Run-time problem

P34 - Attempt to save a table to a file whose data is unstable

Most problems are detected when Inform translates the source text, but this is one of the exceptions, a "run-time problem" which emerges only during play.

Some of what is stored in tables is solid information whose meaning never changes: the number 342, for instance, means the same to everyone. Unfortunately, other information is stored in a way which depends entirely on the current location of certain structures in memory: for instance, a rule is internally referred to by its memory location. This location changes every time the game is translated, and so it is not possible to pass it from one copy to another, or from one project to another. The only tables which Inform allows us to save into files are those only containing safe data: numbers, units, times of day and kinds of value with named alternatives. Text, in particular, is not allowed, and nor are scenes, rules or rulebooks.