Solent

::: Issues

issue 103, implement line-based logging to network


::: Changes

The big-ticket item is satisfying issue 103. There is now a means to
initialise logging to network. Import solent.init_network_logging. To see the
results, run solent.tools.udpcat.

The old init_logging_to_udp method is gone. That approach tried to redirect
stdout and stderr. We no longer do this, we just encourage the user to use
solent.log for everything they need to log.

Some unrelated tweaks are going in also,

- Added some obscure keycodes to solent_keycode.

- Previously, you could not quit from solent.tools.tclient unless you had made
a successful TCP connection. Fixed.

- Made wasd controls work for solent.demo.snake

::: Issues

issue 88, orb messaging should count as activity

issue 90, Refactor library structure to encourage log and hexdump_bytes to be
imported from solent package

issue 92, obsolete the brick package

issue 94, create convenient launch script for Windows-based development

issue 96, move clock into eng, create an engine alarm. (big refactor)


::: Changes

Overview. This is a major upgrade, with many breaking API changes. But the
breaks are generally minor. For example, due to package refactors or changed
argument names.

[high-level]

API-break. There has been a heavy refactor to packages. There is now a clear
hierarchy to them. This is obvious in the import order in solent/__init__.

Summary of the new package arrangements
=========================================
paths: allows solent to get its orientation in the filesystem.

base: foundation of the system. Memory control, namespaces, unit testing
tools and logging are here. We have put just enough function in here to
bootstrap Interface Script. This means we can use Interface Script as a
DSL building block anywhere in the system that is above this base.

eng: The engine, orb and nearcasts.
=========================================

API-break. SolentQuitException has moved. If you were importing it from
engine, that will need a refactor to solent.SolentQuitException.

API-break. Logs are now offered through the root solent package. This
includes hexdump. This will break almost everything that uses solent at the
moment. It is a fast fix: just change package imports for log, hexdump_bytes
and hexdump_string.

API-break. RailLineFinder has become a base class (to support interface
script.) Its argument API and callback API has changed to match convention.

Polish. Several things which used the old convention of using "thing_new"
functions for construction have been moved to the new convention of using
"Thing" classes. The old way was a legacy of the original C codebase. The new
way creates less friction with python users. (This is not always a reason to
do things, but it does us no harm here.)

Polish. The fake package is now more effective as a fake package.

Polish. Internals of lots of classes have been refactored so that rail_h now
gets passed as a callback, so that call methods are structured at the top of
classes, and to replace bespoke callback classes with references to solent.ns.

Polish. Scenarios have been improved, but there is still a lot of room for
improvement in scenarios.

[menu]

API-break. What was BrickMenu has become solent.console.RailMenu. Its
parameter of menu_h has changed to rail_h.

[hexdump]

API-break. A further change to hexdump_bytes. Its receive argument is now bb.
Previously it was arr. This brings it in line with convention, to refer to a
list of bytes as bb.

Bugfix. There was a formatting bug in hexdump functionality when a byte lined
up with the edge of a string or similar. It is a minor visual fix.

Feature. There is now a hexdump tool, similar to unix "hexdump -C". It was
written for Haiku usage, and will also be useful in Windows.

[line console]

API-break. The package solent.lc is gone. SpinLineConsole has been moved to
solent.util. In a future release, this will be refactored to RailLineConsole
(issue 100).

[orb]

Bugfix. Orb messages did not count as 'activity'. This created situations
where the engine would have short sleeps between cycles. The engine is not
meant to sleep between cycles when work is happening.

Polish. We now profile Tracks to check their structure, and to give more
helpful messages when they are mis-structured.

[cformat]

API-break. There was a weird cformat module in solent.log. This was a legacy
of the roguelike codebase that solent evolved from. It predates the current
console model, and offers simple text formatting when printing directly to
TTY. It has a bit of value, so has been kept in solent.util. (It is used by
only a couple of sections of this codebase, both of them also in line for a
shakeup: gruel and redis.)


// Opening comment

The platform has a history of big-bang releases. We are moving towards a
model where we use issues to drive changes. The improvement will be gradual

Comments should be streamed,
* Overview
* API-break.
* Bugfix.
* Feature.
* Polish.