such as hash-table size, tablebase cache size, maximum number of processors
that SMP engines can use, and where to find the Polyglot adapter needed
to run UCI engines under XBoard. The feature that allows setting of these parameters on
-engines is new since XBoard 4.3.15, so not many WinBoard engines respond
+engines is new since XBoard 4.3.15, so not many XBoard/WinBoard engines respond
to it yet, but UCI engines should.
It is also possible to specify a GUI opening book here, i.e. an opening
book that XBoard consults for any position a playing engine gets in.
Sets the Ponder Next Move menu option. @xref{Options Menu}. Default: true.
@item -smpCores number
Specifies the maximum number of CPUs an SMP engine is allowed to use.
-Only works for engines that support the WinBoard-protocol cores feature.
+Only works for engines that support the XBoard/WinBoard-protocol cores feature.
@item -mg or -matchGames n
@cindex mg, option
@cindex matchGames, option
@cindex niceEngines, option
This option allows you to lower the priority of the engine processes,
so that the generally insatiable hunger for CPU time of chess engines does not interfere so much
-with smooth operation of WinBoard (or the rest of your system).
+with smooth operation of XBoard (or the rest of your system).
Negative values could increase the engine priority, which is not recommended.
@item -firstOptions string
@itemx -secondOptions string
@cindex secondOptions, option
The given string is a comma-separated list of (option name=option value) pairs,
like the following example: "style=Karpov,blunder rate=0".
-If the options announced by the engine at startup through the feature commands of WinBoard protocol
+If an option announced by the engine at startup through the feature commands of the XBoard/WinBoard protocol
matches one of the option names (i.e. "style" or "blunder rate"),
it would be set to the given value (i.e. "Karpov" or 0)
through a corresponding option command to the engine.
through setting the string to "KQkq -". (Note you also have to give the e.p. field!)
Other possible applications are to provide work-arounds for engines that want to see
castling and e.p. fields in variants that do not have castling or e.p.
-(shatranj, courier, xiangqi, shogi) so that WinBoard would normally omit them
-(string = "- -"), or to add variant-specific fields that are not yet supported by WinBoard
+(shatranj, courier, xiangqi, shogi) so that XBoard would normally omit them
+(string = "- -"), or to add variant-specific fields that are not yet supported by XBoard
(e.g. to indicate the number of checks in 3check).
@end table
@item -PolyglotBook filename
@cindex PolyglotBook, option
Gives the filename of the opening book that Polyglot should use.
-From XBoard 4.3.15 on, native WinBoard engines will also use the opening book specified here,
+From XBoard 4.3.15 on, native XBoard/WinBoard engines will also use the opening book specified here,
provided the @code{usePolyglotBook} option is set to true,
and the option @code{firstHasOwnBookUCI} or @code{secondHasOwnBookUCI} applying to the engine
is set to false.
@item -defaultHashSize n
@cindex defaultHashSize, option
Sets the size of the hash table to n MegaBytes. Together with the EGTB cache size
-this number is also used to calculate the memory setting of WinBoard engines,
-for those that support the memory feature of WinBoard protocol. Default: 64.
+this number is also used to calculate the memory setting of XBoard/WinBoard engines,
+for those that support the memory feature of the XBoard/WinBoard protocol. Default: 64.
@item -defaultCacheSizeEGTB n
@cindex defaultCacheSizeEGTB, option
Sets the size of the EGTB cache to n MegaBytes. Together with the hash-table size
-this number is also used to calculate the memory setting of WinBoard engines,
-for those that support the memory feature of WinBoard protocol. Default: 4.
+this number is also used to calculate the memory setting of XBoard/WinBoard engines,
+for those that support the memory feature of the XBoard/WinBoard protocol. Default: 4.
@item -defaultPathEGTB filename
@cindex defaultPathEGTB, option
Gives the name of the directory where the end-game tablebases are installed, for UCI engines.
specifies the standard output.
@item -pgnExtendedInfo true/false
@cindex pgnExtendedInfo, option`
-If this option is set, WinBoard saves depth, score and time used for each
+If this option is set, XBoard saves depth, score and time used for each
move that the engine found as a comment in the PGN file.
Default: false.
@item -pgnEventHeader string
@item -debugFile filename or -nameOfDebugFile filename
@cindex debugFile, option
@cindex nameOfDebugFile, option
-Sets the name of the file to which WinBoard saves debug information
+Sets the name of the file to which XBoard saves debug information
(including all communication to and from the engines).
@item -engineDebugOutput number
@cindex engineDebugOutput, option
-Specifies how WinBoard should handle unsolicited output from the engine,
+Specifies how XBoard should handle unsolicited output from the engine,
with respect to saving it in the debug file.
The output is further (hopefully) ignored.
-If number=0, WinBoard refrains from writing such spurious output to the debug file.
+If number=0, XBoard refrains from writing such spurious output to the debug file.
If number=1, all engine output is written faithfully to the debug file.
If number=2, any protocol-violating line is prefixed with a '#' character,
as the engine itself should have done if it wanted to submit info for inclusion in the debug file.
@itemx -delayAfterQuit number
@cindex delayBeforeQuit, option
@cindex delayAfterQuit, option
-These options specify how long WinBoard has to wait before sending a termination signal to rogue engine processes, that do not want to react to the 'quit' command. The second one determines the pause after killing the engine, to make sure it dies.
+These options specify how long XBoard has to wait before sending a termination signal to rogue engine processes, that do not want to react to the 'quit' command. The second one determines the pause after killing the engine, to make sure it dies.
@end table
the piece you are trying to drop. But this way of dropping pieces should be considered
an obsolete feature, now that pieces can be dropped by dragging them from the holdings
to the board. Anyway, if you would attempt an illegal move when using a chess engine or the ICS,
-WinBoard will accept the error message that comes back, undo the move, and let you try another.
+XBoard will accept the error message that comes back, undo the move, and let you try another.
FEN positions saved by XBoard do include correct information about whether castling or
en passant are legal, and also handle the 50-move counter.
The mate detector does not understand that non-contact mate is not really mate in bughouse.
@cindex Problems
@cindex Reporting problems
-Report bugs and problems with XBoard to @code{<bug-xboard@@gnu.org>}.
+You can report bugs and problems with XBoard using
+the bug tracker at @code{https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/xboard/}
+or by sending mail to @code{<bug-xboard@@gnu.org>}. It can also
+be useful to report or discuss bugs in the WinBoard Forum at
+@code{http://www.open-aurec.com/wbforum/},
+WinBoard development section.
Please use the @file{script} program to start a typescript, run
XBoard with the @samp{-debug} option, and include the typescript
output in your message.
Also tell us what kind of machine and what operating system version
you are using. The command @samp{uname -a} will often tell you this.
-Here is a sample of approximately what you should type:
-
-@example
-script
-uname -a
-./configure
-make
-./xboard -debug
-exit
-mail bug-xboard@@gnu.org
-Subject: Your short description of the problem
-Your detailed description of the problem
-~r typescript
-.
-@end example
-
-The WinBoard / XBoard 4.3 line is being developed by H.G. Muller
-independently of the GNU Savannah xboard project.
-Bug reports on this version, and suggestions for improvements and additions,
-are best posted in the WinBoard forum,
-WinBoard-development section (http://www.open-aurec.com/wbforum).
If you improve XBoard, please send a message about your changes,
and we will get in touch with you about merging them in
to the main line of development.
-Also see our Web site at http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/xboard/.
@node Contributors
@chapter Authors and contributors
@cindex Authors
@cindex Contributors
-Tim Mann has been responsible for XBoard versions 1.3 and beyond, and
-for WinBoard, a port of XBoard to Microsoft Win32 (Windows NT and
-Windows 95). H.G.Muller is responsible for version 4.3.
+Chris Sears and Dan Sears wrote the original XBoard. They were
+responsible for versions 1.0 through 1.2.
+
+Evan Welsh wrote @code{CMail}. Patrick Surry helped in designing,
+testing, and documenting CMail.
+
+Tim Mann was primarily responsible for XBoard versions 1.3 through
+4.2.7, and for WinBoard (a port of XBoard to Microsoft Win32) from its
+inception through version 4.2.7.
Mark Williams contributed the initial (WinBoard-only) implementation
of many new features added to both XBoard and WinBoard in version
ICS mode. The color scheme and the old 80x80 piece bitmaps were taken
from Wayne Christopher's @code{XChess} program.
-Chris Sears and Dan Sears wrote the original XBoard. They were
-responsible for versions 1.0 through 1.2.
-
-Evan Welsh wrote @code{CMail}. Patrick Surry helped in designing,
-testing, and documenting CMail.
-
+In a fork from version 4.2.7,
Alessandro Scotti added many elements to the user interface of WinBoard,
including the board textures and font-based rendering, the evaluation-graph,
move-history and engine-output window.
He was also responsible for adding the UCI support.
-H.G. Muller made WinBoard castling- and e.p.-aware,
+H. G. Muller continued this fork of the project,
+producing version 4.3.
+He made WinBoard castling- and e.p.-aware,
added variant support with adjustable board sizes,
the crazyhouse holdings, and the fairy pieces.
In addition he added most of the adjudication options,
Michel van den Bergh provided the code for reading Polyglot opening books.
-Arun Persaud worked with H.G. Muller to combine all the features of the never-released WinBoard 4.2.8
-of the Savannah project (mainly by Daniel Mehrmann),
-and the never-released 4.3.16 into a unified WinBoard 4.4,
-which is now available both from the Savannah web site and the WinBoard forum.
+Meanwhile, some work continued on the GNU XBoard project maintained at
+savannah.gnu.org, but version 4.2.8 was never released. Daniel
+Mehrmann was responsible for much of this work.
+
+More recently, Arun Persaud worked with H. G. Muller to merge all
+the features of the never-released XBoard/WinBoard 4.2.8 of the GNU
+XBoard project and the never-released 4.3.16 from H. G.'s fork into a
+unified XBoard/WinBoard 4.4, which is now available both from the
+savannah.gnu.org web site and the WinBoard forum.
+
@node CMail
@chapter CMail
@cindex cmail
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