Source diving - Revision history

Rivest–Shamir–Adleman: added link to Diff useful tool

2026-07-18T03:18:25Z

added link to Diff useful tool

Furey: Deleting GEMA.

2024-06-30T05:23:29Z

Deleting GEMA.

Furey: Change external link for Doxygen. Old link was broken. Refer to wikipedia.

2024-06-16T23:36:46Z

Change external link for Doxygen. Old link was broken. Refer to wikipedia.

Furey: Send "AWK" ref to wikipedia. Fixes a redlink. I left GEMA alone because I don't know what that is and neither does wikipedia.

2024-06-16T23:35:17Z

Send "AWK" ref to wikipedia. Fixes a redlink. I left GEMA alone because I don't know what that is and neither does wikipedia.

Furey: /* See also */ "current versions" -> "3.7 development versions"

2024-06-05T16:19:01Z

‎See also: "current versions" -> "3.7 development versions"

Actual-nh: /* Message sources */ Trim?

2021-07-05T00:38:54Z

‎Message sources: Trim?

Darth l33t: /* Tips */ message search

2021-07-05T00:22:02Z

‎Tips: message search

Umbire the Phantom at 23:56, 4 July 2021

2021-07-04T23:56:46Z

Yoyodyne: /* Tips */

2021-07-04T22:36:48Z

‎Tips

Darth l33t: no need to link to an archived page when we have a copy on the wiki

2021-07-04T16:48:35Z

no need to link to an archived page when we have a copy on the wiki

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 Source diving is usually done when someone wants to know how something really works in the game. Source divers may also program their own [[patch]]es to the game. Some people may just want to look for easter eggs or interesting [[comments]] in the source.
-[[Grep]], [[wikipedia:AWK|awk]], and [[wikipedia:Doxygen|Doxygen]] are useful tools when source diving.
+[[Diff]], [[Grep]], [[wikipedia:AWK|awk]], and [[wikipedia:Doxygen|Doxygen]] are useful tools when source diving.
 ==Tips==
@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 * [[Beginner's guide to NetHack sources]] -- note that the .des level file format described here has been replaced with LUA in 3.7 development versions.
 [[Category:Development]]

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 Source diving is usually done when someone wants to know how something really works in the game. Source divers may also program their own [[patch]]es to the game. Some people may just want to look for easter eggs or interesting [[comments]] in the source.
-[[Grep]], [[GEMA]], [[wikipedia:AWK|awk]], and [[wikipedia:Doxygen|Doxygen]] are useful tools when source diving.
+[[Grep]], [[wikipedia:AWK|awk]], and [[wikipedia:Doxygen|Doxygen]] are useful tools when source diving.
 ==Tips==

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 Source diving is usually done when someone wants to know how something really works in the game. Source divers may also program their own [[patch]]es to the game. Some people may just want to look for easter eggs or interesting [[comments]] in the source.
-[[Grep]], [[GEMA]], [[wikipedia:AWK|awk]], and [http://www.stack.nl/~dimitri/doxygen/index.html Doxygen] are useful tools when source diving.
+[[Grep]], [[GEMA]], [[wikipedia:AWK|awk]], and [[wikipedia:Doxygen|Doxygen]] are useful tools when source diving.
 ==Tips==

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 Source diving is usually done when someone wants to know how something really works in the game. Source divers may also program their own [[patch]]es to the game. Some people may just want to look for easter eggs or interesting [[comments]] in the source.
-[[Grep]], [[GEMA]], [[AWK]], and [http://www.stack.nl/~dimitri/doxygen/index.html Doxygen] are useful tools when source diving.
+[[Grep]], [[GEMA]], [[wikipedia:AWK|awk]], and [http://www.stack.nl/~dimitri/doxygen/index.html Doxygen] are useful tools when source diving.
 ==Tips==

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 ==See also==
-* [[Beginner's guide to NetHack sources]] -- note that the .des level file format described here has been replaced with LUA in current versions.
+* [[Beginner's guide to NetHack sources]] -- note that the .des level file format described here has been replaced with LUA in 3.7 development versions.
 [[Category:Development]]

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ===Message sources===
 You can look up printed messages in the code to get an idea of what governs certain output. However, many messages are constructed using macros and/or string substitution. For example, when trying to [[riding|mount]] your steed, you may get the message: {{message|You are unable to swing your leg over.}}
-You won't find this exact message anywhere in the source code, because the line that produces it reads: <code>You("are unable to swing your %s over.", body_part(LEG))</code>. The macro <code>You()</code> prints a message beginning with the word "You"; there are similar macros for messages starting with "Your", "You hear", and "You feel". The "%s" in the message is replaced with the result of the next argument, <code>body_part(LEG)</code>, which resolves to a string describing the leg-analogue of your current [[polyself]], if any. In this case, one way to search for the message would be "unable to swing your %s over". In general, if any word or words in a message can vary, replace them with %s in a search; if a number varies, replace it with %ld.
+You won't find this exact message anywhere in the source code, because the line that produces it reads: <code>You("are unable to swing your %s over.", body_part(LEG))</code>. The macro <code>You()</code> prints a message beginning with the word "You"; there are similar macros for messages starting with "Your", "You hear", and "You feel". The "%s" in the message is replaced with the result of the next argument, <code>body_part(LEG)</code>, which resolves to a string describing the leg-analogue of your current [[polyself]], if any. In this case, one way to search for the message would be "unable to swing your %s over". In general, if any word or words in a message can vary, replace them with %s in a search; if a number varies, replace it with %ld. (Alternatively, trim to "unable to swing your", if your search mechanism may not cooperate with %s or %ld as part of a search.)
 ==See also==

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 Most function declarations are in [[Source:NetHack_3.6.1/include/extern.h|extern.h]], sorted by the .c file they're defined in. If you're looking for a function's definition, you can search for the function name in extern.h, then scroll up to the comment giving the file name. Note that some things that look like functions, such as <code>resists_fire(mon)</code>, are actually preprocessor macros; most of those are defined in other header files such as [[Source:NetHack_3.6.1/include/youprop.h|youprop.h]] or [[Source:NetHack_3.6.1/include/mondata.h|mondata.h]].
-Even if you aren't proficient in Coding, oftentimes you can look up printed messages (where the message in game should be pretty much the same as the one in the code) to get hints of what's happening
+Even if you aren't proficient in coding, oftentimes you can look up printed messages in the code to get an idea of what governs certain output.
 ==See also==