explode and implode

ParseXML

Function:	ParseXML
Syntax:	mixed ParseXML(string XML)
Return value(s):	mixed
Description:	ParseXML() is used to convert an XML string to the appropriate value (a SAM-string, for instance). the Bilbo $sam(), ParseXML() used with UnSAM() constitute Merry's portal to the XML/SAM engine. It's not going to be used as much as Bilbo's is, because SAM has few abilities that Merry does not have natively. To emulate $sam(foo), use (ParseXML("foo")). real use of UnSAM() is to handle binary SAM data stored in e.g. descriptions. If you have a room with a description containing oneof's, for example, and you want to create a text representation of this, you'd want to do something like, = UnSAM(Get(this, "details:default:description:examine"));
Example(s):	Merry code: ParseXML( "{sam-style|one|of}" ) Merry result: X[S] {sam-style|one|of} Merry code: ParseXML( "<describe what="$actor"/>" ) Merry result: X[S] Merry code: UnSAM( ParseXML( "<describe what="$actor"/>" ) Merry result: "StoryCoder Kalle" Merry code: ParseXML( "You are <describe what="$actor"/>, the {heroic|fantastic|extraordinary|hulkhoganish|awesome|illiterate|analphabetic|dyslectic} {thief|villain|joe|wizard|viking|lord|knight|master} {of|from} {Sweden|Norway|York|Denmark|London|Scandinavia}!" ) Merry result: X[S] You are , the {heroic|fantastic|extraordinary|hulkhoganish|awesome|illiterate|analphabetic|dyslectic} {thief|villain|joe|wizard|viking|lord|knight|master} {of|from} {Sweden|Norway|York|Denmark|London|Scandinavia}!
See also:	UnSAM

Popup

Function:	Popup
Syntax:	void Popup(object recipient, object source, string what)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	There is a new Merry function called Popup(). If the user is running an official Skotos client (Java, Zealous or Alice) this will cause a browser window to pop up for the player, filled with whatever content you specify. For example, ($actor, $actor."base:environment", "painting"); popup a window to $actor, displaying the contents of the property html:painting in the actor's current room. , popup window content is written in HTML, and we're lucky in that SAM – which we normally use to write text description – is closely related to HTML. an example, we might have… .html:painting = X[S] <BODY bgcolor="black"> <IMG src="http://www.mydomain.com/images/painting.jpg"/> |</BODY> wouldn't look good – it'd be up to you to do cook up some nice looking stylesheet, or something – but you get the idea. course, SAM can do more than just represent static HTML. SAM for popups can use the same active tags that it does for text… we can pull values from the room and apply logic to the values. For example, display different paintings depending on the light level of the room… .html:painting = X[S] <BODY bgcolor="$(this.painting:bgcolor)"> {? | $this.base:dark|<IMG src="http://www.mydomain.com/images/painting-in-dark.jpg"/>|<IMG src="http://www.mydomain.com/images/painting-in-light.jpg"/> } </BODY> , you get the basic idea. popups are built on top of a general way for browsers to fetch the value of a property from an in-game object. This system a special form of the basic URL syntax you are used to from browsing the web. A URL that fetches the property ‘html:painting' from ‘Zell:Rooms:PaintingRoom' and displays it would look like, /SAM/Prop/Zell:Rooms:PaintingRoom/painting and that is in fact precisely the URL constructed by the Popup() call in Merry, above. special format of this URL allows us to use relative linking in a very handy way. Let's add a hyperlink to our example: .html:painting = X[S] <BODY bgcolor="$(this.painting:bgcolor)"> |<A href="painting-closeup"> |{? | $this.base:dark|<IMG src="http://www.mydomain.com/images/painting-in-dark.jpg"/><IMG src="http://www.mydomain.com/images/painting-in-light.jpg"/> } </A> </BODY> will note that the ‘href' attribute of the link is a relative URL. The browser will automatically expand this to /SAM/Prop/Zell:Rooms:PaintingRoom/painting-closeup and so if you click on the link, you will be taken to the contents of the property ‘html:painting-closeup' in the same object as ‘html:painting' is already defined. This makes it easy to create links that navigate between web properties in a single object. further complexity, Merry can now be embedded anywhere in SAM – either to be included in the stream of text, or as attribute value to another SAM tag. For example, let's say we want to automate the example above with different paintings even further. We could dynamically create the URL from the derived property base:light-category: .html:painting = X[S] <BODY bgcolor="black"> |<IMG src='$[ /* MERRY: add the light category into the middle of the URL */ "http://www.mydomain.com/images/painting-" + $this."base:light-category" + ".jpg" ]'/> </BODY> get -really- exciting when you begin to use the zform and zact SAM tags, which allow a Merry script to be executed on the server when the user hits a submit button or a link. This means popups can contain controls, such as start story configuration panels.

pow

Function:	pow
Syntax:	float pow(float x, float y)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return x to the power y.
Example(s):	Merry code: pow(10.0, 3.0) Merry result: 1000.0
See also:	exp, log and log10

PRE

Function:	PRE
Syntax:	string PRE(string str)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Use PRE() to get the equivalent of the HTML <PRE> tag.
See also:	TAG

prefixed_map

Function:	prefixed_map
Syntax:	mapping prefixed_map(mapping map, string prefix)
Return value(s):	mapping
Description:	Extract all elements from map where the indice (key) begins with prefix. are known issues with mappings that contain non-alphanumeric characters, that may result in invalid results for this specific function.
Example(s):	Merry code: prefixed_map( ([ "Monday" : "Meatloaf", "Tuesday" : "Chicken", "Wednesday" : "Tater tots", "Thursday" : "Fish", "Friday" : "Leftovers" ]), "Monday" ) Merry result: ([ "Monday":"Meatloaf" ]) Merry code: prefixed_map( ([ "ape" : "monkey", "adam" : "pig", "bertram" : "prince" ]), "a" ) Merry result: ([ "adam":"pig", "ape":"monkey" ])

previous_object

Function:	previous_object
Syntax:	varargs object previous_object(int n)
Return value(s):	varargs object
Description:	Return the object n+1 (default: 1) steps back in the call_other chain. the object is destructed, or the number of steps is larger than the number of call_others involved, zero is returned.
Example(s):	Merry code: previous_object() Merry result:
See also:	call_other, this_object and call_trace

previous_program

Function:	previous_program
Syntax:	string previous_program(varargs int n)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Return the name of the object with the function n+1 (default: 1) steps back in the function call chain. If the number of steps is larger than the number of function calls involved, nil is returned.
Example(s):	Merry code: previous_program() Merry result: "/usr/SkotOS/lib/merrynode"
See also:	previous_object and call_trace

proper

Function:	proper
Syntax:	string proper(string str)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Make sure the first letter of each space-delimited word in str is capitalized.
Example(s):	"the kingdom of sweden" -> "The Kingdom Of Sweden"
See also:	lower_case, upper_case, capitalize and decapitalize

Q

query_editor

Function:	query_editor
Syntax:	string query_editor(object obj)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Return the editor status of an object. This is either "command", if the editor instance is in command mode, "insert", if the editor instance is in input mode, or 0, if there is no editor instance for the given object.
Example(s):	Merry code: query_editor($actor) Merry result: nil

query_ip_name

Function:	query_ip_name
Syntax:	string query_ip_name(object user)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Return the IP name of a user, as a string, or nil if the given object is not a user object. If the IP name could not be resolved, the IP number is returned, instead.
See also:	query_ip_number, send_datagram, send_message, this_user and users

query_ip_number

Function:	query_ip_number
Syntax:	string query_ip_number(object user)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Return the ip number of a user, as a string, or 0 if the given object is not a user object.

R

random

Function:	random
Syntax:	int random(int mod)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Return a positive random number between 0 and integer specified within () minus 1. example would return a random number between 1 and 5 due to the modifier of +1. modifier is less than 1, 0 is returned.
Example(s):	random(5)+1

replace_html

Function:	replace_html
Syntax:	string replace_html(string str)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Use replace_html() to escape HTML.
Example(s):	"foo & bar" -> "foo & bar"

replace_strings

Function:	replace_strings
Syntax:	string replace_strings(string str, string swaps…)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Replace substrings in str given in swaps.
Example(s):	Merry code: replace_strings( "You, someone, must something!", "someone", "Kalle", "something", "jump" ) Merry result: "You, Kalle, must jump!"

replace_xml

Function:	replace_xml
Syntax:	string replace_xml(string str)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Escape a string, adding a backslash character before any character significant to SAM.
Example(s):	Merry code: ParseXML( "1<2 & 3>2" ) Runtime error: XML: file N/A line 1: unexpected token Merry code: replace_xml( "1<2 & 3>2" ) Merry result: "1\\<2 \\& 3\\>2" Merry code: ParseXML( replace_xml( "1<2 & 3>2" )) Merry result: X[S] 1\<2 \& 3\>2 Merry code: UnSAM( ParseXML( replace_xml( "1<2 & 3>2" ))) Merry result: "1<2 & 3>2"
See also:	ParseXML and UnSAM

restore_object

Function:	restore_object
Syntax:	int restore_object(string file)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Restore all global variables in an object that are not private or static from a file. All variables which qualify, but were not restored and do not contain object values, will be set to 0. 1 is returned if the variables could be restored, 0 otherwise.
See also:	save_object

reverse

Function:	reverse
Syntax:	mixed * reverse(mixed *orig)
Return value(s):	mixed *
Description:	Reverse the array <orig>, result being an array listing the values of <orig> backwards.
Example(s):	Merry code: reverse( ({ "ape", "monkey", "giraffe" }) ) Merry result: ({ "giraffe", "monkey", "ape" })
See also:	reverse_mapping

reverse_lookup

Function:	reverse_lookup
Syntax:	mixed reverse_lookup(mapping map, mixed val)
Return value(s):	mixed
Description:	Mappings are sequences of pairs, each pair containing an indice (key) and a value. The ordinary way to read from a map is to read the values by providing the indice - map[<indice>] == <value>. The reverse_lookup function is used to read the indices by providing the values.
Example(s):	Merry code: reverse_lookup( ([ "a":1, "b":2, "c":3 ]), 2 ) Merry result: "b"
See also:	map_indices and map_values

reverse_mapping

Function:	reverse_mapping
Syntax:	mapping reverse_mapping(mapping map)
Return value(s):	mapping
Description:	Reverse a mapping by setting indice->value, and value->indice. that if a mapping contains several identical values, such as ([ "foo" : "bar", "foo2" : "bar" ]), a call to reverse_mapping will result in a "mapping is not injective" runtime error.
Example(s):	Merry code: reverse_mapping( ([ "foo" : "bar", "name" : "kalle" ]) ) Merry result: ([ "bar":"foo", "kalle":"name" ])

rfc_1123_date

Function:	rfc_1123_date
Syntax:	string rfc_1123_date(int n)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Extract a UNIX time stamp date as a string, formatted RFC-1123 compliant.
Example(s):	Merry code: rfc_1123_date( time() ) Merry result: "Sat, 31 May 2003 14:21:43 GMT"
See also:	ctime, time, short_time, humanized_date, days and smalltime

S

save_object

Function:	save_object
Syntax:	void save_object(string file)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Save all global variables in an object that are not private or static to a file. Only non-zero and non-object values are actually saved.

Set

Function:	Set
Syntax:	void Set(object ob, string property, mixed value)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Set() is used to set a property in an object to a value. It has a built-in shorter syntax as well, ( x, "y", z ) -> x."y" = z; shorter version only works if y is an absolute string value ("abc" is absolute, $property is not), otherwise the Set() function must be used.
Example(s):	$foo = "I'ma value."; Set( ob, "prop", $foo ); /* Set "prop" in ob to "I'ma value." (as defined in $foo) / Set( $actor, "prop", $foo ); / Set "prop" in actor to "I'ma value." (as defined in $foo) / $changeWhat = "appearance:eyecolor"; $value = "rainbow"; Set( $actor, $changeWhat, $value ); / Set "appearance:eyecolor" (as defined in $changeWhat) in $actor to "rainbow" (as defined in $value) / $changeSomethingElse = "skin"; $value = "pink with blue dots"; Set( $actor, "appearance:" + $changeSomethingElse, $value ); / Set "appearance:skin" in $actor to "pink with blue dots" / ob."prop" = $foo; / Set "prop" in ob to "I'ma value." */ $actor."prop" = $foo; Currently, Set( x, "y", z ); can be shortened to x."y" = z; But this only works if the property name argument (y) is absolute. That is, we cannot: x.$foo = z;
See also:	Get

set_by_int

Function:	set_by_int
Syntax:	void set_by_int(mapping bigmap, int ix, mixed val)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Set the value in <bigmap> for the indice specified using integer identifier <ix> to <val>.
See also:	get_by_int, clear_by_int, get_by_ob, set_by_ob, clear_by_ob, get_by_str, set_by_str and clear_by_str

set_by_ob

Function:	set_by_ob
Syntax:	void set_by_ob(mapping bigmap, string str, mixed val)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Set the value in <bigmap> for the indice specified using object identifier <ob> to <val>.
See also:	get_by_int, set_by_int, clear_by_int, get_by_ob, clear_by_ob, get_by_str, set_by_str and clear_by_str

set_by_str

Function:	set_by_str
Syntax:	void set_by_str(mapping bigmap, string str, mixed val)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Set the value in <bigmap> for the indice specified using string identifier <str> to <val>.
See also:	get_by_int, set_by_int, clear_by_int, get_by_ob, set_by_ob, clear_by_ob, get_by_str, set_by_str and clear_by_str

SetVar

Function:	SetVar
Syntax:	SetVar(string n, mixed v)
Description:	SetVar() is used to set the value of a variable with a possibly constructed name, usually used when the variable's name is unresolved at compile time.
Example(s):	$property = "address"; $value = "Skogsb. 27"; SetVar( $property, $value ); EmitTo( $actor, $address ); /* * Emits "Skogsb. 27", found in $address, to $actor. */
See also:	GetVar, Set and Get

short_time

Function:	short_time
Syntax:	string short_time(int stamp)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Extract a brief string version of a UNIX timestamp date (stamp).
Example(s):	Merry code: short_time( time() ) Merry result: "May 31 08:28"
See also:	ctime, time, humanized_date, rfc_1123_date, days and smalltime

sin

Function:	sin
Syntax:	float sin(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the sine of the argument.
Example(s):	Merry code: sin(0.0) Merry result: 0.0 Merry code: sin(0.5) Merry result: 0.47942554 Merry code: sin(1.0) Merry result: 0.84147098
See also:	cos and tan

sinh

Function:	sinh
Syntax:	float sinh(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the hyperbolic sine of the argument.
Example(s):	Merry code: sinh(0.0) Merry result: 0.0 Merry code: sinh(0.5) Merry result: 0.52109531 Merry code: sinh(1.0) Merry result: 1.1752012
See also:	cosh and tanh

sizeof

Function:	sizeof
Syntax:	int sizeof(mixed *arr)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	sizeof() is used to determine the size of an array.
Example(s):	Merry code: sizeof( ({ "foo", "bar", "george", "hamster" }) ) Merry result: 4
See also:	map_sizeof and strlen

Slay

Function:	Slay
Syntax:	void Slay(object ob)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Slay() undoes what Spawn() does. word of warning though: there is no such thing as a ‘trashcan'. what you're doing.
Example(s):	Slay( $steaming_hot_cup_of_java );
See also:	Spawn and Duplicate

smalltime

Function:	smalltime
Syntax:	string smalltime(int stamp)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Return the hour and minute of the UNIX timestamp date (stamp).
Example(s):	Merry code: smalltime( time () ) Merry result: "08:29"
See also:	ctime, time, humanized_date, rfc_1123_date, days and short_time

Social

Function:	Social
Syntax:	void Social(object ob, string verb, string adverb, string evoke, string prep1, NRef *obs1, string prep2, NRef *obs2, …)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Social() is a shortcut for what could actually be accomplished through the use of Act(), by calling the "social" action. However, the social action is complex enough and socials are so common that this convenience function is quite warranted. Note that this executes real socials, not just emits. This means all the signals and scripts associated with the social are run as well. Social() can take a good amount of argument and can generate any results with the parser that any regular player can. Only the first two arguments are required: the object to command, and the verb to execute. The adverbs and evokes should be straight-forward. The last string of arguments specify the different targets and at least for now, more than one pair of preposition and object should be quite rare. In some cases, though, when a Social() doesn't seem to do what you ask, you may have to look into Act(). (Hack) Set the property $(adverb:position) to one of the following, right before the call to Social() to determine the position of the adverb: PRE_VERB = "pv" e.g. ‘happily wave the sword' PRE_ROLE = "pr" e.g. ‘wave happily to the creature' = "pp" e.g. ‘wave the sword angrily at the mutant' PRE_EVOKE = "pe" e.g. ‘wave the sword at the mutant angrily' E.g.: $(adverb:position) = PRE_VERB; Social( $actor, "smile", "happily", "Hi Charles!" ); -> You happily smile, "Hi Charles!"
Example(s):	Social( $actor, "smile" ); -> You smile. Social( $actor, "smile", "happily" ); -> You smile happily. Social( $actor, "smile", "happily", "G'day everyone!" ); -> You smile happily, "G'day everyone!" Social( $actor, "smile", "happily", nil, "at", $actor ); -> You smile happily at yourself. Social( $actor, "smile", "happily", nil, "at", ({ $actor, NewNRef( $actor, "toe" ) }) ); -> You smile happily at yourself and your toe. Social( $actor, "turn", "seriously", nil, nil, NewNRef( $actor, "head" ), "to", NewNRef( $actor, "feet" ) ); -> You turn seriously your head to your feet.
See also:	Act, EmitTo and EmitIn

spaces

Function:	spaces
Syntax:	string spaces(int num)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Return a string of num spaces.
Example(s):	Merry code: spaces( 5 ) Merry result: " " (note that the result above contains five spaces, but only one is displayed in non-pre style)
See also:	pad_left and pad_right

Spawn

Function:	Spawn
Syntax:	object Spawn(object ob)
Return value(s):	object
Description:	Extremely straight-forward, this is how we generate new objects. Merry can only create spawns of existing ur-objects, though this limitation may go out the door in time. The spawn behaves exactly as spawns do throughout the Skotos system.
Example(s):	$steaming_hot_cup_of_java = Spawn( ${Generic:drink:mug-coffee} );
See also:	Duplicate and Slay

sqrt

Function:	sqrt
Syntax:	float sqrt(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the square root of the argument.
Example(s):	Merry code: sqrt(2.0) Merry result: 1.4142136

sscanf

Function:	sscanf
Syntax:	int sscanf(string str, string fmt, …)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Parse the string str, using the format string fmt. The following character sequences have a special meaning in the format string: %s match a substring %d match a number %f match a floating-point number %c match a character %% match single % characters must be matched exactly. %s, %d, %f and %c can be used to match without assignment. Matched substrings and numbers are assigned to the successive lvalue arguments following the format string. The number of matched substrings and numbers is returned.
See also:	parse_string, explode and implode

status

Function:	status
Syntax:	varargs mixed * status(object obj)
Return value(s):	varargs mixed *
Description:	Called without an argument, this kfun returns information about resources used by the system. With an object as argument, resource usage by that object is given. The returned value is an array, the fields of which are described in the include file .
Example(s):	Merry code: status() Merry result: ({ "DGD 1.2.55p2s", 997809254, 1046300140, 51470076, 1048576, 112323, 1024, 0, 0, 25037884, 24893744, 124032000, 118680792, 262144, 11447, 10000, 15, 41, 400, 40, 1048576, 8192, 243, 499975398, ({ }), "198.232.133.147" })

Stop

Function:	Stop
Syntax:	void Stop(string identifier)
Return value(s):	void
Description:	Stop() is used to terminate a running loop, instantiated using the Every() function. takes the identifier string returned by the Every() function as single argument.
Example(s):	[Also see C. Allen's example torch at: Examples:complete:light:torch] See the Every() function reference for an example.
See also:	Every

Str

Function:	Str
Syntax:	string Str(mixed value)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Convert an appropriate value to a string. that this does not work with all properties. - All strings, floats, integers and objects are applicable. - No arrays or mappings are applicable.
Example(s):	Str( 3 ) -> "3" Str( 3+3 ) -> "6" Str( 3.14 ) -> "3.14" Str( "5.9" ) -> "5.9" Str( "15" ) -> "15" Str( "123 muffins" ) -> "123 muffins" Str( "5+5" ) -> "5+5" Str( nil ) -> "" Str( "Muffin" ) -> "Muffin" Str( $actor."base:intrinsiccapacity" ) -> "10.0" Str( $actor."base:actualcapacity" ) -> "9.8574127" Str( $actor ) -> "Marrach:players:K:kalle" Str( ({ "a", "b", "c" }) ) -> ERROR: cannot convert value to string
See also:	Int, Flt, dump_value, mixed_to_ascii and ascii_to_mixed

string_to_hex

Function:	string_to_hex
Syntax:	string string_to_hex(string bytes)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Return the hexadecimal representation of bytes.
Example(s):	‘FOO' -> 464f4f
See also:	hex_digit

strip

Function:	strip
Syntax:	string strip(string str)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Strip whitespace from both sides of str.
Example(s):	" abc " -> "abc"
See also:	strip_left, strip_right, pad_left and pad_right

strip_left

Function:	strip_left
Syntax:	string strip_left(string str)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Strip whitespace from the left of str.
Example(s):	" abc " –> "abc "
See also:	strip_right, strip, pad_left and pad_right

strip_right

Function:	strip_right
Syntax:	string strip_right(string str)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Strip whitespace from the right of str.
Example(s):	" abc " –> " abc"
See also:	strip_left, strip, pad_left and pad_right

strlen

Function:	strlen
Syntax:	int strlen(string s)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Return the length of string s.
Example(s):	Merry code: strlen( "test" ) Merry result: 4
See also:	map_sizeof and sizeof

structure_propmap

Function:	structure_propmap

switch

Function:	switch
Syntax:	switch(mixed value)
Description:	The switch() statement is in a way an extension of if(). For example, ( $a == 1 ) EmitTo( $actor, "One" ); ( $a == 2 ) EmitTo( $actor, "Two" ); ( $a == 3 ) EmitTo( $actor, "Three" ); - can also be written as, ( $a ){ 1: EmitTo( $actor, "One" ); break; 2: EmitTo( $actor, "Two" ); break; 3: EmitTo( $actor, "Three" ); break; } the switch() block, the case and default keywords are used to check conditions, both concluded using the break keyword. Several case statements can be made in which case the code after the first TRUE case statement is executed regardless until the next break. Example: ( $a ){ 1: EmitTo( $actor, "One." ); /* no break; */ 2: EmitTo( $actor, "Two." ); break; 3: EmitTo( $actor, "Three." ); break; } $a is 1, the output will be "One." followed by "Two." but if $a is 2 the output will be "Two." only. $a is 3, the output will be "Three." only.
Example(s):	———-Example #1: ———– $i = 2; switch( $i ){ case 0: EmitTo( $actor, "Zero value." ); break; case 1: EmitTo( $actor, "Value is one." ); break; case 2: EmitTo( $actor, "Value is two." ); break; default: EmitTo( $actor, "It's not 0, not 1, not 2." ); break; } ———– Result: ——- Value is two. ——- Example #2: (advanced) ———– /* Compare two values, $left and $right, regardless of value type. We call this script lib:compare in this (since we will be calling ourselves further down) */ if( typeof( $left ) != typeof( $right )) /* They're not even the same type, so we check their dump values and just compare those. */ return dump_value( $left ) == dump_value( $right ); switch( typeof( $left )){ case T_ARRAY: /* this is an array, so we do some special checks, cause in this compare function, ({ "a", "b" }) is the same as ({ "b", "a" }) */ /* firstly, check if the size of both is the same (if not, they're not similar) */ if( sizeof( $left ) != sizeof( $right )) return FALSE; /* We sort'em. */ $left = map_indices( arr_to_set( $left )); $right = map_indices( arr_to_set( $right )); /* and step through'em each to see if we find any differences */ for( $i = 0; $i < sizeof( $left ); $i++ ) /* Here we call ourselves recursively on each element in the array, and if we get a "not similar" anywhere, we have reached the conclusion that the two properties aren't similar */ if( !Call( this, "compare", $left: $left[$i], $right: $right[$i] )) return FALSE; break; case T_MAPPING: /* this is a mapping, so we need to do some other special checks */ /* size check, like we did with the arrays above, but we use ‘map_sizeof' since we're dealing with mappings */ if( map_sizeof( $left ) != map_sizeof( $right )) return FALSE; /* Okay, sizes are right. Let's extract indices and values, and do a check on both */ $left_indices = map_indices( $left ); /* ([ "foo" : "bar" ]) becomes ({ "foo" }) */ $right_indices = map_indices( $right ); for( $i = 0; $i < sizeof( $left_indices ); $i++ ) if( !Call( this, "compare", $left: $left_indices[$i], $right: $right_indices[$i] )) return FALSE; /* indices seem to be the same; checking values now … */ $left_values = map_values( $left ); /* ([ "foo" : "bar" ]) becomes ({ "bar" }) */ $right_values = map_values( $right ); for( $i = 0; $i < sizeof( $left_values ); $i++ ) if( !Call( this, "compare", $left: $left_values[$i], $right: $right_values[$i] )) return FALSE; break; default: /* anything that wasn't caught above (arrays and mappings) is caught here */ return $left == $right; /* simple enough, neh? */ break; } return TRUE; ———– Comment: ——– The above function, while a little long, is a perfect example for what switch() may be used for. Try putting the function in for instance your body and call it like: +tool merry eval Call( $actor, "compare", $left: ([ ({ "a", "b", "c" }) : ([ "foo" : "bar" ]) ]), $right : ([ ({ "c", "b", "a" }) : ([ "foo" : "bar" ]) ]) ) (which will result in a ‘1' which means TRUE (they are the same)) ——–
See also:	if and break

T

tabulate

Function:	tabulate
Syntax:	string tabulate(mixed *arrlist…)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	For a fixed-sized font, render the arrays in arrlist in a table.

TAG

Function:	TAG
Syntax:	string TAG(string str, string tag)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Use TAG() to colorize text using the client user's preset theme colors.
See also:	PRE

tan

Function:	tan
Syntax:	float tan(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the tangent of the argument. : values close to a multiple of PI/2, the result may be inaccurate.
Example(s):	Merry code: tan(0.0) Merry result: 0.0 Merry code: tan(0.5) Merry result: 0.54630249 Merry code: tan(1.5) Merry result: 14.10142
See also:	cos and sin

tanh

Function:	tanh
Syntax:	float tanh(float x)
Return value(s):	float
Description:	Return the hyperbolic tangent of the argument.
Example(s):	Merry code: tanh(0.0) Merry result: 0.0 Merry code: tanh(0.5) Merry result: 0.46211716 Merry code: tanh(1.5) Merry result: 0.90514825
See also:	cosh and sinh

this_object

Function:	this_object
Return value(s):	object
Description:	The this_object() function returns the internal object name for ‘this'.
Example(s):	Merry code: this_object() Merry result:
See also:	previous_object

time

Function:	time
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Return the current time as an integer. The time can be converted into a string with the kfun ctime().
Example(s):	Merry code: time() Merry result: 1049521697
See also:	ctime

to_hex

Function:	to_hex
Syntax:	string to_hex(string bytes)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Transform a sequence of characters (a string) into a sequence of hexadecimal values.
Example(s):	Merry code: to_hex( "Kalle" ) Merry result: "4b616c6c65"

typeof

Function:	typeof
Syntax:	int typeof(mixed value)
Return value(s):	int
Description:	Return the type of a value. The return values are declared in the include file.
Example(s):	typeof( nil ) == 0 /* T_NIL */ typeof( 123 ) == 1 /* T_INT */ typeof( 3.14 ) == 2 /* T_FLOAT */ typeof( "abc" ) == 3 /* T_STRING */ typeof( $actor ) == 4 /* T_OBJECT */ typeof( ({ "a", "b", "c" }) ) == 5 /* T_ARRAY */ typeof( ([ "foo" : "bar" ]) ) == 6 /* T_MAPPING */

U

UnSAM

Function:	UnSAM
Syntax:	string UnSAM(mixed SAM)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	UnSAM() is used to convert a SAM-string into a regular string. the Bilbo $sam(), ParseXML() used with UnSAM() constitute Merry's portal to the XML/SAM engine. It's not going to be used as much as Bilbo's is, because SAM has few abilities that Merry does not have natively. To emulate $sam(foo), use UnSAM(ParseXML("foo")). real use of UnSAM() is to handle binary SAM data stored in e.g. descriptions. If you have a room with a description containing oneof's, for example, and you want to create a text representation of this, you'd want to do something like, = UnSAM(Get(this, "details:default:description:examine"));
Example(s):	Merry code: ParseXML( "{sam-style|one|of}" ) </br/>Merry result: X[S] {sam-style|one|of} Merry code: ParseXML( "" ) Merry result: X[S] Merry code: UnSAM( ParseXML( "" ) Merry result: "StoryCoder Kalle" Merry code: ParseXML( "You are , the {heroic|fantastic|extraordinary|hulkhoganish|awesome|illiterate|analphabetic|dyslectic} {thief|villain|joe|wizard|viking|lord|knight|master} {of|from} {Sweden|Norway|York|Denmark|London|Scandinavia}!" ) Merry result: X[S] You are , the {heroic|fantastic|extraordinary|hulkhoganish|awesome|illiterate|analphabetic|dyslectic} {thief|villain|joe|wizard|viking|lord|knight|master} {of|from} {Sweden|Norway|York|Denmark|London|Scandinavia}!
See also:	ParseXML

upper_case

Function:	upper_case
Syntax:	string upper_case(string str)
Return value(s):	string
Description:	Capitalize (uppercase) every letter in str.
Example(s):	"SkotOS" -> "SKOTOS"
See also:	lower_case, capitalize, decapitalize and proper

url_absolute

Function:	url_absolute
Syntax:	string url_absolute(string url)
Return value(s):	string
Example(s):	Merry code: url_absolute( "/page?somearg=somevalue" ) Merry result: "http://marrach.skotos.net:8080/page?somearg=somevalue"
See also:	url_decode, url_encode and make_url

url_decode

Function:	url_decode
Syntax:	string url_decode(string str)
Return value(s):	string
Example(s):	Merry code: url_decode( "Hi,+I'm+Kalle+%26+this+is+an+evil+smiley%3A+%3E%3A-)" ) Merry result: "Hi, I'm Kalle & this is an evil smiley: >:-)"
See also:	url_encode, make_url and url_absolute

url_encode

Function:	url_encode
Syntax:	string url_encode(string str)
Return value(s):	string
Example(s):	Merry code: url_encode( "Hi, I'm Kalle & this is an evil smiley: >:-)" ) Merry result: "Hi,+I'm+Kalle+%26+this+is+an+evil+smiley%3A+%3E%3A-)"
See also:	url_decode, make_url and url_absolute

W

while

Function:	while
Syntax:	while()
Description:	While-loops are used when a block of code needs to be repeated until certain condition requirements are met.
Example(s):	——- Example #1: ———– int i; i = 0; while( i < 10 ) { i ++; EmitTo( $actor, Str(i)+" is less than 10." ); } EmitTo( $actor, Str(i)+" is NOT less than 10, so the while-loop has ended." ); ———- Result: ——- 0 is less than 10. 1 is less than 10. 2 is less than 10. 3 is less than 10. 4 is less than 10. 5 is less than 10. 6 is less than 10. 7 is less than 10. 8 is less than 10. 9 is less than 10. 10 is NOT less than 10, so the while-loop has ended. ——- Example #2: ———– int i = 0; while( TRUE ){ i++; } /* Warning: this script will loop eternally, or rather – until an "Out of ticks" error occurs. It is not recommended to test it. */
See also:	for and do

– Main.KalleAlm - 1 Feb 2005