Date: Fri, 13 Dec 1996 16:09:03 +0100 (MET)
From: Arno Hollosi <hollosi@sbox.tu-graz.ac.at>
Subject: SGF FF[4] draft, version 6


Hello SGFers,

I updated the draft again.
Of course the changes are not final - they are subject to discussion.

Here's the list:

* divided the draft into general and game specific section.
  Throughout the draft many Go related terms are still used though.

* changed the term 'position' into 'point'
  (this was requested several times)

* I added 'compressed point lists' as suggested by Martin Mueller.
  Any porperty that has 'list of point' may be stored in compressed
  format (e.g. TB, MA, AB, VW, DD, ...)

* Deleted BS, WS, RG, SC properties. The first two are computer type 
  properties, the latter pair wasn't supported by many applications
  and their purpose was unknown.
  (Again: Anyone interested in compiling a computer property type list?)

* Introduced a new property value type: Stone
  Right now Stone is used only by AW & AB.
  The change from 'list of point' to 'list of stone' is a cosmetical one.
  I did it because e.g. in chess 'list of point' is not sufficient to add
  a new piece to the board, because there are different kind of pieces!

* Other cosmetical changes:
  - RE[B+] & RE[W+] are allowed now (score is optional).
    Some games don't have a score (e.g. chess).
  - Definiton of Real now: Real = Number ["." Digit { Digit }]
    (a digit after the decimal point is required, e.g. "3." is illegal)
  - Collection is now:  Collection = GameTree { GameTree }
    I.e. a collection must at least contain ONE GameTree
  - explicitly state:
    'The order of properties in a node is not fixed. It may change every time
     the file gets saved and may vary from application to application.'

* I took the liberty of adding applications to the AP property list:
	Application		     System	  Name
	---------------------------  -----------  --------------------
	[CGoban:1.6.2]		     Unix	  CGoban
	[MGT:?]			     DOS/Unix	  MGT
	[NNGS:?]		     Unix	  No Name Go Server
	[SGB:?]			     Macintosh	  Smart Game Board

  If this is not ok, please let me know.
  If your application doiesn't appear on the AP list let me know.

* Defined mandatory RU(les) names:
	Because there are many different rules, SGF requires
	mandatory names only for a small set of well known rule sets.
	Note: it's beyond the scope of this specification to give an
	exact specification of these rule sets.
	Mandatory names for Go (GM[1]):
		"AGA" (rules of the American Go Association)
		"GOE" (the Ing rules of Goe)
		"Japanese" (the Nihon-Kiin rule set)
		"NZ" (New Zealand rules)
  If you dislike the names I've chosen or think there there's an important
  rule set missing, please let me know.



That's it.
Could everyone please take a close look at the draft and tell me (or sgf_std)
likes, dislikes, suggestions, etc. There are still several open questions.

I hope that it's possible to 'release' the new standard before March/April 1997.
So if you strongly disagree with a defintion or anything else please let 
me know. It'll be too late when we agree on a final version.


/Arno