DreamDaemon(6)                                     Games Manual                                     DreamDaemon(6)



NAME
       DreamDaemon - Host BYOND worlds and CGI programs.

SYNOPSIS
       DreamDaemon world.dmb [port] [options]

DESCRIPTION
       DreamDaemon  is  the  BYOND server program.  It executes .dmb (byte-code) programs generated by DreamMaker.
       Such .dmb programs are platform independent, so they may be compiled by DreamMaker in a completely  differ�
       ent operating system.


ARGUMENTS
       world.dmb
              This is a DM byte-code file produced by DreamMaker.  In addition to this file, DreamDaemon looks for
              world.rsc, in the same directory.  This file may contain icons, sounds, and other "resources" stored
              by the compiler.


       port   This  is a network port number on which to accept Dream Seeker connections.  If none is specified or
              if the value 0 or any is used, any available port may be chosen.  See PORTS for additional options.


OPTIONS
       -cd  path
              Use the specified path as the working directory.  The default is the directory containing the  world
              file.


       -cgi   Run  in  CGI mode.  This is normaly compiled directly into the .dmb by setting world.executor, which
              in turn is normally done automatically by including Dantom.CGI.


       -core  Produce a core dump if DreamDaemon crashes.


       -home  path
              Use the specified path as the top safe directory.  The default is the directory containing the world
              file.


       -invisible
              Don't broadcast the world to the BYOND hub.


       -log  logfile
              Send stderr to the specified file.


       -logself
              Send stderr to world.log, where world is the name of the .dmb file (minus the .dmb).



       -once  Shutdown after users log out.


       -params  var=value
              Any  number of parameter assignments may be made or a single form-url-encoded string may be provided
              that includes multiple assignments.  These parameters are  made  available  to  the  DM  program  in
              world.params.


       -ports  range
              Specify  a range of ports that may be used when a specific port is not specified.  This also applies
              to any child worlds spawned by the startup() DM instruction, which is used by host servers to dynam�
              ically execute worlds when they are requested by users.  See PORTS for more options.

              The syntax for range is a comma separated list of numbers or ranges of numbers.  Example:

              -ports 1234,1236,1240-1250


       -quiet Generate  less noise in the log file.  The main difference is that the world does not advertise when
              it starts up.


       -safe  Allow access to files and subdirectories in the same location as the world file.  Shell commands may
              not be executed.  This is the default if the world file is in a safe directory.  A safe directory is
              one with the same name as the world file.  A file called MyWorld.dmb  would  run  in  safe  mode  by
              default if it existed in a directory called MyWorld.  This comparison is not sensitive to case.


       -suid  path
              Run as the owner of the specified file or directory.  Only root may use this option.


       -suidself
              Run  as  the owner of the world file.  Only root may use this option.  Note that it is also possible
              to set the suid bit on the .dmb file so that other users may execute it with the same  effect.   For
              this to work, DreamDaemon must also have the suid bit set.


       -trace Output a debug trace-log file to help the developers track bugs.


       -trusted
              Allow access to any part of the filesystem and permit execution of shell commands.  Note that allow�
              ing DreamDaemon to try accessing any file does not mean the operating system will actually allow the
              operation.  Normal system security is in no way compromised by running in -trusted mode.


       -ultrasafe
              Disallow all file access and forbid the .dmb program from executing any shell commands.  This is the
              default if the world file is not in a safe directory.  (See -safe.)


       -unsafe_diag
              Don't block SIGUSR2 during lengthy I/O operations: useful if you want a backtrace via kill -USR2 and
              DreamDaemon  is  ignoring  it  due to I/O or infinite loop, but may be dangerous if a system call is
              interrupted.


       -version
              Output the BYOND version and then exit.


PORTS
       A network port is required in order for a BYOND world to be reached by players.   The  port  must  also  be
       accessible, which means the host machine must have its own IP address and the specific port being used must
       not be blocked from outside connections by any firewalls between the host and the client.

       Networks that perform IP masquerading may not host BYOND worlds  to  users  on  the  outside,  because  the
       machines inside the network do not have their own external IP address.  Typically, only the machine that is
       acting as the gateway to the outside will have its own IP address in these circumstances.

       Firewalls that restrict access to ports must be configured to allow connections to the port(s)  being  used
       for  hosting BYOND worlds.  It is still possible for ports to be dynamically assigned in this case, but you
       must configure the list of usable ports, or DreamDaemon will most likely choose one that is not  accessible
       through the firewall.

       The range of ports that DreamDaemon may use is configured on the command line with the -ports option, or in
       the byond.txt configuration file.  Settings in the system configuration file restrict settings in user con�
       figuration files and those in turn restrict settings made on the command line.

       A typical line in byond.txt looks like this:

       ports 1234,1236,1240-1250

       The syntax is the same as the -ports command-line option.

       It  should be noted that although the system and user configuration files may be used to "control" the net�
       work ports being used on the system, this should not be considered a high-security device.  It is  intended
       merely as an administrative aid.


DIRECT EXECUTION
       It  is  possible to execute .dmb programs directly by compiling with world.executor assigned to the path to
       DreamDaemon.  This happens automatically when you include the  Dantom.CGI  library  in  your  source  code.
       (Install  it with DreamDownload).  You would only need to override this if the default value does not match
       the location of DreamDaemon on your system.

       The only additional step is to change the file permissions to allow execution of the .dmb file.   DreamDae�
       mon will be automatically invoked when the .dmb is executed.

       Additional  command-line  parameters may be hard-coded in world.executor if necessary.  In the case of Dan�
       tom.CGI, the options -cgi -logself are inserted using this technique.

       If you need to alter the executor information and you do not have access to the source code, the first line
       of the .dmb file may be edited directly.  Be sure to use an editor that does not mangle binary data!


ENVIRONMENT
       BYOND_SYSTEM
              If this is set, it designates the location of the BYOND system configuration files.  Otherwise, they
              are expected to be in /usr/local/byond.


FILES
       cfg/byond.txt
              This file contains various system configuration options.  System-wide configurations may be made  in
              BYOND_SYSTEM/cfg/byond.txt,    and    individual    user    configurations    may    be    made   in
              ~/.byond/cfg/byond.txt.


LINKS
       Visit www.byond.com to learn more about DM programming, chat with the gurus, and  explore  the  BYOND  uni�
       verse.


SEE ALSO
       DreamMaker(6)



                                                   July 20, 2001                                    DreamDaemon(6)

DreamMaker(6)                                      Games Manual                                      DreamMaker(6)



NAME
       DreamMaker - Compile DM programs to make BYOND worlds.

SYNOPSIS
       DreamMaker [options] source

DESCRIPTION
       DreamMaker  is the BYOND compiler.  It reads DM source code and produces .dmb byte-code programs executable
       by DreamDaemon or DreamSeeker.  Such .dmb programs are platform independent, so they  may  be  compiled  by
       DreamMaker in a completely different operating system from the one in which the world is executed.


ARGUMENTS
       source This is the DM source code.  If no extension is specified, it searches for a file ending in .dme and
              then .dm.  The output file always has the same name as the input file but with the extension .dmb.


OPTIONS
       -i     Generate include.txt.  This file contains a list of all the DM library dependencies.  When this file
              is  included  in  a  source-code package installed by DreamDownload from BYOND Hub, any dependencies
              that are not already present are automatically installed at that time.


       -l     List all included source files.  This may be useful when preparing source-code for  distribution  to
              others.


ERRORS
       Syntax  errors  are  reported  in a format similar to gcc, which many popular editors can interpret for the
       purpose of automatically jumping to the errors in the source code.


ENVIRONMENT
       BYOND_SYSTEM
              If this is set, it designates the location of the BYOND system configuration files.  Otherwise, they
              are expected to be in /usr/local/byond.


FILES
       BYOND_SYSTEM/lib/stddef.dm
              This  file contains various standard definitions used in DM programs.  It must exist and be accessi�
              ble in order for the compiler to operate.


LINKS
       Visit www.byond.com to learn more about DM programming, chat with the gurus, and  explore  the  BYOND  uni�
       verse.


SEE ALSO
       DreamDaemon(6)



                                                   July 20, 2001                                     DreamMaker(6)