UDLP2 Shell v2.0
A Greg Leedberg Creation, 2000
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This program is FREEWARE, and may
be distributed freely, as long as
no profit is made from it.
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I. DEFINING UDLP2
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   UDLP stands for Universal Dynamic Link Protocol, and dates way back 
to the dark ages of Billy version 2.1.  For Billy version 2.0, I had 
spent an obsessive amount of time figuring out how to allow people to 
link two copies of Billy together for a computer-only conversation.  
However, I realized that the way I was doing it was all wrong -- the 
two programs weren't actually running at the same time, one was just 
temporarily using the other's data files.  So for version 2.1, I 
developed UDLP1.  It was "universal" because it could link any program 
with the right code in it, and "dynamic" because the programs would 
actually be running at the same time, interacting with each other.  
It soon became apparent that UDLP had memory restrictions which
didn't affect super-compact Billy, but which did try and excessively
squeeze my in-development powerhouse bot named Daisy.  So, for Daisy, 
UDLP2 was born.  UDLP2 uses an external program, called a Shell, 
which links the two chatbots together.  Because it is an external 
program, it's easy for me to improve the link mode without having to 
re-release programs that use it.  
  Plus, linking programs together for laughs never gets old. :)

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II. USING THE SHELL
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  Using the Shell is easy.  Just run LINK.EXE.  You will be
asked for the number of bots to link.  You can link up to 15 bots
together for a super-sized chat.  It is preferable that only link 
separate, individually trained, bots together... however, it is 
possible for you to link one copy of one bot to itself 15 times if
you wanted.  But only if you REALLY wanted.  Now, just enter the path 
to each of the bots.  The path is the drive and directory where the 
bot is found.  For instance, a bot on drive C in folder CHAT would be 
"C:\CHAT" (without the quotes, of course).
  Once the chat begins, you can end it at any time by just pressing
any key.  But why would you want to do that?

  BE SURE that the chat programs you are linking are 
UDLP2-compatible -- not all are!!  Only chat bots made by me support
UDLP2, which include Billy v2.2 (and higher), and all versions of
my Daisy bot.  Billy v2.1 does NOT support UDLP2.

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III. CHAT TRANSCRIPTS
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  Transcripts of the chat are stored in the text file LINK.TXT.
You should probably take stuff out of it every now and then, or
else it will grow to be huge quite quickly.

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IV. GETTING THE LATEST VERSION
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  The latest version of the UDLP2 Shell, as well as the latest
version of all my programs, is always available at:

                   http://www.leedberg.com/glsoft

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V. CREDITS
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                          UDLP2 Shell v2.0
                       was created entirely by:

                            GREG LEEDBERG!
                         ggl@cisunix.unh.edu

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VI. HISTORY
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  UDLP2 Shell v2.0  - (7/8/2000)
                      The first to be released as a stand-alone 
                      package, this version allows the user to link
                      not just two bots, but up to 15 bots together.
                      The program also quits much faster after a key
                      has been pressed, and stores transcripts of
                      the linked chats.  Additionally, the program
                      is much better (and faster) at handling
                      errors than before. 
                       
  UDLP2 Shell v1.01 - (6/25/2000)
                      Packaged with Daisy v1.1, this was a bug fix.
                      This version fixes one bug which caused quite a 
                      lot of "file not found" errors: the paths to the 
                      chat bots were truncated at 25 characters!  Now 
                      the paths can be up to 255 characters long. 

  UDLP2 Shell v1.0  - (5/10/2000)
                      Packaged with Daisy v1.0, this was the first
                      UDLP2 Shell.