Additional phrases to do with interactive fiction, to add to the much larger collection provided by Basic Inform; and the final sign-off of the Standard Rules extension, including its minimal documentation.
- §5. Using the list-writer
- §7. Grouping in the list-writer
- §8. Filtering in the list-writer
- §9. Figures and sound effects
- §10. Actions, activities and rules
- §14. The model world
- §26. Understanding
- §31. Message support
- §32. Deprecated or private-API-like phrases
§1. The following is inevitably a bit of a miscellany. Firstly, there's no model of the passage of time in Basic Inform, so:
Part Seven - Phrasebook Chapter 1 - Saying Section 1 - Time Values To say (something - time) in words (documented at phs_timewords): (- print (PrintTimeOfDayEnglish) {something}; -). To say here (documented at phs_here): say "[if story tense is present tense]here[otherwise]there". To say now (documented at phs_now): say "[if story tense is present tense]now[otherwise]then".
§2. The ability to put up a dinky reverse-video quotation as an epigraph has somehow survived for 36 years. The decision to continue to support it even in Inform 6 was critiqued as being an unnecessary throwback by Jimmy Maher in 2019; he was clearly right; and yet here we are, and it survives even the 2020 restructuring of Inform's language design.
Section 2 - Boxed quotations To display the boxed quotation (Q - text) (documented at ph_boxed): (- DisplayBoxedQuotation({-box-quotation-text:Q}); -).
§3. And now some oddball special texts which must sometimes be said.
Section 3 - Some built-in texts To say the/-- banner text (documented at phs_banner): (- Banner(); -). To say the/-- list of extension credits (documented at phs_extcredits): (- ShowExtensionVersions(); -). To say the/-- complete list of extension credits (documented at phs_compextcredits): (- ShowFullExtensionVersions(); -). To say the/-- player's surroundings (documented at phs_surroundings): (- SL_Location(true); -). To say run paragraph on with special look spacing -- running on (documented at phs_runparaonsls): (- SpecialLookSpacingBreak(); -). To say command clarification break -- running on (documented at phs_clarifbreak): (- CommandClarificationBreak(); -).
§4. Recall that this activity exists only in the Standard Rules, and therefore this phrase definition must similarly be here, not in Basic Inform.
Section 4 - Responses To say text of (R - response) (documented at phs_response): carry out the issuing the response text activity with R.
§5. Using the list-writer. One of the most powerful features of Inform 6 was its list-writer, a lengthy piece of I6 code which now lives on as Inter code, in the srules template: see "ListWriter.i6t". The following phrases control it:
Section 5 - Saying lists of things To list the contents of (O - an object), with newlines, indented, giving inventory information, as a sentence, including contents, including all contents, tersely, giving brief inventory information, using the definite article, listing marked items only, prefacing with is/are, not listing concealed items, suppressing all articles, with extra indentation, and/or capitalized (documented at ph_listcontents): (- WriteListFrom(child({O}), {phrase options}); -).
§6. These text substitutions all look (and are) repetitive. We want to avoid passing a description value to some routine, because that's tricky if the description needs to refer to a value local to the current stack frame. (There are ways round that, but it minimises nuisance to avoid the need.) So we mark out the set of objects matching by giving them, and only them, the workflag2 attribute.
To say a list of (OS - description of objects) (documented at phs_alistof): (- objectloop({-my:1} ofclass Object) if ({-matches-description:1:OS}) give {-my:1} workflag2; else give {-my:1} ~workflag2; WriteListOfMarkedObjects(ENGLISH_BIT); -). To say A list of (OS - description of objects) (documented at phs_Alistof): (- objectloop({-my:1} ofclass Object) if ({-matches-description:1:OS}) give {-my:1} workflag2; else give {-my:1} ~workflag2; TEXT_TY_Say_Capitalised((+ "[list-writer list of marked objects]" +)); -). To say list of (OS - description of objects) (documented at phs_listof): (- objectloop({-my:1} ofclass Object) if ({-matches-description:1:OS}) give {-my:1} workflag2; else give {-my:1} ~workflag2; WriteListOfMarkedObjects(ENGLISH_BIT+NOARTICLE_BIT); -). To say the list of (OS - description of objects) (documented at phs_thelistof): (- objectloop({-my:1} ofclass Object) if ({-matches-description:1:OS}) give {-my:1} workflag2; else give {-my:1} ~workflag2; WriteListOfMarkedObjects(ENGLISH_BIT+DEFART_BIT); -). To say The list of (OS - description of objects) (documented at phs_Thelistof): (- objectloop({-my:1} ofclass Object) if ({-matches-description:1:OS}) give {-my:1} workflag2; else give {-my:1} ~workflag2; TEXT_TY_Say_Capitalised((+ "[list-writer articled list of marked objects]" +)); -). To say is-are a list of (OS - description of objects) (documented at phs_isalistof): (- objectloop({-my:1} ofclass Object) if ({-matches-description:1:OS}) give {-my:1} workflag2; else give {-my:1} ~workflag2; WriteListOfMarkedObjects(ENGLISH_BIT+ISARE_BIT); -). To say is-are list of (OS - description of objects) (documented at phs_islistof): (- objectloop({-my:1} ofclass Object) if ({-matches-description:1:OS}) give {-my:1} workflag2; else give {-my:1} ~workflag2; WriteListOfMarkedObjects(ENGLISH_BIT+ISARE_BIT+NOARTICLE_BIT); -). To say is-are the list of (OS - description of objects) (documented at phs_isthelistof): (- objectloop({-my:1} ofclass Object) if ({-matches-description:1:OS}) give {-my:1} workflag2; else give {-my:1} ~workflag2; WriteListOfMarkedObjects(ENGLISH_BIT+DEFART_BIT+ISARE_BIT); -). To say a list of (OS - description of objects) including contents (documented at phs_alistofconts): (- objectloop({-my:1} ofclass Object) if ({-matches-description:1:OS}) give {-my:1} workflag2; else give {-my:1} ~workflag2; WriteListOfMarkedObjects(ENGLISH_BIT+RECURSE_BIT+PARTINV_BIT+ TERSE_BIT+CONCEAL_BIT); -).
§7. Grouping in the list-writer. See the specifications of list_together and c_style in the DM4, which are still broadly accurate.
Section 6 - Group in and omit from lists To group (OS - description of objects) together (documented at ph_group): (- objectloop({-my:1} provides list_together) if ({-matches-description:1:OS}) CopyPV({-my:1}.list_together, {-list-together:unarticled}); -). To group (OS - description of objects) together giving articles (documented at ph_groupart): (- objectloop({-my:1} provides list_together) if ({-matches-description:1:OS}) CopyPV({-my:1}.list_together, {-list-together:articled}); -). To group (OS - description of objects) together as (T - text) (documented at ph_grouptext): (- {-my:2} = CreatePV(TEXT_TY); {-my:2} = TEXT_TY_SubstitutedForm({-my:2}, {-by-reference:T}); objectloop({-my:1} provides list_together) if ({-matches-description:1:OS}) CopyPV({-my:1}.list_together, {-my:2}); DestroyPV({-my:2}); -). To omit contents in listing (documented at ph_omit): (- c_style = c_style &~ (RECURSE_BIT+FULLINV_BIT+PARTINV_BIT); -).
§8. Filtering in the list-writer. Something of a last resort, which is intentionally not documented. It's needed by the Standard Rules to tidy up an implementation and avoid I6, but is not an ideal trick and may be dropped in later builds. Recursion occurs when the list-writer descends to the contents of, or items supported by, something it lists. Here we can restrict to just those contents, or supportees, matching a description D.
Section 7 - Filtering contents of lists - Unindexed To filter list recursion to (D - description of objects): (- list_filter_routine = {D}; -). To unfilter list recursion: (- list_filter_routine = 0; -).
§9. Figures and sound effects.
Chapter 2 - Multimedia Section 1 - Figures (for figures language element only) To display (F - figure name), one time only (documented at ph_displayfigure): (- DisplayFigure(ResourceIDsOfFigures-->{F}, {phrase options}); -). To decide which number is the Glulx resource ID of (F - figure name) (documented at ph_figureid): (- ResourceIDsOfFigures-->{F} -). Section 2 - Sound effects (for sounds language element only) To play (SFX - sound name), one time only (documented at ph_playsf): (- PlaySound(ResourceIDsOfSounds-->{SFX}, {phrase options}); -). To decide which number is the Glulx resource ID of (SFX - sound name) (documented at ph_soundid): (- ResourceIDsOfSounds-->{SFX} -).
§10. Actions, activities and rules. We begin with the firing off of new actions. The current action runs silently if the I6 global variable keep_silent is set, so the result of the definitions below is that one can go into silence mode, using "try silently", but not climb out of it again. This is done because many actions try other actions as part of their normal workings: if we want action \(X\) to be tried silently, then any action \(X\) itself tries should also be tried silently.
Chapter 3 - Actions, activities and rules Section 1 - Trying actions To try (S - action) (documented at ph_try): (- {-try-action:S} -). To silently try (S - action) (documented at ph_trysilently): (- {-try-action-silently:S} -). To try silently (S - action) (documented at ph_trysilently): (- {-try-action-silently:S} -). To decide whether the action is not silent: (- (keep_silent == false) -).
§11. The requirements of the current action can be tested. The following may be reimplemented using a verb "to require" at some future point.
Section 2 - Action requirements To decide whether the action requires a touchable noun (documented at ph_requirestouch): (- (NeedToTouchNoun()) -). To decide whether the action requires a touchable second noun (documented at ph_requirestouch2): (- (NeedToTouchSecondNoun()) -). To decide whether the action requires a carried noun (documented at ph_requirescarried): (- (NeedToCarryNoun()) -). To decide whether the action requires a carried second noun (documented at ph_requirescarried2): (- (NeedToCarrySecondNoun()) -). To decide whether the action requires light (documented at ph_requireslight): (- (NeedLightForAction()) -). To anonymously abide by (RL - a rule) (documented at ph_abideanon): (- if (temporary_value = FollowRulebook({RL})) { if (RulebookSucceeded()) ActRulebookSucceeds(temporary_value); else ActRulebookFails(temporary_value); return 2; } -) - in to only. To anonymously abide by (RL - value of kind K based rule producing a value) for (V - K) (documented at ph_abideanon): (- if (temporary_value = FollowRulebook({RL}, {V}, true)) { if (RulebookSucceeded()) ActRulebookSucceeds(temporary_value); else ActRulebookFails(temporary_value); return 2; } -) - in to only. To anonymously abide by (RL - a nothing based rule) (documented at ph_abideanon): (- if (temporary_value = FollowRulebook({RL})) { if (RulebookSucceeded()) ActRulebookSucceeds(temporary_value); else ActRulebookFails(temporary_value); return 2; } -) - in to only.
§12. Within the rulebooks to do with an action, returning true from a rule is sufficient to stop the rulebook early: there is no need to specify success or failure because that is determined by the rulebook itself. (For instance, if the check taking rules stop for any reason, the action failed; if the after rules stop, it succeeded.) In some rulebooks, notably "instead" and "after", the default is to stop, so that execution reaching the end of the I6 routine for a rule will run into an rtrue. "Continue the action" prevents this.
Section 3 - Stop or continue To stop the action (documented at ph_stopaction): (- rtrue; -) - in to only. To continue the action (documented at ph_continueaction): (- rfalse; -) - in to only.
Section 4 - Actions as values To decide what action is the current action (documented at ph_currentaction): (- STORED_ACTION_TY_Current({-new:action}) -). To decide what action is the action of (A - action) (documented at ph_actionof): (- {A} -). To decide if (act - a action) involves (X - an object) (documented at ph_involves): (- (STORED_ACTION_TY_Involves({-by-reference:act}, {X})) -). To decide what action name is the action name part of (act - a action) (documented at ph_actionpart): (- (STORED_ACTION_TY_Part({-by-reference:act}, STORA_ACTION_F)) -). To decide what object is the noun part of (act - a action) (documented at ph_nounpart): (- (STORED_ACTION_TY_Part({-by-reference:act}, STORA_NOUN_F)) -). To decide what object is the second noun part of (act - a action) (documented at ph_secondpart): (- (STORED_ACTION_TY_Part({-by-reference:act}, STORA_SECOND_F)) -). To decide what object is the actor part of (act - a action) (documented at ph_actorpart): (- (STORED_ACTION_TY_Part({-by-reference:act}, STORA_ACTOR_F)) -).
§14. The model world. Phrase definitions with wordings like "the story has ended" are a necessary evil. The "has" here is parsed literally, not as the present tense of "to have", so inflected forms like "the story had ended" are not available: nor is there any value "the story" for the subject noun phrase to hold... and so on. Ideally, we would word all conditional phrases so as to avoid the verbs, but natural language just doesn't work that way.
Chapter 4 - The Model World Section 1 - Ending the story To end the story (documented at ph_end): (- deadflag=3; story_complete=false; -). To end the story finally (documented at ph_endfinally): (- deadflag=3; story_complete=true; -). To end the story saying (finale - text) (documented at ph_endsaying): (- deadflag={-by-reference:finale}; BlkValueIncRefCountPrimitive(deadflag); story_complete=false; -). To end the story finally saying (finale - text) (documented at ph_endfinallysaying): (- deadflag={-by-reference:finale}; BlkValueIncRefCountPrimitive(deadflag); story_complete=true; -). To decide whether the story has ended (documented at ph_ended): (- (deadflag~=0) -). To decide whether the story has ended finally (documented at ph_finallyended): (- (story_complete) -). To decide whether the story has not ended (documented at ph_notended): (- (deadflag==0) -). To decide whether the story has not ended finally (documented at ph_notfinallyended): (- (story_complete==false) -). To resume the story (documented at ph_resume): (- resurrect_please = true; -).
Section 2 - Times of day To decide which number is the minutes part of (t - time) (documented at ph_minspart): (- ({t}%ONE_HOUR) -). To decide which number is the hours part of (t - time) (documented at ph_hourspart): (- ({t}/ONE_HOUR) -).
§16. Comparing times of day is inherently odd, because the day is circular. Every 2 PM comes after a 1 PM, but it also comes before another 1 PM. Where do we draw the meridian on this circle? The legal day divides at midnight but for other purposes (daylight savings time, for instance) society often chooses 2 AM as the boundary. Inform uses 4 AM instead as the least probable time through which play continues. (Modulo a 24-hour clock, adding 20 hours is equivalent to subtracting 4 AM from the current time: hence the use of 20*ONE_HOUR below.) Thus 3:59 AM is after 4:00 AM, the former being at the very end of a day, the latter at the very beginning.
To decide if (t - time) is before (t2 - time) (documented at ph_timebefore): (- ((({t}+20*ONE_HOUR)%(TWENTY_FOUR_HOURS))<(({t2}+20*ONE_HOUR)%(TWENTY_FOUR_HOURS))) -). To decide if (t - time) is after (t2 - time) (documented at ph_timeafter): (- ((({t}+20*ONE_HOUR)%(TWENTY_FOUR_HOURS))>(({t2}+20*ONE_HOUR)%(TWENTY_FOUR_HOURS))) -). To decide which time is (t - time) before (t2 - time) (documented at ph_shiftbefore): (- (({t2}-{t}+TWENTY_FOUR_HOURS)%(TWENTY_FOUR_HOURS)) -). To decide which time is (t - time) after (t2 - time) (documented at ph_shiftafter): (- (({t2}+{t}+TWENTY_FOUR_HOURS)%(TWENTY_FOUR_HOURS)) -).
§17. Durations are in effect casts from "number" to "time".
Section 3 - Durations To decide which time is (n - number) minutes (documented at ph_durationmins): (- (({n})%(TWENTY_FOUR_HOURS)) -). To decide which time is (n - number) hours (documented at ph_durationhours): (- (({n}*ONE_HOUR)%(TWENTY_FOUR_HOURS)) -).
Section 4 - Timed events To (R - rule) in (t - number) turn/turns from now (documented at ph_turnsfromnow): (- SetTimedEvent({-mark-event-used:R}, {t}+1, 0); -). To (R - rule) at (t - time) (documented at ph_attime): (- SetTimedEvent({-mark-event-used:R}, {t}, 1); -). To (R - rule) in (t - time) from now (documented at ph_timefromnow): (- SetTimedEvent({-mark-event-used:R}, (the_time+{t})%(TWENTY_FOUR_HOURS), 1); -).
Section 5 - Scenes To decide if (sc - scene) has happened (documented at ph_hashappened): (- (scene_endings-->({sc}-1)) -). To decide if (sc - scene) has not happened (documented at ph_hasnothappened): (- (scene_endings-->({sc}-1) == 0) -). To decide if (sc - scene) has ended (documented at ph_hasended): (- (scene_endings-->({sc}-1) > 1) -). To decide if (sc - scene) has not ended (documented at ph_hasnotended): (- (scene_endings-->({sc}-1) <= 1) -).
Section 6 - Timing of scenes To decide which time is the time since (sc - scene) began (documented at ph_scenetimesincebegan): (- (SceneUtility({sc}, 1)) -). To decide which time is the time when (sc - scene) began (documented at ph_scenetimewhenbegan): (- (SceneUtility({sc}, 2)) -). To decide which time is the time since (sc - scene) ended (documented at ph_scenetimesinceended): (- (SceneUtility({sc}, 3)) -). To decide which time is the time when (sc - scene) ended (documented at ph_scenetimewhenended): (- (SceneUtility({sc}, 4)) -).
§21. Player's identity and location.
Section 7 - Player's identity and location To decide whether in darkness (documented at ph_indarkness): (- (location==thedark) -).
§22. Moving and removing things.
Section 8 - Moving and removing things To move (something - object) to (something else - object), without printing a room description or printing an abbreviated room description (documented at ph_move): (- MoveObject({something}, {something else}, {phrase options}, false); -). To remove (something - object) from play (deprecated) (documented at ph_remove): (- RemoveFromPlay({something}); -). To move (O - object) backdrop to all (D - description of objects) (documented at ph_movebackdrop): (- MoveBackdrop({O}, {D}); -). To update backdrop positions (documented at ph_updatebackdrop): (- MoveFloatingObjects(); -).
Section 9 - The map To decide which room is location of (O - object) (documented at ph_locationof): (- LocationOf({O}) -). To decide which room is room (D - direction) from/of (R1 - room) (documented at ph_roomdirof): (- MapConnection({R1},{D}) -). To decide which door is door (D - direction) from/of (R1 - room) (documented at ph_doordirof): (- DoorFrom({R1},{D}) -). To decide which object is the other side of (D - door) (documented at ph_othersideof): (- OtherSideOfDoor({D}, location) -). To decide which object is the other side of (D - door) from (R1 - room) (documented at ph_othersideof): (- OtherSideOfDoor({D},{R1}) -). To decide which object is the direction of (D - door) from (R1 - room) (documented at ph_directionofdoor): (- DirectionDoorLeadsIn({D},{R1}) -). To decide which object is room-or-door (D - direction) from/of (R1 - room) (documented at ph_roomordoor): (- RoomOrDoorFrom({R1},{D}) -). To change (D - direction) exit of (R1 - room) to (R2 - room) (documented at ph_changeexit): (- AssertMapConnection({R1},{D},{R2}); -). To change (D - direction) exit of (R1 - room) to nothing/nowhere (documented at ph_changenoexit): (- AssertMapConnection({R1},{D},nothing); -). To decide which room is the front side of (D - object) (documented at ph_frontside): (- FrontSideOfDoor({D}) -). To decide which room is the back side of (D - object) (documented at ph_backside): (- BackSideOfDoor({D}) -).
Section 10 - Route-finding To decide which object is best route from (R1 - object) to (R2 - object), using doors or using even locked doors (documented at ph_bestroute): (- MapRouteTo({R1},{R2},0,{phrase options}) -). To decide which number is number of moves from (R1 - object) to (R2 - object), using doors or using even locked doors (documented at ph_bestroutelength): (- MapRouteTo({R1},{R2},0,{phrase options},true) -). To decide which object is best route from (R1 - object) to (R2 - object) through (RS - description of objects), using doors or using even locked doors (documented at ph_bestroutethrough): (- MapRouteTo({R1},{R2},{RS},{phrase options}) -). To decide which number is number of moves from (R1 - object) to (R2 - object) through (RS - description of objects), using doors or using even locked doors (documented at ph_bestroutethroughlength): (- MapRouteTo({R1},{R2},{RS},{phrase options},true) -).
Section 11 - The object tree To decide which object is holder of (something - object) (documented at ph_holder): (- (HolderOf({something})) -). To decide which object is next thing held after (something - object) (documented at ph_nextheld): (- (sibling({something})) -). To decide which object is first thing held by (something - object) (documented at ph_firstheld): (- (child({something})) -).
§26. Understanding. First, asking yes/no questions.
Chapter 5 - Understanding Section 1 - Asking yes/no questions To decide whether player consents (documented at ph_consents): (- YesOrNo() -).
§27. Support for snippets, which are substrings of the player's command. This is a kind of value which doesn't exist in Basic Inform.
Section 2 - The player's command To decide if (S - a snippet) matches (T - a topic) (documented at ph_snippetmatches): (- (SnippetMatches({S}, {T})) -). To decide if (S - a snippet) does not match (T - a topic) (documented at ph_snippetdoesnotmatch): (- (SnippetMatches({S}, {T}) == false) -). To decide if (S - a snippet) includes (T - a topic) (documented at ph_snippetincludes): (- (matched_text=SnippetIncludes({T},{S})) -). To decide if (S - a snippet) does not include (T - a topic) (documented at ph_snippetdoesnotinclude): (- (SnippetIncludes({T},{S})==0) -).
§28. Changing the player's command.
Section 3 - Changing the player's command To change the text of the player's command to (T - text) (documented at ph_changecommand): (- SetPlayersCommand({-by-reference:T}); -). To replace (S - a snippet) with (T - text) (documented at ph_replacesnippet): (- SpliceSnippet({S}, {-by-reference:T}); -). To cut (S - a snippet) (documented at ph_cutsnippet): (- SpliceSnippet({S}, 0); -). To reject the player's command (documented at ph_rejectcommand): (- RulebookFails(); rtrue; -) - in to only.
Section 4 - Scope and pronouns To place (O - an object) in scope, but not its contents (documented at ph_placeinscope): (- PlaceInScope({O}, {phrase options}); -). To place the/-- contents of (O - an object) in scope (documented at ph_placecontentsinscope): (- ScopeWithin({O}); -). To set pronouns from (O - an object) (documented at ph_setpronouns): (- PronounNotice({O}); -).
§30. The multiple object list is a data structure used in the parser when processing commands like TAKE ALL.
Section 5 - The multiple object list To decide what list of objects is the multiple object list (documented at ph_multipleobjectlist): (- LIST_OF_TY_Mol({-new:list of objects}) -). To alter the multiple object list to (L - list of objects) (documented at ph_altermultipleobjectlist): (- LIST_OF_TY_Set_Mol({-by-reference:L}); -).
§31. Message support. "Unindexed" here is a euphemism for "undocumented". This is where experimental or intermediate phrases go: things we don't want people to use because we will probably revise them heavily in later builds of Inform. For now, the Standard Rules do make use of these phrases, but nobody else should. They will change without comment in the change log.
Section SR5/8/1 - Message support - Issuance - Unindexed To issue score notification message: (- NotifyTheScore(); -). To say pronoun dictionary word: (- print (address) pronoun_word; -). To say recap of command: (- PrintCommand(); -). The pronoun reference object is an object that varies. The pronoun reference object variable is defined by Inter as "pronoun_obj". To say pronoun i6 dictionary word: (- print (address) pronoun_word; -). To say parser command so far: (- PrintCommand(); -).
§32. Deprecated or private-API-like phrases. None of these are part of Inform's public specification, and they should be used only by extensions built in to Inform; they may change at any time.
Chapter 6 - Deprecated or private phrases - Unindexed Section 1 - Spatial modelling - Unindexed
§33. These are actually sensible concepts in the world model, and could even be opened to public use, but they're quite complicated to explain.
To decide which object is the component parts core of (X - an object): (- CoreOf({X}) -). To decide which object is the common ancestor of (O - an object) with (P - an object): (- (CommonAncestor({O}, {P})) -). To decide which object is the not-counting-parts holder of (O - an object): (- (CoreOfParentOfCoreOf({O})) -). To decide which object is the visibility-holder of (O - object): (- VisibilityParent({O}) -). To calculate visibility ceiling at low level: (- FindVisibilityLevels(); -). To decide which object is the touchability ceiling of (O - object): (- TouchabilityCeiling({O}) -).
§34. These are in effect global variables, but aren't defined as such, to prevent people using them. Their contents are only very briefly meaningful, and they would be dangerous friends to know.
To decide which number is the visibility ceiling count calculated: (- visibility_levels -). To decide which object is the visibility ceiling calculated: (- visibility_ceiling -).
§35. This is a unique quasi-action, using the secondary action processing stage only. A convenience, but also an anomaly, and let's not encourage its further use.
Section 2 - Room descriptions - Unindexed To produce a room description with going spacing conventions: (- LookAfterGoing(); -).
§36. An ugly little trick needed because of the mismatch between I6 and I7 property implementation, and because of legacy code from the old I6 library. Please don't touch.
To print the location's description: (- PrintOrRun(location, description); -).
§37. The following cries out for an enumerated kind of value, but for historical reasons it isn't one.
To decide if set to sometimes abbreviated room descriptions: (- (lookmode == 1) -). To decide if set to unabbreviated room descriptions: (- (lookmode == 2) -). To decide if set to abbreviated room descriptions: (- (lookmode == 3) -).
§38. Action conversion is a trick used in the Standard Rules to simplify the implementation of actions: it allows one action to become another one mid-way, without causing spurious action failures. (There are better ways to make user-defined actions convert, and some of the examples show this.)
Section 3 - Action conversion - Unindexed To convert to (AN - an action name) on (O - an object): (- return GVS_Convert({AN},{O},0); -) - in to only. To convert to (AN - an action name) on (O - an object) with (T - a snippet): (- return GVS_Convert({AN},{O},{T}); -) - in to only. To convert to request of (X - object) to perform (AN - action name) with (Y - object) and (Z - object): (- return ConvertToRequest({X}, {AN}, {Y}, {Z}); -). To convert to special going-with-push action: (- return ConvertToGoingWithPush(); -).
§39. The "surreptitiously" phrases shouldn't be used except in the Standard Rules because they temporarily violate invariants for the object tree and the light variables; the SR uses them carefully in situations where it's known to work out all right.
Section 4 - Surreptitious violation of invariants - Unindexed To surreptitiously move (something - object) to (something else - object): (- move {something} to {something else}; -). To surreptitiously move (something - object) to (something else - object) during going: (- MoveDuringGoing({something}, {something else}); -). To surreptitiously reckon darkness: (- SilentlyConsiderLight(); -).
§40. These are text substitutions needed to make the capitalised lists work.
Section 5 - Capitalised list-writing - Unindexed To say list-writer list of marked objects: (- WriteListOfMarkedObjects(ENGLISH_BIT); -). To say list-writer articled list of marked objects: (- WriteListOfMarkedObjects(ENGLISH_BIT+DEFART_BIT+CFIRSTART_BIT); -).
§41. This avoids "mentioned" being given to items printed only internally for the sake of a string comparison, and not shown on screen.
Section 6 - Printing names - Unindexed To decide if expanding text for comparison purposes: (- say__comp -).
§42. This is a bit trickier than it looks, because it isn't always set when one thinks it is. (And since first typing that sentence, I've forgotten when that would be.)
Section 7 - Command parsing - Unindexed To decide whether the I6 parser is running multiple actions: (- (multiflag==1) -).
§43. The antique forms "yes" and "no" are now somewhat to be regretted, with "decide yes" and "decide no" being clearer ways to write the same thing. But we seem to be stuck with them.
Section 8 - Deprecated Inform - unindexed To yes (documented at ph_yes): (- rtrue; -) - in to decide if only. To no (documented at ph_no): (- rfalse; -) - in to decide if only.
§44. This is convenient for debugging Inform, but for no other purpose. It toggles verbose logging of the type-checker.
Section 9 - Debugging Inform - Unindexed To ***: (- {-primitive-definition:verbose-checking} -). To *** (T - text): (- {-primitive-definition:verbose-checking} -).
The Standard Rules end here.
§46. ...except that this is not quite true, because like most extensions they then quote some documentation for Inform to weave into index pages: though here it's more of a polite refusal than a manual, since the entire system documentation is really the description of what was defined in this extension.
---- DOCUMENTATION ---- Unlike other extensions, the Standard Rules are compulsorily included with every work of interactive fiction made with Inform. They are described throughout the documentation supplied with Inform, so no details will be given here.