xboard softquit

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matthewlai
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xboard softquit

Post by matthewlai »

Does anyone know if there's a way to do "softquit" with xboard (in Zippy mode) like icsDrone?

It tells the GUI to quit after the current game.

Also, is it possible to send commands to the engine from another account without password, with a whitelist of handles to accept commands from?

Thanks
Disclosure: I work for DeepMind on the AlphaZero project, but everything I say here is personal opinion and does not reflect the views of DeepMind / Alphabet.
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hgm
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Re: xboard softquit

Post by hgm »

matthewlai wrote:Does anyone know if there's a way to do "softquit" with xboard (in Zippy mode) like icsDrone?

It tells the GUI to quit after the current game.
For ICS play I guess you could do that by aliasing "gameend" on the ICS to "logout".
Also, is it possible to send commands to the engine from another account without password, with a whitelist of handles to accept commands from?
No, but it doesn't even allow you to send commands to the engine in local mode. It only allows you to operate the menus. And not many of the menu items make sense when in zippy mode on an ICS. (Mostly those which just issue an ICS command, like "draw" or "resign", and saving games on a local file.) I think the zippy password allows you to force sending arbitrary commands to the ICS, not the engine.

And why would a list of empowered accounts be a better solution than a password? I am not sure which application you have in mind.
matthewlai
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Re: xboard softquit

Post by matthewlai »

hgm wrote:
matthewlai wrote:Does anyone know if there's a way to do "softquit" with xboard (in Zippy mode) like icsDrone?

It tells the GUI to quit after the current game.
For ICS play I guess you could do that by aliasing "gameend" on the ICS to "logout".
The problem is that I am using zippyGameEnd to send out new seeks, so it's not sending gameend. I suppose I can add gameend as the last command, and if it's not set, I'll just get an error.
Also, is it possible to send commands to the engine from another account without password, with a whitelist of handles to accept commands from?
No, but it doesn't even allow you to send commands to the engine in local mode. It only allows you to operate the menus. And not many of the menu items make sense when in zippy mode on an ICS. (Mostly those which just issue an ICS command, like "draw" or "resign", and saving games on a local file.) I think the zippy password allows you to force sending arbitrary commands to the ICS, not the engine.

And why would a list of empowered accounts be a better solution than a password? I am not sure which application you have in mind.
Ah sorry I meant to the ICS, not the engine.

Well, the advantage over password is that I wouldn't have to type a password with every command. I guess I can also do that with an alias on my personal account.
Disclosure: I work for DeepMind on the AlphaZero project, but everything I say here is personal opinion and does not reflect the views of DeepMind / Alphabet.
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hgm
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Re: xboard softquit

Post by hgm »

matthewlai wrote:The problem is that I am using zippyGameEnd to send out new seeks, so it's not sending gameend. I suppose I can add gameend as the last command, and if it's not set, I'll just get an error.
Indeed.
Well, the advantage over password is that I wouldn't have to type a password with every command. I guess I can also do that with an alias on my personal account.
You could take a very short password. :D Or alias 'x' to "tell Giraffe PASSWORD". Or configure the ICS Text Menu from the XBoard you are watching from to write "xtell Giraffe PASSWORD" in the input field of the ICS Interaction window when you press the corresponding button, and then complete the line with the intended command before you send it.
matthewlai
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Re: xboard softquit

Post by matthewlai »

hgm wrote:
matthewlai wrote:The problem is that I am using zippyGameEnd to send out new seeks, so it's not sending gameend. I suppose I can add gameend as the last command, and if it's not set, I'll just get an error.
Indeed.
Well, the advantage over password is that I wouldn't have to type a password with every command. I guess I can also do that with an alias on my personal account.
You could take a very short password. :D Or alias 'x' to "tell Giraffe PASSWORD". Or configure the ICS Text Menu from the XBoard you are watching from to write "xtell Giraffe PASSWORD" in the input field of the ICS Interaction window when you press the corresponding button, and then complete the line with the intended command before you send it.
That's a good idea. I'll do that.

Now I can alias something on my account to tell Giraffe to send "alias gameend logout" to ICS so it will softquit!

Then I'll just have to unset gameend in my login file!

I should have learned about aliases way earlier!
Disclosure: I work for DeepMind on the AlphaZero project, but everything I say here is personal opinion and does not reflect the views of DeepMind / Alphabet.