
    KewlChess  1997 Tom Wagner                 
                                                 
This is Beta Version 1.21 and is freeware.
This script may be obtained from Tom Wagner's Web Site at:                   
http://user.mc.net/~twagner/kewlchess.htm      
PLEASE DO NOT REDISTRIBUTE THIS SCRIPT!     
                                 
Portions of this script were based on code used by permission from:            
EveryChat  1997 Matt Hahnfeld 
http://www.cs.hope.edu/~hahnfld/everychat/   


    TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Files
Features
Game Play
Upgrades
Installation
Configuration
Support, Problems, Bugs, etc.


    LIST OF FILES

readme.txt           This file.
kewlchess.cgi        The Perl Script Chess Program.
chess.htm            The page with the frames in it.        
board.txt            Data file with the latest moves in it.      
newboard.txt         Data file for initializing a new game.      
messages.htm         Chat messages.                         
board.htm            A html page of the chess board.          
board1.htm           A flipped version of the chess board.            
kewlchess-help.htm   On-line help file.
*.gif                There are 12 small gif files. These are the
                     images of pieces on the chess board.
kewlchess.zip        All of the files combined into one.

    FEATURES

Two-Players     Allows two players anywhere in the 
                world to play chess.
Real-Time       Chess board has a 15 second automatic refresh. 
                Chat has a 10 second automatic refresh.
CGI/Perl        Game runs and is saved on your server, and may be 
                continued overnight or for indefinite periods of time.
Much more...    It does many other things too numerous to mention.

    GAME PLAY

This game is designed for two players, you cannot play against the 
computer. What it does, is repond to user inputs. It does not check 
for illegal moves. You and your opponent must monitor yourselves as 
if you were playing over a board in person. To Castle, you must move 
two pieces, just like in real life. To advance a pawn in rank upon 
reaching the last row, requires going to "Modify Board" and selecting 
the desired piece.  

    UPGRADES

I will develop upgrades depending on interest from the field. 
Future plans include improved graphics and multiple playing rooms.


    INSTALLATION

This will require a little bit of knowledge about installing files 
into your CGI-BIN directory.

1.  Download 'kewlchess.zip' from my web site. There are some long 
    filenames and you will need to use the appropriate software.
2.  Copy 'kewlchess.cgi' into your CGI-BIN directory. This file
    needs two lines edited for configuration (see below). 
3.  Copy all of the other files into your homepage directory. 
    Some configuration is required (see below). 


    CONFIGURATION                            
                                                       
Edit the first configuration line in 'kewlchess.cgi' to show the 
absolute path to your chess directory files. The path MUST include 
a trailing slash. Edit the second line to show the URL to the same 
chess directory. Examples:
                                               
    $filepath='/home/username/public_html/kewlchess/';    
    $URL='http://www.domain.com/~username/kewlchess/';
                            
Edit 'chess.htm' so it points to the 'kewlchess.cgi' file in your 
CGI-BIN directory. Example:                            
                                                                
<FRAME SRC="/cgi-bin/username/kewlchess.cgi"   
scrolling="yes" MARGINWIDTH="0" MARGINHEIGHT="0" NORESIZE> 

There is also a hidden frame in chess.htm where you can place a 
counter. It had to be placed in its own frame so it would not 
increment everytime the pages refresh.

Store the following files in the directory indicated by the absolute 
path (above). The (*) means this file must have chmod 777's. It is 
recommended that you copy these files into a new subdirectory named 
'kewlchess' in order to avoid duplicate file names and to make it 
easier to upgrade in the future.                              
                                                               
chess.htm
board.txt (*)          
newboard.txt           
messages.htm (*)                          
board.htm (*)             
board1.htm (*)              
kewlchess-help.htm
*.gif  (12 files)

    SUPPORT, PROBLEMS, BUGS, ETC.

I have been told that this script does not work with perl 4. It 
requires perl 5.

There is a minor disadvantage associated with using perl and forms.
If the refresh locks up on the board or chat frame, it is best not use
your browsers "Reload" or "Refresh" button as this will repost your
last form data and can cause confusing side effects. (It may repeat 
a move that has already occured, replacing the piece with an empty 
space. Or, it may repost a chat message.) If you have the page 
bookmarked, use that method to reload the page, which does not 
repost form data. 

Another item I am working on, is commonly called the "perl flash"
which occurs during the frame refresh.

This program does not seem to work well with the browser currently 
being used with Web TV, which does not support automatic refresh.

I am open to suggestions for ways to improve these and other items 
that may also be discovered.

This program is still in Beta. Please report any problems with the 
program or with this documentation on my Support Forum at:
http://user.mc.net/~twagner/wwwboard/  or directly to Tom Wagner at 
twagner@mc.net. 


