Re: current development

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Joseph,

> I was intentionally rude because I thought his original post was
> inappropriate.

How childish.  We put up with your many posts detailing your failure to
compile from source when a quick Google would have led to the method of
using the package manager to install the build dependencies.  No one was
rude.  You got civil help.

I've no time for such antics.  This list has always been polite in my
experience.  I'm unsubscribing.

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.

Re: current development

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Joseph,

> I thought so.
>
> I had the same idea the day I heard they cracked go, but just saying
> something is a good idea is not helpful at all in my book.

I think you're wrong.  And also a bit rude to boot.

It's fine for Tim to suggest or ponder an idea to the list.  It may
encourage another subscriber, or draw out news of what a lurker has been
working on that's related.

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.

Re: current development

[Ralph Corderoy]

Joseph replied off-list...

> An 8 "core" machine, i.e. fake intel count number
>
> $ grep -m1 '^model name' /proc/cpuinfo
> model name  : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4810MQ CPU @ 2.80GHz
>
> in debian rules file:
> SSE = --enable-simd=avx --enable-simd=sse2 --enable-threads -with-gtk
> --with-board3d --with-python
> compiled with gcc (Ubuntu 8.3.0-6ubuntu1) 8.3.0  -O3
>
> position id: 4NvBGECYr8ELAA:MBngIAAE
>
> rollout cube action:
>
> 8 threads: 93 seconds
> 4 threads: 100 secondsOn stock debian: 111 seconds
> 2 threads: 172 seconds
> 1 thread:   312

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.

Re: current development

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Joseph,

> What we really need is someone with access to some computing power
> (aka grid) to run a set of reference positions - 0-ply cube decisions
> vs 2-ply, and see what the difference is. That would give a hint as to
> what to do.

How about reporting your

grep -m1 '^model name' /proc/cpuinfo

along with the stock Ubuntu package version's time on a reference
position when given 1, 2, ... threads.  And then you're self-compiled
version for comparison, noting what you changed in debian/rules.

It would be a start, and also offer some precision so if something is
awry then others on the list may have data to judge by.

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.

Re: current development

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Russ,

> case -2:
> outputerrf(_("No cpuid check available\n"));
> break;
> case 0:
> /* No SIMD support */
> break;
> case 1:
> /* SIMD support */
> simderror = FALSE;
> break;
...
>("\nThis version of GNU Backgammon is compiled with 
> AVX support but this machine does not support AVX\n"));
...
>("\nThis version of GNU Backgammon is compiled with 
> SSE support but this machine does not support SSE\n"));

> In other words, it checks at runtime if built with AVX to confirm that
> AVX is supported and, if not, it terminates the program.

And that would be from an executable built to use AVX or SSE
instructions running happily on a CPU without them as long as those
missing instructions aren't used.

Instead of giving the above fatal errors, programs can adapt, e.g. with
function pointers, to switch between different sets of equivalent
functions, with each set using assuming a varying group of instructions
on the CPU.  IOW, at run-time the best set is chosen for the CPU
underfoot.

BTW, I'd have thought CVS→Git would be an early contributory activity to
encourage more development and simple drive-by minor tweaks.  Those of
us familiar with CVS are dwindling, and there seems little point making
others learn it, and its foibles, as opposed to git's.

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.

Re: [Bug-gnubg] Gnu backgammon download for Windows

[Ralph Corderoy]

To whom it may concern,

John wrote:
> http://files.gnubg.org/media/windows/gnubg-1_06_002-20180802-setup.exe
> but I get an error page that says "*files.gnubg.org
> * took too long to respond"

$ curl -sSgI 
http://files.gnubg.org/media/windows/gnubg-1_06_002-20180802-setup.exe
curl: (7) Failed to connect to files.gnubg.org port 80: No route to host
$ dig +short files.gnubg.org
199.180.255.201
$ 
$ mtr -lc1 199.180.255.201 | grep '^d ' | sed 1,3d
d 3 195.99.125.142
d 4 109.159.252.240
d 5 166.49.128.32
d 6 166.49.211.38
d 7 89.149.140.77
d 8 173.205.58.42
d 9 96.44.180.42
d 10 173.254.205.250
$ 

The route to files.gnubg.org peters out before getting there.

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.

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Re: [Bug-gnubg] Why does it move first about 80% of the time

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Wayne,

> On the start roll, the software rolls a higher number over 80% of the
> time regardless of who won the previous game.  If random it should be
> 50%.  Explanation??

Over how big a sample of starting rolls is that 80% measured?
Also, see
http://www.gnubg.org/win32/gnubg/faq.html#I%20think%20this%20bot%20is%20cheating%20by%20rolling%20better%20dice
for a tip on changing the method of rolling dice.

-- 
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Re: [Bug-gnubg] My user name in download commands

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Dora,

> cvs -z3 -d:ext:d...@cvs.savannah.gnu.org:/sources/gnubg co gnubg
...
> and they suggested it may have to do with some job Savannah did while
> I was logged in, picking up my user name.

I don't think that's quite what they suggested.  I took them to mean
SourceForge must use your username in that command because you need to
give it back to SourceForge when you do a checkout using CVS.

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Re: [Bug-gnubg] gnubackgammon

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Brenda,

> > > > I have been playing gnubg backgammon got quite a while now and
> > > > really enjoy it.  When I used to load it, I always got the tool
> > > > bar.  Now suddenly I don't get that version any more.  How  can
> > > > I get it back?
> >
> > Now every time I try to load it I get  message that says: "Gdk
> > ERROR.  That is a fatal error aborting,,,"

Can we rewind a bit because the mailing list isn't privy to what's
happened.

Your first problem was the missing toolbar, so no New, Accept, Decline,
Undo, etc., buttons, but the rest of the game was present and working?

Now gnubg doesn't start at all, giving a Gdk error.  Is this a different
version of gnubg?  What operating system are you using and what version
of gnubg?  And can we have a more precise copy of the error that
appears;  I assume it's the first sign of trouble?

I don't know much about gnubg, I'm a user like you, but I expect this is
the kind of information the knowledgable ones on this list will find
helpful.

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.
https://plus.google.com/+RalphCorderoy

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Re: [Bug-gnubg] random dice generator? hahahaaa

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi,

How about suggesting the complainant play a real-life game against a
human, with a board and pieces, and that the complainant visibly cheats
by doing what gnubg tells it.  Entering the real dice's rolls manually
into gnubg might then seem less tedious since there's the interaction
with the opponent to offset it.

-- 
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https://plus.google.com/+RalphCorderoy

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Re: [Bug-gnubg] gnubg Offered Odd Backgammon Resignation.

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi Ian,

> I'm guessing that it's something to do with the match score that
> affected how gnubg offers a resignation. For example, maybe 2 points
> was enough for you to win the match anyway, so it didn't matter
> whether gnubg conceded 2 or 3.

I think you're right, but that it is wrong for gnubg to do this.  Yes,
it doesn't affect the match, but it does affect the overall points, if
some external tally is being kept.  More importantly, it confuses
novices, like me.  "How could I have backgammoned it from that position?
What am I missing?  I only managed a gammon."

Since I'm sure gnubg knows I'm going to gammon it at best, it should
only offer a 2 resignation.  Is this the right place to make that
argument, or do I need to open an issue?

I poked around the saved SGF file for the game and found that it records
cube actions, but not the offer of a resignation, whether it was 1, 2,
or 3, and that it was rejected.  I looked because we here are uncertain
on which of two board positions gnubg offered the resignation and
expected the saved file to say.

Similarly, when a resignation is accepted, the panel showing the moves
says "Resign" at the end, but not a qualifying "gammon", for example.

Since I can't pinpoint the backgammon resignation offer, I took more
care the next time it occurred.  Position 9wAAAGzfSQgAAA:MAvgAEAAQAAE
was 6-4 to me in a 7 match, and gnubg offered a 2 resignation.

Once last thing, since I'm making suggestions...  When gnubg moves a
counter one point, to an empty one, and it was the only thing on the old
point, then it could avoid making such a long sharp arcing loop, but a
squatter one instead.  It would take long enough to be seen, but not too
long when its destination it typically clear from the off.

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.
https://plus.google.com/+RalphCorderoy

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[Bug-gnubg] gnubg Offered Odd Backgammon Resignation.

[Ralph Corderoy]

Hi,

gnubg 1.05.002-2 on Arch Linux.  Near the end of a game, gnubg offered
to "3" resign.  I thought this was odd because it was possible,
depending on the rolls, that the best result I could definitely achieve
was a gammon.  And so it proved.  I have the 88,928-byte SGF file, if it
would be useful;  let me know how to provide it.  But meanwhile, I
wondered if this was a common thing and I'm misunderstanding why it
might happen.  (Novice players here.)

-- 
Cheers, Ralph.
https://plus.google.com/+RalphCorderoy

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