Introduction

Advances in MUD server design, particularly the development of in-server programming languages, coupled with the replacement of terminals and telnet sessions by personal computers and customized (and frequently user-programmable) clients have given rise to a demand for MUD-based applications which make use of modern client capabilities such as windowing systems, local file storage, and richer text display. At the same time, many MUD servers have retained the model of a single 7-bit ASCII channel per client, constraining the application author's ability to design protocols.

The MUD Client Protocol (MCP) defines a simple and standard message format for the protocols used in constructing these applications. It is designed to be readily distinguished from the normal stream of MUD output and user commands and easily parsed.

Motivation and Goals

MCP is an attempt to provide a standard message format on which to build MUD-based client-server applications. As described above, many MUDs place restrictions on the user's I/O channel. Given these, a survey of MCP's goals is in order:

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