iftechfoundation
stream 4 and non-ZSCII filenames
Section 7.5.4 says that "Non-ZSCII characters never need to be printed to stream 4." However, if filenames are also recorded, how are those that contain non-ZSCII characters handled?
I don't think filenames should be sent to stream 4. Only what comes through @read and @read_char.
Just noticed this remark:
An ambiguous point about output stream 4 is whether it should contain the answers to interpreter questions like "what file name should your saved game have?": it can actually be quite useful to be able to include such answers in test script files. (When running a long script, I often save the game at several places during it, in order to save time in re-running passages.)
And I see the point there. If you do want to stream filename, then I guess you could do that in any format, as long as the interpreter knows how to read it back.
Probably a brief note in 7.5.4 about the possibility of non-ZSCII characters if the interpreter is sending this sort of data to stream 4, and a better note in the remarks describing what to do about it (with 7.5.4 mentioning to look at the remarks). I'll try to type something up soon.
Section 7.5.4 always bothered me, because clearly stream 4 needs non-zscii output if input from the extra-characters table is being used, unless you only output the zscii value instead of the actual unicode input (yuck). Also, it raises an even uglier specter, of whether stream 4 represents the actual input (including unicode, mouse clicks, and timing) or only the input's effect on the game (zscii, timeouts, etc.) It would require a pathological story file to make a practical difference, but it is possible.
