6.5. Defining adjectives for values

| Chapter 6: Descriptions |

| 6.5. Defining adjectives for values

In general, any noun can have adjectives applied to it, and this means that values can have adjectives just as objects can. We have already seen that they can (in some cases, at least) have either/or properties, and this gives them adjectives just as for objects. But we can also write out definitions which apply to values:

> Definition: A number is round if the remainder after dividing it by 10 is 0.
> Definition: A time is late rather than early if it is at least 8 PM.

That makes the numbers 20 and 170 but not 37 meet the description "a round number", and the times 8 PM and 11:23 PM but not 9 AM meet the description "a late time". Because they come up fairly often, Inform contains several adjectives for numbers built in:

> positive - one which is greater than zero (but not 0 itself)
> negative - one which is less than zero (but not 0 itself)
> even - a number like ..., -4, -2, 0, 2, 4, ...
> odd - a number like ..., -5, -3, -1, 1, 3, 5, ...

Similarly, two useful adjectives are built in to talk about text:

> empty - the text "", with no characters in it, not even spaces
> non-empty - any text which does have at least one character in

Adjectives can have multiple definitions and, as long as each applies to a different sort of noun, there will be no problem. We could write:

> A thing can be round, square or funny-shaped.
> A container can be odd or ordinary.

And these definitions of "round" and "odd" will not interfere with the ones applying to numbers, because Inform can always look at the noun to see which definition is meant in any given case. For instance,

> if the score is round, ...

must mean "round" in the sense of numbers, because the score is a number. Inform itself makes good use of this; "empty" also has meanings applying to rulebooks, lists and activities, for instance, as will be seen later.

Although it's more usual to give a definition to apply to a whole kind, we can actually give a specific definition to apply to just a single object or named value. For example:

> A colour is a kind of value. The colours are red, green and blue.
> Definition: red is subtle if the player is female.
> Definition: a colour is subtle if it is blue.

The first definition of "subtle" takes precedence, of course, since it has the more specific domain - it applies only to red. The effect of this is that, if the player's female, the subtle colours are red and blue; if not, just blue.

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| Example Only You... Smoke which spreads through the rooms of the map, but only every other turn. |
RB

Suppose we want to have smoke that spreads from room to room, gradually filling the entire map with a clogging smoke. Having it spread every single turn would make for a pretty rapid diffusion, so we temper this by having it spread only on even-numbered turns, instead. Conveniently, Inform by default already knows about even and odd numbers, so we can write: "Only You..." Section 1 - The Procedure Every turn when the turn count is even: if every room is smoky, make no decision; if location is unsmoky, let current state be 0; otherwise let current state be 1; repeat with area running through smoky rooms: now every room which is adjacent to the area is smoky; if current state is 0 and the location is smoky, say "[The location] is filling rapidly with smoke." A room can be smoky or unsmoky. Some air is a backdrop. Air is everywhere. Instead of doing something other than examining or smelling to air: say "It's just air." Understand "smoke" as the air when the location is smoky. Instead of examining the air in a smoky room: say "A thick layer of smoke lies just under the ceiling." Instead of smelling the air in a smoky room: say "Agh, acrid." Instead of smelling a smoky room: try smelling the air. After looking in a smoky room: say "A thick layer of smoke has gathered under the ceiling." Section 2 - The Scenario The Guide Lodge is a room. "A very spacious room capable of containing several hundred girls while they eat, talk, or do crafts. It is constructed in a not-unappealing rustic style, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the lake below, and a fieldstone hearth at the center." The Guide Lodge is smoky. The Kitchen is north of the Guide Lodge. "Multiple eight-burner ranges, ovens, and a walk-in refrigerator: you know the sort of thing." The Industrial Pantry is east of the Kitchen. "Awe-inspiring quantities of food line every shelf, from the three-gallon tub of mayonnaise to the 50-pound tub of rice. Perhaps the most astonishing item is a bag of marshmallows big enough to double as a futon." The player is in the Pantry. The Hallway is west of the Guide Lodge. The description of the Hallway is "A perpetually-crammed hallway which has to handle the overflow line for the toilets." A singed sign is fixed in place in the Hallway. The description of the sign is "Where the edge of the sign has not been burnt, the legible words are '...Can Prevent Forest Fires'." The Toilets are north of the Hallway. "Always in full use, at least when the 12-to-15s are here." The Coat Closet is south of the Hallway. "Muddy boots may not be worn inside the lodge; instead, about 250 pair are piled here, along with their owners' damp parkas and umbrellas." The Craft Supply Room is west of the Hallway. "A holding-depot for jugs of white glue and popsicle sticks." Test me with "x smoke / z / z / z / z / x smoke / look".

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