Xelagot server/client

Clients user interface

Version 2.9999949

This interface can be found in the xelagot menu Bot | Clients. Selecting it opens a screen with the following items:

a menu bar with one header: Clients
the name of the current client: Central Client or bot's name
a list of online clients
a memo
an input field for typing and sending text, with a button on its left and an explanatory text beneath it
a status bar at the bottom

Usage: for connecting the Central Client (not used by bots) and Bot Clients (used by bots) to a remote server. It allows the Central Client to communicate with other clients through a remote server. Requirements: the Bot Clients and Central Clients participating must have a unique login name and eventually a password, and must use the bot protocol or the master protocol. These data must be set at the remote server end, and must be included on the server's Connection list. See the Server/Clients user interface for how to do this.

Menu bar

The Clients header has a menu to select the current client shown on this screen: the Clients | Central Client selects the Central Client, Clients | botname selects one of the Bot Clients. The name of the current client is shown on the horizontal bar under the menu.

The user can connect the current client to a remote server by clicking on Clients | Connect: this pops up a dialog box. To disconnect it, click on Clients | Disconnect.

When connecting a client to a remote server with Clients | Connect, the user must input the Address, Port and Password required by the server to login. On the same connection dialog box, the user can select to reconnect the client automatically if it gets disconnected, and the number of seconds the client must wait between attempts to reconnect.

Online list

This list, situated to the left of the screen under the name of the client, shows if the current client is connected or not to a remote server: the background colour changes from yellow to white.

It has two colums: one for the names of the clients, a second one (hidden on the right) for the protocols used by the clients,

When the current client is connected, it lists all the clients online that have a bot protocol (other clients don't show) including the current client. The current client has a blue arrowhead pointing to its left. If the current client does not show on the list when it is online, it does not have the right bot protocol.

All names have a checkbox to their left: by checkmarking a name on the list, the current client is able to send messages to this client.

By right-clicking on the list, you bring up a menu to select or deselect all checkboxes. The own client's checkbox can not be checkmarked in this way (one doesn't normally talk to oneself).

Clients memo

To the right of the online list is the memo, which logs when clients go online/offline and the messages sent and received by the current client.

Input field for typing in text and button for selecting the sending mode

Under the list and memo the user can input text to send to one of the clients on the list. This is especially useful if the current client is the Central Client. The user should not normally interfere with the Bot Clients in the program, those are meant for the bots to use. To send text, press ENTER.

There are four modes for sending text, which can be selected by pressing the button to the left of the input field:

chat
Requires the sending client to be using the master protocol. chat to bot uses the WriteToBot command Hear behind the screens to send text in a normal chat way, as one would talk to the bot in the AW browser. Once arrived at destination, this text will be interpreted by the receiving bot as normal chat (verbal command), using the language file. The bot may respond back in the usual way, sending back information as required. The bot may trap this event (CLHear event) in a script before it reaches the Verbal Command processor, as it would trap a normal chat event, but this is not required for the verbal command to be processed: the bot need not be running a script at all.
WTB msg
Requires the sending client to be using the master protocol. WriteToBot message uses the WriteToBot command Message behind the screens to send text to the CLMessage event handler in a script. The receiving bot must be running a script with a CLMessage event handler and is free to parse the text, which carries no intrinsic meaning.
WTB code
Requires the sending client to be using the master protocol. WriteToBot code mode is used if one wishes to send a WriteToBot command to a bot other than Hear or Message: the command must be specified with the full syntax, for instance Warp,25n30e 0a 270 mars.
AS msg
Requires the sending client to be using the bot protocol. The master protocol is not required, but will work as well. Action Script message can only be used if the destination bot is running a script with a CLMessage event handler. This is like sending a CLWrite or CLWriteAll statement. The receiving bot is free to parse the text, which carries no intrinsic meaning. The difference with WTB messages is that the sending instace does not require a master protocol.
free
Requires no protocol. Free text to the server. For testing purposes and to chat with the person behind the server software :) The server person can respond from the Client/Server input field.

Before sending text, make sure

That you have the right to use the protocol required by the server. If you illegally send a "master" command, the server will disconnect you (as from version 2.999984).
that the current client is the right one for sending (it should normally be the Central Client in the program, change it if necessary in the Clients menu) and that it is connected to the server (the Online list should be white and shows clients);
that you have the right mode selected: chat , WTB msg or code, or AS msg if you are sending to bots: click the button to the left of the input field to change the mode;
and that the destination bot(s) is/are checkmarked on th Online list (not required for free text to server).

Central Client and user interface

The user can connect the Central Client to one remote server application at a time. Before it can be connected, the user must know the IP address and Port number of the remote listening Server, as well as the Login name, Password and Protocols required of the client by the remote server.

Select menu Clients | Central Client to view the Central Client and then Clients | Connect to attempt a connection with a remote server. Fill in the data as required and click Ok.

Note: The Central Client can also log into the Server in the same program: it just needs to know to correct IP number, etc, of the user. This is handy to practise and learn how to use the Server / Client software.

Once the Central Client (or a Bot Client) is connected to a remote server, both can communicate freely. The user can send messages to and receive messages from the remote server. Through the remote server other clients can be reached. This communication is bound to certain rules for it to be meaningful and for security reasons. These rules are called in the xelagot program "protocols".

The Central Client can be used to send commands to bots which are connected to the same remote server. To do so, all must be using the bot protocol, and for all activities involving the WritToBot commands, the master protocol is required. But the clients cannot request to use a certain protocol: it is the server that decides what protocol may be used by a client.

The person using the Central Client can chat with the person hosting the remote server. Select free mode for sending this sort of message.

To disconnect a client from a remote server, select menu Clients | Disconnect.

Index