Stunt Save

See `README.lambdamoo' for general information on LambdaMOO.

More information on Stunt is available here: http://stunt.io/. If you want to get up and running quickly, consider starting with Improvise, the Stunt starter kit: https://github.com/toddsundsted/improvise.

This is Release 10-wip of the Stunt extensions to the LambdaMOO server. It is based on the latest "1.8.3+" version from SourceForge. Read the very important WARNING below before running this on your existing database!!!

Release 10 is based on a "rewrite" of Stunt in C++ (the word "rewrite" here means that I made the minimal necessary syntactical and structural changes to get the project to compile on a modern C++ compiler) (shout out to Steve Wainstead who paved the road here). This makes way for major improvements down the road. Release 10 also includes many smaller features noted below.

Stunt includes the following functionality not found in the main server:

1. Multiple-Inheritance create()' now takes either an object number or a list of object numbers in the first argument position. Two new built-ins, parents()' and chparents()', manipulate an object's parents. The built-ins parent()' and `chparent()' exist for backward compatibility -- when an object has multiple parents these built-ins operate on the first parent.

2. Anonymous objects Objects without an assigned object number that are accessible via an unforgeable references, and which are automatically garbage collected when no longer reachable.

3. Task Local Storage The built-ins task_local()' and set_task_local()' retrieve/store a task local value. The value is automatically freed when the task finishes.

4. Map Datatype The server includes a native map datatype based on a binary search tree (specifically, a red-black tree). The implementation allows in-order traversal, efficient lookup/insertion/deletion, and supports existing MOO datatypes as values (keys may not be lists or maps). Index, range, and looping operations on lists and strings also work on maps.

5. JSON Parsing/Generation The built-ins parse_json()' and generate_json()' transform MOO datatypes from/to JSON.

6. New Built-in Cryptographic Operations The new cryptographic operations include SHA-1 and SHA-256 hashes. The existing MD5 hash algorithm is broken from a cryptographic standpoint, as is SHA-1 -- both are included for interoperability with existing applications (both are still popular) but the default for string_hash()'/binary_hash()'/value_hash()' is now SHA-256. Stunt also includes the HMAC-SHA-1 and HMAC-SHA-256 algorithms for generating secure, hash-based message authentication codes. crypt()' has been upgraded to support Bcrypt hashed passwords. The random number subsystem is now based on the SOSEMANUK cipher and seeds itself from `/dev/random'.

7. Built-in Base64 Encoding/Decoding The built-ins encode_base64()' and decode_base64()' encode and decode Base64-encoded strings.

8. An Improved FileIO Patch The 1.5p1 patch that is in wide circulation has flaws, including two server crashing bugs. This patch fixes those bugs/flaws without changing the API.

9. Secure Suspending Process Exec The exec functionality adds an exec()' built-in which securely forks/execs an external executable. It doesn't use the system()' call, which is hard to secure and which blocks the server. `exec()' takes two parameters, a list of strings comprising the program and its arguments, and a MOO binary string that is sent to stdin. It suspends the current task so the server can continue serving other tasks, and eventually returns the process termination code, stdout, and stderr in a list.

10. Verb Calls on Primitive Types The server supports verbs calls on primitive types (numbers, strings, etc.) so calls like "foo bar":split()' can be implemented and work as expected (they were always syntactically correct but resulted in an E_TYPE error). Verbs are implemented on prototype object delegates ($int_proto, $float_proto, $str_proto, etc.). The server transparently invokes the correct verb on the appropriate prototype -- the primitive value is the value of this'.

11. In Server HTTP Parsing The server uses the excellent Node HTTP parsing library to natively parse HTTP requests and responses into key/value pairs in a map datatype. The parser handles corner cases correctly and supports things like HTTP upgrade (for using WebSockets, for example). It's also much much faster than parsers implemented in MOO code.

12. Colorized Logging and Line Editing The server writes colorized output to the log when attached to a console. The `server_log()' built-in allows colorized output from within the server. And line editing is supported in emergency wizard mode.

13. Bitwise Operators The server supports bitwise and (&.), or (|.), xor (^.), logical (not arithmetic) right-shift (<<), logical left-shift (>>), and complement (~) operators.

14. Testing Framework The server includes a unit testing framework based on Ruby's Test-Unit. It includes a Parslet parser (two, actually) for turning moo-code values into Ruby values, which makes writing tests much easier. The new code is covered very well by the existing tests.

WARNING: This server changes the database format in a non-backward compatible way in order to persist multiple-parent relationships. The server will automatically upgrade version 4 databases, however THERE IS NO WAY BACK!

Use Github and the Github issue system for feedback and bugs! See CONTRIBUTING for details on how to contribute.

Todd