Changes for page Mission Director Guide

Last modified by Klaus Meyer on 2025/03/31 16:39

From version 32944.3
edited by Daniel Turner
on 2023/08/22 17:29
Change comment: Update document after refactoring.
To version 32940.1
edited by Daniel Turner
on 2023/08/22 16:50
Change comment: There is no comment for this version

Summary

Details

Page properties
Title
... ... @@ -1,1 +1,1 @@
1 -Mission Director Guide
1 +X4:X4 Documentation/X4 Game Design/0 General/Mission Director Guide
Parent
... ... @@ -1,1 +1,0 @@
1 -X Rebirth Wiki.Modding support.WebHome
Content
... ... @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
1 1  The Mission Director (MD) is a subsystem of the game and interprets mission scripts, which are written in an XML-based language. The Mission Director in X Rebirth and X4 is based on the MD in X3: Terran Conflict, with some major changes based on feedback from MD users.\\
2 2  
3 -An introduction to the original MD can be found in the[[(% style="color: rgb(0,0,153);text-decoration: underline;" %)Egosoft forums>>url:http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=196971]](%%). There is also a PDF guide for the X3 Mission Director, which is partially used as a template for this document.
3 +An introduction to the original MD can be found in the[[ (% style="color: rgb(0,0,153);text-decoration: underline;" %)Egosoft forums>>url:http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=196971]](%%). There is also a PDF guide for the X3 Mission Director, which is partially used as a template for this document.
4 4  
5 5  This document is primarily supposed to be a guide for MD users (people who use the MD to develop missions or write other MD scripts), not for MD programmers (people who work on the MD engine in C++).
6 6  
... ... @@ -8,7 +8,6 @@
8 8  
9 9  (% id="md-scripts" %)
10 10  
11 -
12 12  {{toc/}}
13 13  
14 14  = MD scripts =
... ... @@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
15 15  
16 16  MD scripts are not necessarily missions. An MD file can contain a part of a mission, multiple missions, or no mission at all, as the MD is used for more than just missions.
17 17  
18 -MD files are XML files located in the game folder {{code}}md{{/code}}. All XML files in that folder are loaded at game start. The file names are irrelevant, since the internally used script names are read from the XML root nodes. However, it's recommended to keep file name and internal script name identical to avoid having to look up the names.
17 +MD files are XML files located in the game folder {{code}}md{{/code}}. All XML files in that folder are loaded at game start. The file names are irrelevant, since the internally used script names are read from the XML root nodes. However, itΓÇÖs recommended to keep file name and internal script name identical to avoid having to look up the names.
19 19  
20 20  To edit MD scripts, an XML editing tool is needed. Microsoft Visual Studio (if available) or [[(% style="color: rgb(0,0,153);text-decoration: underline;" %)Microsoft Visual Web Developer>>url:http://www.microsoft.com/express/vwd/]](%%) (for free) are highly recommended because they have pretty good support for XML schemas (XSD). The provided Mission Director schema files help you create the XML file by displaying all available tags and attributes as you edit the XML.
21 21  
... ... @@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
22 22  This functionality is only available if the schema files **md.xsd** and **common.xsd** are in the correct folder. If you are editing the XML in the game folder directly, all is well and the files are loaded from the libraries folder. However, if you are editing in a separate folder, copy those XSD files from the libraries folder directly into the folder where your XML files are located.
23 23  
24 24  {{info}}
25 -Even if your script is free of XSD errors, that does not mean that the script syntax is correct. For example, there are XML elements that require at least one of multiple attributes, but this requirement cannot be reflected in a schema (apart from documentation text). Please notice the XSD documentation of the elements and attributes, e.g. displayed via tooltips in Visual Studio / Visual Web Developer. Please also note additional requirements for MD cue attributes in this guide (see [[xwiki:MediaWiki.X4.X4_DocumentationX4_Game_Design0_GeneralMission_Director_Guide.NULL|Conditions.WebHome]]).
24 +Even if your script is free of XSD errors, that does not mean that the script syntax is correct. For example, there are XML elements that require at least one of multiple attributes, but this requirement cannot be reflected in a schema (apart from documentation text). Please notice the XSD documentation of the elements and attributes, e.g. displayed via tooltips in Visual Studio / Visual Web Developer. Please also note additional requirements for MD cue attributes in this guide (see [[NULL|Conditions]]).
26 26  
27 27  To check for errors, please pay attention to in-game error messages that are produced while your script is imported, and run-time errors while the script runs. The XSD files can help you a lot, but you should not rely on the absence of XSD errors."
28 28  {{/info}}
... ... @@ -33,15 +33,11 @@
33 33  
34 34  To collect all messages in a file, start the game with the following parameters on the command line:
35 35  
36 -{{code}}
37 --logfile debuglog.txt
38 -{{/code}}
35 +{{code}}-logfile debuglog.txt{{/code}}
39 39  
40 40  All messages, including enabled non-error messages, will be written into the log file. You can find it in your personal folder, where your save folder is located. To enable scripting-specific debug messages, add the following to the command line:
41 41  
42 -{{code}}
43 --debug scripts
44 -{{/code}}
39 +{{code}}-debug scripts{{/code}}
45 45  
46 46  Other debug filters other than "scripts" can be enabled by repeating the -debug command for each filter name, but that is rarely needed for scripting.\\
47 47  
... ... @@ -51,7 +51,7 @@
51 51  
52 52  In this section we will look at how to start the whole process by creating a new MD mission file and the basic steps in producing mission content with XML code. There will be a description of the key elements of the mission file.
53 53  
54 -The XML root node of an MD file is called "mdscript" and looks like this:
49 +The XML root node of an MD file is called ΓÇ£mdscriptΓÇ¥ and looks like this:
55 55  
56 56  {{code language="xml"}}
57 57  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
... ... @@ -58,7 +58,7 @@
58 58  <mdscript name="ScriptName" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="md.xsd">
59 59  {{/code}}
60 60  
61 -"ScriptName" is the name used for this script regardless of the file name. It **has to start with an upper case letter and must be unique** among all MD script names. It also should not contain spaces, so other MD scripts can use it as an identifier to access this script's contents easily.
56 +ΓÇ£ScriptNameΓÇ¥ is the name used for this script regardless of the file name. It **has to start with an upper case letter and must be unique** among all MD script names. It also should not contain spaces, so other MD scripts can use it as an identifier to access this scriptΓÇÖs contents easily.
62 62  
63 63  The only allowed sub-node of <mdscript> is <cues>, which can only contain <cue> sub-nodes:
64 64  
... ... @@ -85,14 +85,13 @@
85 85  * **Active**: The cue is about to perform the actions. Child cues have entered the waiting state.\\
86 86  
87 87  
83 +
88 88  * **Complete**: The cue has finished performing its actions.
89 89  * **Cancelled**: The cue has been cancelled. This state cannot normally be reached but only if a cue actively cancels itself or another cue. No condition checks or actions are performed in this cue or any sub-(sub-)cue.
90 90  
91 91  \\
92 92  
93 -{{info}}
94 -There can be a delay between the activation and performing the actions if the <delay> tag is used. In this case, sub-cues will be enter the waiting state before the parent's actions are performed.
95 -{{/info}}
89 +{{note body="There can be a delay between the activation and performing the actions if the &lt;delay&gt; tag is used. In this case, sub-cues will be enter the waiting state before the parent's actions are performed.<br />"/}}
96 96  
97 97  This is how a cue node looks like:
98 98  
... ... @@ -116,7 +116,7 @@
116 116  
117 117  **Non-event conditions** are checked either once or repeatedly in a fixed interval. They may be based on simple values or ranges, such as a particular in-game time having been reached or the player having a certain amount of money. They may also be based on more complex player information, such as what ships they own, whether the player is in a particular area or near a particular object.
118 118  
119 -**Event conditions** are triggered when the corresponding event happens, such as the event that a particular object has been targeted, attacked or destroyed. All event nodes have the prefix "event_" so you can easily determine a condition type. After an event condition you can specify one or more non-event conditions, which will be checked additionally whenever the event happens. If a condition uses an event, it must be in the first sub-node of the <conditions> node. It is even possible to define multiple alternative events that should activate the cue. The first sub-node should be <check_any> in this case, so only one of its sub-conditions has to be met.
113 +**Event conditions** are triggered when the corresponding event happens, such as the event that a particular object has been targeted, attacked or destroyed. All event nodes have the prefix ΓÇ£event_ΓÇ¥ so you can easily determine a condition type. After an event condition you can specify one or more non-event conditions, which will be checked additionally whenever the event happens. If a condition uses an event, it must be in the first sub-node of the <conditions> node. It is even possible to define multiple alternative events that should activate the cue. The first sub-node should be <check_any> in this case, so only one of its sub-conditions has to be met.
120 120  
121 121  Example for an event condition:
122 122  
... ... @@ -156,11 +156,12 @@
156 156  
157 157  If a cue has a <conditions> node without any event, it must have one of the attributes //**onfail**// or //**checkinterval**//.
158 158  
159 -* Use //onfail// if the conditions should be checked only once. The possible attribute values are "//cancel//" and "//complete//". If the conditions are met, the cue will activate and perform the cue actions. Otherwise it's a failure and the cue will be cancelled or completed, based on the onfail attribute. Typically //onfail="cancel"// is used to prevent any further action. //onfail="complete"// can be used to continue with the sub-cues even in case of failure (but skipping the current cue actions).\\
153 +* Use //onfail// if the conditions should be checked only once. The possible attribute values are ΓÇ£//cancel//ΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£//complete//ΓÇ¥. If the conditions are met, the cue will activate and perform the cue actions. Otherwise it's a failure and the cue will be cancelled or completed, based on the onfail attribute. Typically //onfail="cancel"// is used to prevent any further action. //onfail="complete"// can be used to continue with the sub-cues even in case of failure (but skipping the current cue actions).\\
160 160  
161 161  
162 -* With //checkinterval//, you can specify a constant time interval between condition checks. The conditions will be checked regularly forever until they are met, unless the cue's state is changed explicitly by an external event.
163 163  
157 +* With //checkinterval//, you can specify a constant time interval between condition checks. The conditions will be checked regularly forever until they are met, unless the cueΓÇÖs state is changed explicitly by an external event.
158 +
164 164  Additionally, you can use the attribute **checktime** to set the time of the first condition check (also possible in combination with //onfail//). The //checktime// can be an expression with variables and is evaluated when the cue is enabled (when the condition checks would normally start ΓÇô for root cues that happens at game start, otherwise after the parent cue becomes active).
165 165  
166 166  Examples:
... ... @@ -187,7 +187,7 @@
187 187  
188 188  
189 189  
190 -{{info}}Reminder: When using an XSD-capable editor, it's a great help, but you cannot rely on that alone to verify correctness. Please also check the documentation and look for errors in the game debug output. Concretely, the schema cannot tell whether the above cue attributes are used correctly.{{/info}}
185 +{{note body="Reminder: When using an XSD-capable editor, it's a great help, but you cannot rely on that alone to verify correctness. Please also check the documentation and look for errors in the game debug output. Concretely, the schema cannot tell whether the above cue attributes are used correctly."/}}
191 191  
192 192  == Actions ==
193 193  
... ... @@ -203,7 +203,7 @@
203 203  <event_cue_completed cue="parent"/>
204 204  {{/code}}
205 205  
206 -<actions> is optional. Leaving it out may be useful if you only want to enable sub-cues after the cue's condition check. The state transition from active to complete will still take the <delay> node into account.
201 +<actions> is optional. Leaving it out may be useful if you only want to enable sub-cues after the cueΓÇÖs condition check. The state transition from active to complete will still take the <delay> node into account.
207 207  
208 208  Note that the MD script language is not designed as a programming language. The actions are performed in sequence, although they can be nested to form more complex structures. Loops and conditionals exist to some extent, but not necessarily in the sense that a programmer might expect. Analogously to <check_all> and <check_any>, you can use **<do_all>** to perform all the contained sub-node actions, and **<do_any>** to perform only one of them. <do_all> is particularly useful when nested in a <do_any>.
209 209  
... ... @@ -221,9 +221,7 @@
221 221  
222 222  
223 223  
224 -{{info}}
225 -Messages printed with <debug_text> are usually only visible when the "scripts" debug filter is enabled, see Script debug output
226 -{{/info}}
219 +{{note body="Messages printed with &lt;debug_text&gt; are usually only visible when the ΓÇ£scriptsΓÇ¥ debug filter is enabled, see [[NULL|Script debug output]]."/}}
227 227  
228 228  
229 229  
... ... @@ -239,9 +239,7 @@
239 239  
240 240  Libraries are cues which are not created directly but only serve as templates for other cues. This allows for modularisation, so you can re-use library cues in many different missions.
241 241  
242 -{{info}}
243 -The syntax of libraries is considerably different from the syntax in the MD of X3TC.
244 -{{/info}}
235 +{{note body="<span style=~"color: rgb(0,0,0);~">The syntax of libraries is considerably different from the syntax in the MD of X3TC."/}}
245 245  
246 246  
247 247  
... ... @@ -254,7 +254,7 @@
254 254  </library>
255 255  {{/code}}
256 256  
257 -Although it is called library, it's basically just a cue that doesn't do anything. You can mix cues and libraries as you want, as root cues or sub-cues - the location within the file is unimportant. All that counts is the library name, which has to be unique within the MD script, like all other cue names.
248 +Although it is called library, itΓÇÖs basically just a cue that doesnΓÇÖt do anything. You can mix cues and libraries as you want, as root cues or sub-cues - the location within the file is unimportant. All that counts is the library name, which has to be unique within the MD script, like all other cue names.
258 258  
259 259  To use a library, use the attribute ref:
260 260  
... ... @@ -295,19 +295,18 @@
295 295  {{/code}}
296 296  
297 297  
298 -{{warning}}
299 -These examples are definitely <u>not</u> examples of good scripting style.
300 -{{/warning}}
301 301  
290 +{{warning body="These examples are definitely <u>not</u> examples of good scripting style."/}}
302 302  
303 303  
304 -So when writing the library, you don't have to worry about name confusion, just use the names of cues in your library and it will work as expected when the library is used. Names of cues that do not belong to the library will not be available in expressions (see Foo in the example above), however, names of other libraries in the file are available when referencing them in the ref attribute.
305 305  
294 +So when writing the library, you donΓÇÖt have to worry about name confusion, just use the names of cues in your library and it will work as expected when the library is used. Names of cues that do not belong to the library will not be available in expressions (see Foo in the example above), however, names of other libraries in the file are available when referencing them in the ref attribute.
295 +
306 306  Notes:
307 307  
308 308  * It is //not// possible to directly call a cue which is 'inside' the library from 'outside' of the library, but it is possible to signal the library ref itself (possibly with parameters) and have a sub-cue inside the library listen to the signal on the library ref (possibly checking the parameters).
309 309  * You //can// access variables in the library root but generally this should be avoided in favor of parameterizing the library!
310 -** there are some cases where you do want to access these variables directly, for example for maintaining savegame compatibility when patching.
300 +** there are some cases where you do want to access these variables directly, for example for maintaining savegame compatibility when patching.(% id="library-parameters" %)
311 311  
312 312  == Library Parameters ==
313 313  
... ... @@ -326,7 +326,7 @@
326 326  </library>
327 327  {{/code}}
328 328  
329 -If a default value is supplied, the parameter is regarded as optional, otherwise it's required. When providing the actual parameters in a referencing cue, note that there is no <params> node:
319 +If a default value is supplied, the parameter is regarded as optional, otherwise itΓÇÖs required. When providing the actual parameters in a referencing cue, note that there is no <params> node:
330 330  
331 331  {{code language="xml"}}
332 332  <cue name="Foo" ref="Lib">
... ... @@ -335,7 +335,7 @@
335 335  </cue>
336 336  {{/code}}
337 337  
338 -The values (including default values) can be variable expressions and will be evaluated when the cue is enabled, i.e. when it starts checking the conditions. They will be available to the cue as variables, using the parameter name with a ΓÇÿ$' prefix. In the example above, the variables $foo, $bar, and $baz would be created.
328 +The values (including default values) can be variable expressions and will be evaluated when the cue is enabled, i.e. when it starts checking the conditions. They will be available to the cue as variables, using the parameter name with a ΓÇÿ$ΓÇÖ prefix. In the example above, the variables $foo, $bar, and $baz would be created.
339 339  
340 340  {{code language="xml"}}
341 341  <library name="Lib">
... ... @@ -353,28 +353,26 @@
353 353  = Instantiation =
354 354  
355 355  One of the possible cue attributes is //**instantiate**//. If you set it to true, this changes what happens when a cue's conditions are met. Normally, if a cue is (% style="color: rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration: underline;" %)not instantiated, the cue's actions are run (taking a delay node into account) and the cue is marked as completed. But with **instantiate'//, a// **copy of the cue** (and all its sub-cues) is made when the conditions are met, and it is this copy in which the actions are performed and it is the copy whose status is set to complete when they are finished - this means that the original cue (the so-called **static cue**) remains in the //waiting// state, and if the conditions are met again then the whole thing happens all over again.**
356 -\\An instantiating cue should only be used with conditions that are only going to be met once (or a fairly limited number of times), or with conditions that include an event condition. Instantiation should not be used in a cue which, say, just depends on the game time being greater than a specific value as this will result in a copy of the cue being made after each check interval, which could increase memory usage a lot. The most common use of an instantiated cue is in responding to events such as the player ship changing sector, to react every time that event happens.
346 +\\An instantiating cue should only be used with conditions that are only going to be met once (or a fairly limited number of times), or with conditions that include an event condition. Instantiation should (% style="color: rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration: underline;" %)not be used in a cue which, say, just depends on the game time being greater than a specific value as this will result in a copy of the cue being made after each check interval, which could increase memory usage a lot. The most common use of an instantiated cue is in responding to events such as the player ship changing sector, to react every time that event happens.
357 357  \\Instances that are created via //instantiate// are called **instantiated cues**. But sub-cues of instances are also instances (**sub-instances**) - they are created when they enter the waiting state. An instance is removed again (thereby freeing its memory) when it is complete or cancelled, and when all its instance sub-cues have been removed before. The simplest case is an instantiating cue with no sub-cues: The instance is created, the actions are performed, and the instance is removed immediately on completion. A pitfall could be an instance with a sub-cue that is forever in the waiting state (e.g. waiting for an event from an already destroyed object). It can never be removed, so you should clean up such a cue yourself, e.g. by cancelling it explicitly.
358 358  
359 359  == Cleaning up instances explicitly ==
360 360  
361 -Cancelling a cue with **<cancel_cue>** also cancels all its sub-cues, and cancelling a static cue stops it from instantiating more cues - but it does not cancel its instances. Resetting a cue with **<reset_cue>** resets both sub-cues and instantiated cues, but has the (desired) side effect that condition checks will start again if the parent cue's state allows it. Even a sub-instance that has been reset can return to the //waiting// state. Resetting an instantiated cue will stop it forever, because it is not supposed to be in the //waiting// state (only its static cue is). Resetting will also induce the clean-up reliably, but keep in mind that this is not the case for instance sub-cues.
351 +Cancelling a cue with **<cancel_cue>** also cancels all its sub-cues, and cancelling a static cue stops it from instantiating more cues - but it does not cancel its instances. Resetting a cue with **<reset_cue>** resets both sub-cues and instantiated cues, but has the (desired) side effect that condition checks will start again if the parent cueΓÇÖs state allows it. Even a sub-instance that has been reset can return to the //waiting// state. Resetting an instantiated cue will stop it forever, because it is not supposed to be in the //waiting// state (only its static cue is). Resetting will also induce the clean-up reliably, but keep in mind that this is not the case for instance sub-cues.
362 362  
363 -{{info body="<cancel_cue> and <reset_cue> only take effect after all remaining actions of the current cue are performed. So you can even safely cancel the cue that you are currently in (keyword "/}}
353 +{{info body="&lt;cancel_cue&gt; and &lt;reset_cue&gt; only take effect after all remaining actions of the current cue are performed. So you can even safely cancel the cue that you are currently in (keyword ΓÇ£'''this'''ΓÇ¥) or any ancestor cue, and still perform more actions afterwards."/}}
364 364  
365 365  == Access to instances ==
366 366  
367 367  
368 368  
369 -{{info}}
370 -This sub-section requires basic knowledge of script expressions.
371 -{{/info}}
359 +{{note body="This sub-section requires basic knowledge of [[NULL|script expressions]]."/}}
372 372  
373 373  
374 374  
375 375  In case of instances with sub-instances, you will often want to access a related instance from the current one. Like in the non-instance case, you can simply write the cue name in an expression to reference that cue. However, you should be aware of the pitfalls that are accompanied by this.
376 376  
377 -When you use a cue name from the same script in an expression, it will always be resolved to some cue - usually a static cue, even if it is still in the disabled state, but it can also be an instance, if it is "related" to the current one.
365 +When you use a cue name from the same script in an expression, it will always be resolved to some cue - usually a static cue, even if it is still in the disabled state, but it can also be an instance, if it is ΓÇ£relatedΓÇ¥ to the current one.
378 378  
379 379  Related means that this cue and the referenced cue have a common ancestor instance, and the referenced cue is a direct (non-instantiated) descendant of that common ancestor.
380 380  
... ... @@ -387,11 +387,11 @@
387 387  Example situations:
388 388  
389 389  * In the static tree: Cue names in expressions are always resolved to the static cues.
390 -* In the inst-2 tree: "SubBar" in an expression will be resolved to SubBar (inst 2).
391 -* In the inst-1 tree: "SubBar" in an expression will be resolved to SubBar (static) (!) because the SubBar child of Bar (inst 1) does not exist yet, or not any more.
392 -* In the inst-2a tree: "SubBaz" in an expression will be resolved to SubBaz (inst 2a)
393 -* In the inst-2a tree: "Bar" in an expression will be resolved to Bar (inst 2) because Foo (inst 2) is a common ancestor.
394 -* In the inst-2 tree: "SubBaz" in an expression will be resolved to SubBaz (static) (!) because SubBaz (inst 2a) is **not** a direct descendant of the common ancestor Foo (inst 2), instead Baz (inst 2a) has been instantiated.
378 +* In the inst-2 tree: ΓÇ£SubBarΓÇ¥ in an expression will be resolved to SubBar (inst 2).
379 +* In the inst-1 tree: ΓÇ£SubBarΓÇ¥ in an expression will be resolved to SubBar (static) (!) because the SubBar child of Bar (inst 1) does not exist yet, or not any more.
380 +* In the inst-2a tree: ΓÇ£SubBazΓÇ¥ in an expression will be resolved to SubBaz (inst 2a)
381 +* In the inst-2a tree: ΓÇ£BarΓÇ¥ in an expression will be resolved to Bar (inst 2) because Foo (inst 2) is a common ancestor.
382 +* In the inst-2 tree: ΓÇ£SubBazΓÇ¥ in an expression will be resolved to SubBaz (static) (!) because SubBaz (inst 2a) is **not** a direct descendant of the common ancestor Foo (inst 2), instead Baz (inst 2a) has been instantiated.
395 395  
396 396  In expressions, you can use the cue property **static** to access the static cue that instantiated a cue. This does not work for sub-cues of other cues, and the result is not necessarily a real static cue! In the example above, it would only work for cues with a dotted arrow pointing at them, and is resolved to the source of the arrow. In other cases the result is null.
397 397  
... ... @@ -407,12 +407,12 @@
407 407  
408 408  * **Conditions with results:** If the instantiating cue has conditions with results, those results are stored in variables - but in the variables of the static cue, not of the instance! So in the <actions> you have to access the variables via the **static **keyword:\\
409 409  
410 -(% style="color: rgb(0,0,255);text-decoration: none;" %){{code}}<debug_text text="static.$foo"/>{{/code}}
398 +{{code}}&lt;debug_text text=&quot;static.$foo&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}(% style="color: rgb(0,0,255);text-decoration: none;" %)
411 411  \\It may even be necessary to copy the variables over to the instance because the static variables can be overwritten by the next condition check:
412 -\\{{code}}<set_value name="$foo" exact="static.$foo"/>{{/code}}
400 +\\{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; exact=&quot;static.$foo&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
413 413  
414 -* **Resetting completed/cancelled instances:** As explained above, sub-instances are only created when needed (when going to the //waiting// state) and are destroyed when they are not needed any more (when they are completed or cancelled, including all sub-cues). There are cases in which you want to access cues that don't exist any more - it simply doesn't work. In some cases you are safe: You can be sure that all your ancestors exist, and instantiating cues won't be removed until they are cancelled. In some other cases you simply don't know and have to check if the instance is already (or still) there.
415 -* **Lifetime of instances:** Do not make assumptions about when an instance is removed! Just looking at it in the Debug Manager keeps it alive for the time being. So, sometimes you could still have a completed instance that wouldn't exist under other circumstances.
402 +* **Resetting completed/cancelled instances:** As explained above, sub-instances are only created when needed (when going to the //waiting// state) and are destroyed when they are not needed any more (when they are completed or cancelled, including all sub-cues). There are cases in which you want to access cues that donΓÇÖt exist any more - it simply doesnΓÇÖt work. In some cases you are safe: You can be sure that all your ancestors exist, and instantiating cues wonΓÇÖt be removed until they are cancelled. In some other cases you simply donΓÇÖt know and have to check if the instance is already (or still) there.
403 +* **Lifetime of instances:** Do not make assumptions about when an instance is removed! Just looking at it in the Debug Manager keeps it alive for the time being. So, sometimes you could still have a completed instance that wouldnΓÇÖt exist under other circumstances.
416 416  
417 417  = Expressions =
418 418  
... ... @@ -421,16 +421,15 @@
421 421  * {{code}}0{{/code}} (integer number)
422 422  * {{code}}0772{{/code}} (leading 0 means octal integer number)
423 423  * {{code}}3.14159{{/code}} (floating point number)
424 -* {{code}}5e12{{/code}} (float in exponent notation, "times ten to the power of")
412 +* {{code}}5e12{{/code}} (float in exponent notation, ΓÇ£times ten to the power ofΓÇ¥)
425 425  * {{code}}0xCAFE{{/code}} (hexadecimal integer number)
426 426  
427 427  
428 -{{info}}
429 -Since octal numbers are hardly ever used (usually unknowingly), the parser is will produce a warning if an octal number is encountered."
430 -{{/info}}
431 431  
417 +{{note body="Since octal numbers are hardly ever used (usually unknowingly), the parser is will produce a warning if an octal number is encountered."/}}
432 432  
433 433  
420 +
434 434  You can write string literals by putting the string in single quotes:
435 435  
436 436  * {{code}}'Hello world'{{/code}}
... ... @@ -438,13 +438,12 @@
438 438  * {{code}}'String with a line break\n'{{/code}}
439 439  
440 440  
441 -{{info}}
442 -Since expressions are written in XML attribute values, you have to use the single quotes inside the double quotes for the actual attribute value. To write characters like '''< > " &''' in an expression string (or anywhere else in an XML attribute value), you'll have to escape them as '''&lt; &gt; &quot; &amp;''' respectively. The backslash '''\''' can be used in strings for escape characters like in C/C++. Most important are '''\'''' for a single quote as part of the string, and '''\\''' for the backslash itself.
443 -{{/info}}
444 444  
429 +{{note body="Since expressions are written in XML attribute values, you have to use the single quotes inside the double quotes for the actual attribute value. To write characters like '''&lt; &gt; &quot; &amp;''' in an expression string (or anywhere else in an XML attribute value), youΓÇÖll have to escape them as '''&amp;lt; &amp;gt; &amp;quot; &amp;amp;''' respectively. The backslash '''\''' can be used in strings for escape characters like in C/C++. Most important are '''\'''' for a single quote as part of the string, and '''\\''' for the backslash itself."/}}
430 +
445 445  == Numeric data types and suffixes ==
446 446  
447 -Numbers can have a suffix that determines their numeric type. There are also numerical data types like "money" or "time" which can only be expressed by using an appropriate unit suffix:
433 +Numbers can have a suffix that determines their numeric type. There are also numerical data types like ΓÇ£moneyΓÇ¥ or ΓÇ£timeΓÇ¥ which can only be expressed by using an appropriate unit suffix:
448 448  
449 449  * {{code}}5000000000L{{/code}} (large integer)
450 450  * {{code}}1f{{/code}} (floating point number, same as 1.0, just 1 would be an integer)
... ... @@ -492,13 +492,11 @@
492 492  \\24h|Time in milliseconds, seconds, minutes, or hours, respectively. A time value is always stored in seconds.
493 493  )))
494 494  
495 -{{info}}
496 -All unit data types are floating point types, except for money, which is an integer data type.
497 -{{/info}}
481 +{{note body="All unit data types are floating point types, except for money, which is an integer data type."/}}
498 498  
499 499  == Operators ==
500 500  
501 -You can build expressions by combining sub-expressions with operators. For Boolean operations, expressions are considered "false" if they are equal to zero, "true" otherwise. The following operators, delimiters, and constants are supported
485 +You can build expressions by combining sub-expressions with operators. For Boolean operations, expressions are considered ΓÇ£falseΓÇ¥ if they are equal to zero, ΓÇ£trueΓÇ¥ otherwise. The following operators, delimiters, and constants are supported
502 502  
503 503  (% style="margin-left: 0.0px;" %)
504 504  (((
... ... @@ -508,10 +508,10 @@
508 508  |true|constant|{{code}}null == 0{{/code}}|{{code}}true{{/code}}|Integer value 1, useful in Boolean expressions
509 509  |pi|constant|{{code}}2 * pi{{/code}}|{{code}}6.2831853rad{{/code}}|╧Ç as an angle (same as 180deg)
510 510  |()|delimiter|{{code}}(2 + 4) * (6 + 1){{/code}}|{{code}}42{{/code}}|Parentheses for arithmetic grouping
511 -|[]|delimiter|{{code}}[1, 2, 2+1, 'string']{{/code}}|{{code}}[1, 2, 3, 'string']{{/code}}|[[List>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]] of values
512 -|table[]|delimiter|{{code}}table[$foo='bar', {1+1}=40+2]{{/code}}|{{code}}table[$foo='bar', {2}=42]{{/code}}|[[Table>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]] of values
495 +|[]|delimiter|{{code}}[1, 2, 2+1, 'string']{{/code}}|{{code}}[1, 2, 3, 'string']{{/code}}|[[List>>MediaWiki.NULL]] of values
496 +|table[]|delimiter|{{code}}table[$foo='bar', {1+1}=40+2]{{/code}}|{{code}}table[$foo='bar', {2}=42]{{/code}}|[[Table>>MediaWiki.NULL]] of values
513 513  |{}|delimiter|{{code}}{101, 3}{{/code}}|{{code}}'Some text'{{/code}}|Text lookup (page ID and text ID) from TextDB
514 -\\(Note: Braces are also used for [[property lookups>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]])
498 +\\(Note: Braces are also used for [[property lookups>>MediaWiki.NULL]])
515 515  |+|unary|{{code}}+21 * (+2){{/code}}|{{code}}42{{/code}}|Denotes positive number (no effect)
516 516  |-|unary|{{code}}-(21 * -2){{/code}}|{{code}}42{{/code}}|Negates the following number
517 517  |not|unary|{{code}}not (21 == 42){{/code}}|{{code}}true{{/code}}|Yields true if the following expression is false (equal to zero), false otherwise
... ... @@ -521,7 +521,7 @@
521 521  \\{{code}}typeof 'Hello world'{{/code}}|
522 522  {{code}}datatype.null{{/code}}
523 523  \\{{code}}datatype.integer{{/code}}
524 -\\{{code}}datatype.string{{/code}}|Yields the [[data type of the following sub-expression>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]]
508 +\\{{code}}datatype.string{{/code}}|Yields the [[data type of the following sub-expression>>MediaWiki.NULL]]
525 525  |sin|unary|
526 526  {{code}}sin(30deg){{/code}}
527 527  \\{{code}}sin(pi){{/code}}|
... ... @@ -549,24 +549,24 @@
549 549  |-|binary|{{code}}1 - 1{{/code}}|{{code}}0{{/code}}|Subtraction
550 550  |
551 551  lt
552 -\\< (<)|binary|
536 +\\&lt; (<)|binary|
553 553  {{code}}1 lt 3{{/code}}
554 -\\{{code}}1 &lt; 3{{/code}}|{{code}}true{{/code}}|Less than
538 +\\{{code}}1 &amp;lt; 3{{/code}}|{{code}}true{{/code}}|Less than
555 555  |
556 556  le
557 -\\<=|binary|
541 +\\&lt;=|binary|
558 558  {{code}}1 le 3{{/code}}
559 -\\{{code}}1 &lt;= 3{{/code}}|{{code}}true{{/code}}|Less than or equal to
543 +\\{{code}}1 &amp;lt;= 3{{/code}}|{{code}}true{{/code}}|Less than or equal to
560 560  |
561 561  gt
562 -\\> (>)|binary|
546 +\\&gt; (>)|binary|
563 563  {{code}}1 gt 3{{/code}}
564 -\\{{code}}1 &gt; 3{{/code}}|{{code}}false{{/code}}|Greater than
548 +\\{{code}}1 &amp;gt; 3{{/code}}|{{code}}false{{/code}}|Greater than
565 565  |
566 566  ge
567 -\\>=|binary|
551 +\\&gt;=|binary|
568 568  {{code}}1 ge 3{{/code}}
569 -\\{{code}}1 &gt;= 3{{/code}}|{{code}}false{{/code}}|Greater than or equal to
553 +\\{{code}}1 &amp;gt;= 3{{/code}}|{{code}}false{{/code}}|Greater than or equal to
570 570  |(((
571 571  = =
572 572  )))|binary|{{code}}1 + 1 == 2.0{{/code}}|{{code}}true{{/code}}|Equal to
... ... @@ -580,13 +580,13 @@
580 580  \\{{code}}if 1 == 2 then 'F' else 'T'{{/code}}|
581 581  {{code}}null{{/code}}
582 582  \\{{code}}'T'{{/code}}|Conditional operator ("inline if")
583 -)))
584 584  
568 +)))(% id="operator-precedence-rules" %)
569 +(%%)
585 585  
586 -
587 587  === Operator precedence rules ===
588 588  
589 -You can group sub-expressions using parentheses, but if you don't, the following order of operations is applied, so that 5-1+2*3 == 10 as you would expect. The order is the same as in the table above, but there are operators with the same precedence - these are applied from left to right.
573 +You can group sub-expressions using parentheses, but if you donΓÇÖt, the following order of operations is applied, so that 5-1+2*3 == 10 as you would expect. The order is the same as in the table above, but there are operators with the same precedence - these are applied from left to right.
590 590  
591 591  * Unary operators: +, -, not, typeof, function-style operators (highest precedence)
592 592  * Power operator: ^
... ... @@ -600,12 +600,11 @@
600 600  
601 601  (% id="type-conversion" %)
602 602  
603 -
604 604  === Type conversion ===
605 605  
606 606  When a binary arithmetic operator is used on numbers of different types, they will be converted to a suitable output type. The resulting type depends on whether a unit data type is involved (types that are not plain integers or floats). The following cases may occur:
607 607  
608 -* Null and something else: The null value will be interpreted as "0" of the other type.
591 +* Null and something else: The null value will be interpreted as ΓÇ£0ΓÇ¥ of the other type.
609 609  * Two non-unit integers: The result will be an integer of the largest involved type.
610 610  * Two non-unit numbers, not all integers: The result will be the largest involved float type.
611 611  * Non-unit and unit: The result will be the unit type.
... ... @@ -615,41 +615,39 @@
615 615  
616 616  There is a way to convert a number into a different type manually: You append the corresponding suffix to a sub-expression in parentheses, like this:
617 617  
618 -* {{code}}(1 + 1)f{{/code}} {{code}}2f{{/code}} {{code}}2.0{{/code}}
619 -* {{code}}(1h) m / (180deg) i{{/code}} {{code}}(3600s) m / (3.14rad) i{{/code}} {{code}}3600m / 3{{/code}} {{code}}1200m{{/code}}
601 +* {{code}}(1 + 1)f{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}2f{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}2.0{{/code}}
602 +* {{code}}(1h) m / (180deg) i{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}(3600s) m / (3.14rad) i{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}3600m / 3{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}1200m{{/code}}
620 620  
621 -When converting to a non-default unit type, this means you interpret the number as in the given units: "{{code}}(1km + 500m)h{{/code}}" means that you interpret 1500m as 1500 hours, so the resulting value will be 1500x3600 seconds. (As stated above, the default unit for a length is metres.)
604 +When converting to a non-default unit type, this means you interpret the number as in the given units: ΓÇ£{{code}}(1km + 500m)h{{/code}}ΓÇ¥ means that you interpret 1500m as 1500 hours, so the resulting value will be 1500x3600 seconds. (As stated above, the default unit for a length is metres.)
622 622  
623 623  The division operation will be an integer division (rounding towards zero) if both operands are integers (see the example in the table above). So if you want to get a floating point result, you have to make sure that at least one of the operands is a floating point type.
624 624  
625 625  Every data type can be combined with a string with the + operator, and will be converted to a string representation. That way you can also concatenate strings and numbers:
626 626  
627 -* {{code}}'One plus one is equal to ' + (1+1) + '.'{{/code}} {{code}}'One plus one is equal to 2.'{{/code}}
628 -* {{code}}'One plus one is not equal to ' + 1 + 1 + '.'{{/code}} {{code}}'One plus one is not equal to 11.'{{/code}}
610 +* {{code}}'One plus one is equal to ' + (1+1) + '.'{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'One plus one is equal to 2.'{{/code}}
611 +* {{code}}'One plus one is not equal to ' + 1 + 1 + '.'{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'One plus one is not equal to 11.'{{/code}}
629 629  
630 630  As you can see, operators of the same precedence (+ in this case) are always evaluated from left to right.
631 631  
632 632  (% id="boolean-operators" %)
633 633  
634 -
635 635  === Boolean operators ===
636 636  
637 637  Some additional notes on Boolean operators (such as and, or, not, ==):
638 638  
639 639  * Of course a Boolean operation always results in true or false (integer 1 or 0).
640 -* Values of any type can be used as Boolean operands, e.g. for "and". They will be interpreted as "true" if they are **non-zero** or **non-numeric**.
622 +* Values of any type can be used as Boolean operands, e.g. for ΓÇ£andΓÇ¥. They will be interpreted as ΓÇ£trueΓÇ¥ if they are **non-zero** or **non-numeric**.
641 641  * != and == can be used with any data types, even non-numeric ones. When comparing two numeric values, they are converted using the rules above. Values of non-numeric types are never equal to null, or to any other numbers.
642 -* "and" and "or" use short-circuit semantics: The right side of the operation can be skipped if the left side already determines the outcome of the operation
643 -** Example:{{code}} false and $foo{{/code}} {{code}}false{{/code}} (the value of $foo is not checked at all)
624 +* ΓÇ£andΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£orΓÇ¥ use short-circuit semantics: The right side of the operation can be skipped if the left side already determines the outcome of the operation
625 +** Example:{{code}} false and $foo{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}false{{/code}} (the value of $foo is not checked at all)
644 644  * Unlike != and ==, the comparison operators <, <=, >, >= are only supported **for numeric values**, **difficulty levels**, and **attention levels**. Comparing other non-numeric values will result in an error and an undefined result.
645 -* <, <=, >, >= cannot be used in XML directly, so lt, le, gt, ge are provided as alternatives. In some cases you won't have to use them, though - using [[range checks>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]] with additional XML attributes can be more readable.
627 +* <, <=, >, >= cannot be used in XML directly, so lt, le, gt, ge are provided as alternatives. In some cases you wonΓÇÖt have to use them, though - using [[range checks>>MediaWiki.NULL]] with additional XML attributes can be more readable.
646 646  
647 647  
648 -(% id="categorybroken_macroanchorstrings-and-formatting" %)== Strings and formatting==
649 649  
631 +(% id="categorybroken_macroanchorstrings-and-formatting" %)== Strings and formatting==
650 650  (% id="categorybroken_macroanchorstrings-and-formatting" %)
651 651  
652 -
653 653  {{{==}}}
654 654  
655 655  You can concatenate string literals using the + operator, but there is also a printf-like formatting syntax, which is easier to use than concatenating lots of small pieces:
... ... @@ -657,55 +657,51 @@
657 657  * {{code}}'The %1 %2 %3 jumps over the %5 %4'.['quick', 'brown', 'fox', 'dog', 'lazy']{{/code}}
658 658  * {{code}}'%1 + %2 = %3'.[$a, $b, $a + $b]{{/code}}
659 659  
660 -See also the section about [[value properties>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]].
641 +See also the section about [[value properties>>MediaWiki.NULL]].
661 661  
662 -Instead of ΓÇÿ%1 %2 %3', you can also use ΓÇÿ%s %s %s', which is also compatible with Lua string formatting in the UI system. However, this should only be used if you are sure that the order is the same in all supported languages. If you want to make translators aware that they can change the order of parameters, you should prefer '%1 %2 %3'.
643 +Instead of ΓÇÿ%1 %2 %3ΓÇÖ, you can also use ΓÇÿ%s %s %sΓÇÖ, which is also compatible with Lua string formatting in the UI system. However, this should only be used if you are sure that the order is the same in all supported languages. If you want to make translators aware that they can change the order of parameters, you should prefer '%1 %2 %3'.
663 663  \\To get a percent character in the result string, use '%%' in the format string.
664 664  \\\\\\If you need a more sophisticated method for text substitution, try **<substitute_text>**. See the XML schema documentation for this script action.
665 665  \\**[New as of X Rebirth 4.0]**
666 666  \\ With the formatting syntax above, it is even possible to control how the parameter is formatted, using modifiers between "%" and the parameter specifier ("s" or the parameter number):
667 667  
668 -* {{code}}'%,s'.[12345678]{{/code}} {{code}}'12,345,678'{{/code}} (the "," modifier shows a number with thousands separators, correctly localised)
669 -* {{code}}'%.3s'.[123.4]{{/code}} {{code}}'123.400'{{/code}} (show 3 fractional digits, rounding half away from zero - decimal point correctly localised)
670 -* {{code}}'%,.1s'.[12345.67]'{{/code}} {{code}}'12,345.7'{{/code}} (combination of the above)
649 +* {{code}}'%,s'.[12345678]{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'12,345,678'{{/code}} (the "," modifier shows a number with thousands separators, correctly localised)
650 +* {{code}}'%.3s'.[123.4]{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'123.400'{{/code}} (show 3 fractional digits, rounding half away from zero - decimal point correctly localised)
651 +* {{code}}'%,.1s'.[12345.67]'{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'12,345.7'{{/code}} (combination of the above)
671 671  
672 672  Additional remarks:
673 673  
674 674  * The "," and "." formatting modifiers only apply to numbers. They are ignored if used on values of other types.
675 -* If "," is used without "." then any fractional digits are discarded.
656 +*  If "," is used without "." then any fractional digits are discarded.
676 676  * "." must be followed by a single digit (0-9). In case of ".0" any fractional digits are discarded (rounding towards zero, not half away from zero).
677 677  
678 678  
679 -{{info body="There are also special methods to [[NULL|format money values and time values]] using the "/}}
680 680  
661 +{{info body="There are also special methods to [[NULL|format money values and time values]] using the &quot;formatted&quot; property."/}}
681 681  
682 682  
664 +
683 683  \\
684 684  
685 685  (% id="categorybroken_macroanchorlists" %)
686 686  
687 -
688 688  == Lists ==
689 689  
690 -Another example for a non-numeric value is a list: It is an ordered collection of other arbitrary values (called array or vector in other languages). It can be constructed within an expression using the [[~[~] syntax>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]]. It may also be generated by special actions and conditions, and there are actions that can [[insert or remove values>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]].
671 +Another example for a non-numeric value is a list: It is an ordered collection of other arbitrary values (called array or vector in other languages). It can be constructed within an expression using the [[~[~] syntax>>MediaWiki.NULL]]. It may also be generated by special actions and conditions, and there are actions that can [[insert or remove values>>MediaWiki.NULL]].
691 691  
692 -A list can contain values of arbitrary data types, even mixed in the same list - so a list can actually contain other lists. However, some of the things that you can do with lists require that all contained elements are of a certain type. The contents of a list can be accessed via properties, see the section about [[value properties>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]]. Lists can be empty, these are written as "[ ]".
673 +A list can contain values of arbitrary data types, even mixed in the same list - so a list can actually contain other lists. However, some of the things that you can do with lists require that all contained elements are of a certain type. The contents of a list can be accessed via properties, see the section about [[value properties>>MediaWiki.NULL]]. Lists can be empty, these are written as ΓÇ£[ ]ΓÇ¥.
693 693  
694 -{{info}}
695 -When accessing a list's elements, the numbering is '''1-based''', so the first element has number 1. This is intuitive but different from 0-based numbering in most programming languages."
696 -{{/info}}
675 +{{note body="When accessing a listΓÇÖs elements, the numbering is '''1-based''', so the first element has number 1. This is intuitive but different from 0-based numbering in most programming languages."/}}
697 697  
698 698  
699 699  
700 700  Lists are stored in variables as references, so multiple variables can refer to the same **shared list**: If you change a shared list through a variable, e.g. by changing the value of an element, you change it as well for all other variables. However, the operators == and != can also be used on two distinct lists to compare their elements.
701 701  
702 -{{info}}
703 -When using <remove_from_list/>, be aware that all elements are checked and potentially removed during the action. Do not provide this action with a index lookup of that list as it may become out of bounds.
681 +{{note body="When using &lt;remove_from_list/&gt;, be aware that all elements are checked and potentially removed during the action. Do not provide this action with a index lookup of that list as it may become out of bounds.
704 704  
705 -Bad usage attempting to remove the last element of the list: <remove_from_list name="$List" exact="$List.{$List.count}"/>
683 +Bad usage attempting to remove the last element of the list: &lt;remove_from_list name=&quot;$List&quot; exact=&quot;$List.{$List.count}&quot;/&gt;
706 706  
707 -If you know the index, simply use <remove_value/> e.g. <remove_value name="$List.{$List.count}"/>
708 -{{/info}}
685 +If you know the index, simply use &lt;remove_value/&gt; e.g. &lt;remove_value name=&quot;$List.{$List.count}&quot;/&gt;"/}}
709 709  
710 710  
711 711  
... ... @@ -713,10 +713,9 @@
713 713  
714 714  (% id="categorybroken_macroanchortables" %)
715 715  
716 -
717 717  == Tables ==
718 718  
719 -Tables are associative arrays - they are like lists, but you can assign values to (almost) arbitrary keys, not just to index numbers. A table is constructed within an expression using the [[table~[~] syntax>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]]. See the section about [[value properties>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]] for how to access the contents of a table. [[Creating and removing entries>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]] works similarly to lists, but instead of inserting, you simply assign a value to a table key. If the key does not exist yet, it will be created.\\
695 +Tables are associative arrays - they are like lists, but you can assign values to (almost) arbitrary keys, not just to index numbers. A table is constructed within an expression using the [[table~[~] syntax>>MediaWiki.NULL]]. See the section about [[value properties>>MediaWiki.NULL]] for how to access the contents of a table. [[Creating and removing entries>>MediaWiki.NULL]] works similarly to lists, but instead of inserting, you simply assign a value to a table key. If the key does not exist yet, it will be created.\\
720 720  
721 721  Almost all values are allowed as table keys, but there are a few exceptions:
722 722  
... ... @@ -725,18 +725,21 @@
725 725  * Lists, tables, groups and buildplans cannot be used as table keys\\
726 726  
727 727  
704 +
728 728  These restrictions only apply to the keys, there are no restrictions for values that you assign to them. For example:
729 729  
730 -* {{code}}table[]{{/code}} creates an empty table
731 -* {{code}}table[{0} = null]{{/code}} creates a table that maps the number 0 to null\\
707 +* {{code}}table[]{{/code}} ⟹ creates an empty table
708 +* {{code}}table[{0} = null]{{/code}} ⟹ creates a table that maps the number 0 to null\\
732 732  
733 733  
734 -* {{code}}table[{'$foo'} = 'bar']{{/code}} ⟹ a table that maps the string '$foo' to the string 'bar'
735 -* {{code}}table[$foo = 'bar']{{/code}} ⟹ exactly the same, just a shorter notation for string keys
736 -* {{code}}table[foo = 'bar']{{/code}} ⟹ error, 'foo' does not start with a '$'
737 -* {{code}}table[{1} = [], {2} = table[]] {{/code}} ⟹ a table that maps 1 to an empty list and 2 to an empty table\\
738 738  
712 +* {{code}}table[{'$foo'} = 'bar']{{/code}} ⟹ a table that maps the string '$foo' to the string 'bar'
713 +* {{code}}table[$foo = 'bar']{{/code}} ⟹ exactly the same, just a shorter notation for string keys
714 +* {{code}}table[foo = 'bar']{{/code}} ⟹ error, 'foo' does not start with a '$'
715 +* {{code}}table[{1} = [], {2} = table[]] {{/code}} ⟹ a table that maps 1 to an empty list and 2 to an empty table\\
739 739  
717 +
718 +
740 740  Just like lists, tables are stored as references, so it's possible that multiple variables reference the same table (see above).\\
741 741  
742 742  \\
... ... @@ -743,38 +743,39 @@
743 743  
744 744  (% id="categorybroken_macroanchorvalue-properties" %)
745 745  
746 -
747 747  == Value properties ==
748 748  
749 -Properties are a crucial concept in script expressions. In the previous sections you have seen mostly constant expressions, which are already evaluated when they are parsed at game start. For reading and writing variables and evaluating the game's state, properties are used.
727 +Properties are a crucial concept in script expressions. In the previous sections you have seen mostly constant expressions, which are already evaluated when they are parsed at game start. For reading and writing variables and evaluating the gameΓÇÖs state, properties are used.
750 750  
751 -Numbers don't have any properties. Lists, for example, have quite a few of them: You can access the number of elements; and each element is also a property of the list. A ship can have properties like its name, the ship class, its position etc.
729 +Numbers donΓÇÖt have any properties. Lists, for example, have quite a few of them: You can access the number of elements; and each element is also a property of the list. A ship can have properties like its name, the ship class, its position etc.
752 752  
753 753  You can imagine properties as key/value pairs in an associative mapping: You pass the key, and you get the value as result. For example, the list [42, null, 'text'] has the following mapping:
754 754  
755 -* 1 42
756 -* 2 null
757 -* 3 'text'
758 -* 'count' 3
733 +* 1 ⟹ 42
734 +* 2 ⟹ null
735 +* 3 ⟹ 'text'
736 +* 'count' ⟹ 3
759 759  
760 760  As you can see, a property key can be a number or a string. Actually there is no restriction regarding the data type of the key.
761 761  
762 762  You can look up a property by appending a dot and the key in curly braces:
763 763  
764 -* {{code}}[100, 200, 300, 400].{1}{{/code}} 100 (reading the first element)
765 -* {{code}}[100, 200, ['Hello ', 'world']] .{3}.{2}{{/code}} 'world' (second element of the inner list, which is the third element of the outer list)
766 -* {{code}}[].{'count'}{{/code}} 0
767 -* {{code}}table[{21} = 42].{21}{{/code}} 42\\
742 +* {{code}}[100, 200, 300, 400].{1}{{/code}} ⟹ 100 (reading the first element)
743 +* {{code}}[100, 200, ['Hello ', 'world']] .{3}.{2}{{/code}} ⟹ 'world' (second element of the inner list, which is the third element of the outer list)
744 +* {{code}}[].{'count'}{{/code}} ⟹ 0
745 +* {{code}}table[{21} = 42].{21}{{/code}} ⟹ 42\\
768 768  
769 769  
770 -In most cases the property key is a fixed string, like "name" or "class". You can write this like above:
771 771  
749 +In most cases the property key is a fixed string, like ΓÇ£nameΓÇ¥ or ΓÇ£classΓÇ¥. You can write this like above:
750 +
772 772  * {{code}}[42].{'count'}{{/code}}
773 773  * {{code}}$ship.{'name'}{{/code}}
774 -* {{code}}$ship.{'class'}{{/code}}
753 +* {{code}}$ship.{'class'} {{/code}}
775 775  * {{code}}table[$foo='bar'].{'$foo'}{{/code}}\\
776 776  
777 777  
757 +
778 778  But it is easier just to write the property key without braces, which is equivalent:
779 779  
780 780  * {{code}}[0].count{{/code}}
... ... @@ -783,8 +783,9 @@
783 783  * {{code}}table[$foo='bar'].$foo{{/code}}\\
784 784  
785 785  
786 -(In this case, $ship is a variable. All variables start with a "$", so they cannot be confused with keywords.)
787 787  
767 +(In this case, $ship is a variable. All variables start with a ΓÇ£$ΓÇ¥, so they cannot be confused with keywords.)
768 +
788 788  A list has even more properties:
789 789  
790 790  **random'** returns a randomly chosen element (which requires that the list is non-empty)
... ... @@ -791,19 +791,19 @@
791 791  
792 792  **min'** and '**max'** return the minimum or maximum (all elements have to be numeric)
793 793  
794 -* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].min{{/code}} 1
775 +* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].min{{/code}} ⟹ 1
795 795  
796 796  **average'** returns the average (but all element types have to be compatible)
797 797  
798 -* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].average{{/code}} 5
779 +* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].average{{/code}} ⟹ 5
799 799  
800 -**indexof'** is followed by another property, and the index of the first occurence of that key in the list is returned, or 0 if it's not in the list
781 +**indexof'** is followed by another property, and the index of the first occurence of that key in the list is returned, or 0 if itΓÇÖs not in the list
801 801  
802 -* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].indexof.{8}{{/code}} 3
783 +* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].indexof.{8}{{/code}} ⟹ 3
803 803  
804 804  **clone'** creates a shallow copy of the list (i.e. lists that are contained as elements in the list are not copied, only the reference to them)
805 805  
806 -* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].clone{{/code}} {{code}}[1, 6, 8]{{/code}}
787 +* {{code}}[1, 6, 8].clone{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}[1, 6, 8]{{/code}}
807 807  
808 808  A table has different properties:
809 809  
... ... @@ -817,38 +817,39 @@
817 817  * {{code}}$table.keys.list{{/code}}: Yields a list of all keys in the table (reliably sorted by key if all keys are numeric)\\
818 818  
819 819  
801 +
820 820  * {{code}}$table.keys.sorted{{/code}}: Yields a list of all keys in the table, sorted by their associated values (which requires that all values are numeric)
821 821  * {{code}}$table.keys.random{{/code}}: A randomly chosen key (which requires that the table is non-empty)
822 822  
823 823  
824 -{{info}}
825 -The string formatting syntax that you have seen [[xwiki:MediaWiki.X4.X4_DocumentationX4_Game_Design0_GeneralMission_Director_Guide.NULL|above.WebHome]] is also based on the property system. You basically pass a list as property key to a string. Braces around the brackets are not required, so 'foo'.[...] is just a convenient alternative notation for 'foo'.{[...]}.
826 -{{/info}}
827 827  
807 +{{note body="The string formatting syntax that you have seen [[NULL|above]] is also based on the property system. You basically pass a list as property key to a string. Braces around the brackets are not required, so 'foo'.[...] is just a convenient alternative notation for 'foo'.{[...]}."/}}
828 828  
829 829  
810 +
830 830  (% id="lookup-tests-and-suppressing-errors" %)=== Lookup tests and suppressing errors
831 831  
832 832  
833 833  {{{===}}}
834 834  
835 -If you look up a property that does not exist, there will be an error, and the result will be null. To test whether a property exists, you can append a question mark "?" to the lookup, which yields true or false:
816 +If you look up a property that does not exist, there will be an error, and the result will be null. To test whether a property exists, you can append a question mark ΓÇ£?ΓÇ¥ to the lookup, which yields true or false:
836 836  
837 -* {{code}}$list.{5}{{/code}} The fifth element of a list - however, if $list has less than 5 elements (and if it's also not a table with the key 5), there will be an error
838 -* {{code}}$list.{5}?{{/code}} true if $list exists and has the property 5, false otherwise
839 -* {{code}}$table.$key?{{/code}} Analogously, true if $table exists and has the string property '$key'\\
818 +* {{code}}$list.{5}{{/code}} ⟹ The fifth element of a list - however, if $list has less than 5 elements (and if it's also not a table with the key 5), there will be an error
819 +* {{code}}$list.{5}?{{/code}} ⟹ true if $list exists and has the property 5, false otherwise
820 +* {{code}}$table.$key?{{/code}} ⟹ Analogously, true if $table exists and has the string property '$key'\\
840 840  
841 841  
823 +
842 842  The question mark can even be applied to variables:
843 843  
844 -* {{code}}$list{{/code}} The value stored under the name $list, or an error if there is no such variable
845 -* {{code}}$list?{{/code}} true if the variable exists, false otherwise
826 +* {{code}}$list{{/code}} ⟹ The value stored under the name $list, or an error if there is no such variable
827 +* {{code}}$list?{{/code}} ⟹ true if the variable exists, false otherwise
846 846  
847 -To look up the value of a property although it may not exist, you can use the at-sign "@" as prefix:
829 +To look up the value of a property although it may not exist, you can use the at-sign ΓÇ£@ΓÇ¥ as prefix:
848 848  
849 -* {{code}}@$list.{5}{{/code}} The result of the $list lookup if $list exists and has the property 5, otherwise null (without error message)
850 -* {{code}}@$list{{/code}} The list if this variable exists, null otherwise
851 -* {{code}}@$list.{5}.{1}{{/code}} The first element of the fifth element of $list, if it exists, null otherwise
831 +* {{code}}@$list.{5}{{/code}} ⟹ The result of the $list lookup if $list exists and has the property 5, otherwise null (without error message)
832 +* {{code}}@$list{{/code}} ⟹ The list if this variable exists, null otherwise
833 +* {{code}}@$list.{5}.{1}{{/code}} ⟹ The first element of the fifth element of $list, if it exists, null otherwise
852 852  
853 853  As you can see, an error is already prevented if any link in the property chain does not exist. But use the @ prefix with care, since error messages are really helpful for detecting problems in your scripts. The @ prefix only suppresses property-related error messages and does not change any in-game behaviour.
854 854  
... ... @@ -856,10 +856,9 @@
856 856  
857 857  (% id="static-lookups" %)
858 858  
859 -
860 860  === Static lookups ===
861 861  
862 -There are a few data types which are basically enumerations: They only consist of a set of named values, e.g. the "class" data type, which is used for the component classes that exist in the game. For all these static enumeration classes there is a lookup value of the same name, from which you can get the named values as properties by their name. So for the type "class", there is a value "class" that can be used to access the classes.
843 +There are a few data types which are basically enumerations: They only consist of a set of named values, e.g. the ΓÇ£classΓÇ¥ data type, which is used for the component classes that exist in the game. For all these static enumeration classes there is a lookup value of the same name, from which you can get the named values as properties by their name. So for the type ΓÇ£classΓÇ¥, there is a value ΓÇ£classΓÇ¥ that can be used to access the classes.
863 863  
864 864  Here are a few enumeration classes and corresponding example lookup values:
865 865  
... ... @@ -889,11 +889,11 @@
889 889  |profile|
890 890  profile.flat
891 891  \\profile.increasing
892 -\\profile.bell|Probability distribution profile (see [[random ranges>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]])
873 +\\profile.bell|Probability distribution profile (see [[random ranges>>MediaWiki.NULL]])
893 893  |cuestate|
894 894  cuestate.waiting
895 895  \\cuestate.active
896 -\\cuestate.complete|[[Cue states>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]]
877 +\\cuestate.complete|[[Cue states>>MediaWiki.NULL]]
897 897  |level|
898 898  level.easy
899 899  \\level.medium
... ... @@ -913,19 +913,15 @@
913 913  \\faction.argongovernment|Factions
914 914  )))
915 915  
916 -{{info}}
917 -With the ''typeof'' operator you can get the datatype of any expression and compare it with what you expect, for example:
897 +{{note body="[[Category:Broken_macro/anchor]]With the ''typeof'' operator you can get the datatype of any expression and compare it with what you expect, for example:
918 918  
919 919  <code>typeof $value == datatype.faction</code>
920 920  
921 -However, you should not compare the type to datatype.string because there are strings that have different data types. To check for a string you should use the datatype's property "'''isstring'''" instead. For example, to check if the variable $value is a string, use the following term:
901 +However, you should not compare the type to datatype.string because there are strings that have different data types. To check for a string you should use the datatype's property &quot;'''isstring'''&quot; instead. For example, to check if the variable $value is a string, use the following term:
922 922  
923 -<code>(typeof $value).isstring</code>"
924 -{{/info}}
903 +<code>(typeof $value).isstring</code>"/}}
925 925  
926 -{{info}}
927 -There is also the datatype "tag" with the lookup name "tag" - however, this is not an enumeration type. Looking up a value by name never fails, you actually create a tag value for a given name if it does not exist. For example, if you have a typo, like "tag.mision" instead of "tag.mission", there won't be an error because any name is valid for a tag, and the tag "mision" is created on its first use."
928 -{{/info}}
905 +{{info body="There is also the datatype ΓÇ£tagΓÇ¥ with the lookup name ΓÇ£tagΓÇ¥ - however, this is not an enumeration type. Looking up a value by name never fails, you actually create a tag value for a given name if it does not exist. For example, if you have a typo, like ΓÇ£tag.misionΓÇ¥ instead of ΓÇ£tag.missionΓÇ¥, there wonΓÇÖt be an error because any name is valid for a tag, and the tag ΓÇ£misionΓÇ¥ is created on its first use."/}}
929 929  
930 930  \\
931 931  
... ... @@ -933,26 +933,27 @@
933 933  
934 934  (% id="player-properties" %)
935 935  
936 -
937 937  === Player properties ===
938 938  
939 -You can access many player-related game properties via the keyword "player":
915 +You can access many player-related game properties via the keyword ΓÇ£playerΓÇ¥:
940 940  
941 -* player.**name**: The player's name
917 +* player.**name**: The playerΓÇÖs name
942 942  * player.**age**: The passed in-game time since game start
943 -* player.**money**: The money in the player's account
919 +* player.**money**: The money in the playerΓÇÖs account
944 944  * player.**ship**: The ship the player is currently on (not necessarily the player's ship), or null if the player is on a station\\
945 945  
946 946  
923 +
947 947  * player.**primaryship**: The player's own ship (but the player is not necessarily on board)
948 948  * player.**entity**: The actual player object\\
949 949  
950 950  
928 +
951 951  * player.**zone**, player.**sector**, player.**cluster**, player.**galaxy**: Location of the player entity
952 952  * player.**copilot**: The co-pilot NPC
953 953  
954 954  The game consists of objects of different classes (zones, ships, stations, NPCs). They have the common datatype "component", however, they have different properties, e.g. NPCs have the property "race", but ships don't.
955 -\\
933 +\\(% id="safe-properties" %)
956 956  
957 957  === Safe properties ===
958 958  
... ... @@ -965,7 +965,7 @@
965 965  * available
966 966  * isclass.(...)
967 967  
968 -These properties will not cause errors when used on "null" or on a destroyed object (which may still be accessible from scripts in some cases), and produce null or false as results, respectively. (The keyword "available" is used for trades, not for objects. Trades can also become invalid.) However, when using such a property on a different data type like a number, there will still be an error.
946 +These properties will not cause errors when used on ΓÇ£nullΓÇ¥ or on a destroyed object (which may still be accessible from scripts in some cases), and produce null or false as results, respectively. (The keyword ΓÇ£availableΓÇ¥ is used for trades, not for objects. Trades can also become invalid.) However, when using such a property on a different data type like a number, there will still be an error.
969 969  
970 970  (% id="categorybroken_macroanchormoney-and-time-formatting" %)=== Money and time formatting
971 971  
... ... @@ -973,14 +973,15 @@
973 973  {{{===}}}
974 974  
975 975  **[New as of X Rebirth 4.0]**
976 -\\Numbers don't have any properties, except for money and time: They have a "**formatted**" property, which allows you to get a custom string representation with more advanced options than the [[generic formatting method>>xwiki:MediaWiki.NULL.WebHome]] for numbers.
954 +\\Numbers don't have any properties, except for money and time: They have a "**formatted**" property, which allows you to get a custom string representation with more advanced options than the [[generic formatting method>>MediaWiki.NULL]] for numbers.
977 977  
978 -* {{code}}$money.formatted.{'formatstring'}{{/code}}
956 +* {{code}}$money.formatted.{'formatstring'} {{/code}}
979 979  * {{code}}$money.formatted.default{{/code}} (using default format string '%s')\\
980 980  
981 981  
960 +
982 982  * {{code}}$time.formatted.{'formatstring'}{{/code}}
983 -* {{code}}$time.formatted.default{{/code}} (using default format string '%T')
962 +* {{code}}$time.formatted.default{{/code}}  (using default format string '%T')
984 984  
985 985  In scripts, money is stored in cents, not Credits. The formatted representation always shows the value in Credits, including thousands separators.
986 986  
... ... @@ -1005,28 +1005,28 @@
1005 1005  * %%: A % sign\\
1006 1006  
1007 1007  
987 +
1008 1008  Examples:\\
1009 1009  
1010 1010  
1011 1011  
1012 -* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%s'}{{/code}}{{code}}'1,234'{{/code}}
1013 -* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.default{{/code}}{{code}}'1,234'{{/code}} (same as {'%s'})
1014 -* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%.s %Cr'}{{/code}}{{code}}'1,234.00 Cr'{{/code}}
1015 -* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%1s'}{{/code}}{{code}}'1 k'{{/code}} (rounding towards zero)
1016 -* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%cM'}{{/code}}{{code}}'0 M'{{/code}}
992 +* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%s'}{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'1,234'{{/code}}
993 +* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.default{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'1,234'{{/code}} (same as {'%s'})
994 +* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%.s %Cr'}{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'1,234.00 Cr'{{/code}}
995 +* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%1s'}{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'1 k'{{/code}} (rounding towards zero)
996 +* {{code}}(1234Cr).formatted.{'%cM'}{{/code}}⟹{{code}}'0 M'{{/code}}
1017 1017  
1018 -For documentation of time format strings, see the Lua function ConvertTimeString() in the [[xwiki:MediaWiki.ARCHIVE.XRWIKIModding_supportUI_Modding_supportLua_function_overview.WebHome]].
998 +For documentation of time format strings, see the Lua function ConvertTimeString() in the [[MediaWiki.ARCHIVE.XRWIKIModding_supportUI_Modding_supportLua_function_overview]].
1019 1019  
1020 1020  Examples:
1021 1021  
1022 -* {{code}}(151s).formatted.{'%T'}{{/code}} {{code}}'00:02:31'{{/code}}
1023 -* {{code}}(151s).formatted.default{{/code}} {{code}}'00:02:31'{{/code}} (same as {'%T'})
1024 -* {{code}}(151s).formatted.{'%.3T'}{{/code}} {{code}}'00:02:31.000'{{/code}}
1025 -* {{code}}(151s).formatted.{'%h:%M'}{{/code}} {{code}}'0:02'{{/code}}
1002 +* {{code}}(151s).formatted.{'%T'}{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'00:02:31'{{/code}}
1003 +* {{code}}(151s).formatted.default{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'00:02:31'{{/code}} (same as {'%T'})
1004 +* {{code}}(151s).formatted.{'%.3T'}{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'00:02:31.000'{{/code}}
1005 +* {{code}}(151s).formatted.{'%h:%M'}{{/code}} ⟹ {{code}}'0:02'{{/code}}
1026 1026  
1027 1027  (% id="complete-property-documentation" %)
1028 1028  
1029 -
1030 1030  === Complete property documentation ===
1031 1031  
1032 1032  To access the script property documentation that is included in the game, you can extract the required files from the game's catalog files using the [[X Catalog Tool>>url:https://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=363625]]. Extract the HTML file __scriptproperties.html__ in the game's root folder, and all files in the "libraries" sub-folder. For resolving text references in the browser automatically, also extract 0001-L044.xml in the "t" sub-folder.
... ... @@ -1035,30 +1035,26 @@
1035 1035  
1036 1036  
1037 1037  
1038 -{{info}}
1039 -scriptproperties.html has to load files from different folders, which modern browsers do not allow by default for security reasons. In order to open scriptproperties.html, the following is required:
1017 +{{note body="scriptproperties.html has to load files from different folders, which modern browsers do not allow by default for security reasons. In order to open scriptproperties.html, the following is required:
1040 1040  
1041 -* Firefox: On the about:config page, the value of "security.fileuri.strict_origin_policy" has to be changed to "false".
1042 -* Chrome: The Chrome launcher has to be started with the command-line parameter --allow-file-access-from-files
1043 -{{/info}}
1019 +* Firefox: On the about:config page, the value of &quot;security.fileuri.strict_origin_policy&quot; has to be changed to &quot;false&quot;.
1020 +* Chrome: The Chrome launcher has to be started with the command-line parameter --allow-file-access-from-files"/}}
1044 1044  
1045 1045  
1046 1046  
1047 -This provides you with a complete list of all supported "base keywords" and properties. To filter in this list, you can enter an expression in the text field:
1024 +This provides you with a complete list of all supported ΓÇ£base keywordsΓÇ¥ and properties. To filter in this list, you can enter an expression in the text field:
1048 1048  
1049 1049  * Enter the beginning of a base keyword
1050 -* Enter $ followed by the data type you are looking for (e.g. "$ship"), as if it were a variable
1051 -* To see the properties of a base keyword or data type, enter a dot (".")
1027 +* Enter $ followed by the data type you are looking for (e.g. ΓÇ£$shipΓÇ¥), as if it were a variable
1028 +* To see the properties of a base keyword or data type, enter a dot (ΓÇ£.ΓÇ¥)
1052 1052  * After the dot, you can enter a property name
1053 -* You can also enter a dot (".") as first character to search globally for a property
1030 +* You can also enter a dot (ΓÇ£.ΓÇ¥) as first character to search globally for a property
1054 1054  
1055 1055  \\
1056 1056  
1057 1057  
1058 1058  
1059 -{{info}}
1060 -The documentation contains some data types that are no real script data types, but which are useful for documentation purposes. For example, ships and stations are both of datatype "component", but have different properties based on their component class.
1061 -{{/info}}
1036 +{{note body="The documentation contains some data types that are no real script data types, but which are useful for documentation purposes. For example, ships and stations are both of datatype ΓÇ£componentΓÇ¥, but have different properties based on their component class."/}}
1062 1062  
1063 1063  
1064 1064  
... ... @@ -1066,16 +1066,14 @@
1066 1066  
1067 1067  (% id="md-refreshing-and-patching" %)
1068 1068  
1069 -
1070 1070  = MD refreshing and patching =
1071 1071  
1072 -When a saved game is loaded, the saved MD state is restored, but also all MD files are reloaded and changes in them are applied to the MD state. This is called "refresh". It is also possible to refresh the MD at run-time using the command "refreshmd" on the in-game command line. This is a convenient way to update MD scripts while the game is already running.
1046 +When a saved game is loaded, the saved MD state is restored, but also all MD files are reloaded and changes in them are applied to the MD state. This is called ΓÇ£refreshΓÇ¥. It is also possible to refresh the MD at run-time using the command ΓÇ£refreshmdΓÇ¥ on the in-game command line. This is a convenient way to update MD scripts while the game is already running.
1073 1073  
1074 1074  \\
1075 1075  
1076 1076  (% id="details-and-restrictions" %)
1077 1077  
1078 -
1079 1079  == Details and restrictions ==
1080 1080  
1081 1081  Here are some noteworthy facts about refreshing scripts and cues, and the restrictions:
... ... @@ -1099,13 +1099,9 @@
1099 1099  
1100 1100  
1101 1101  
1102 -{{warning}}
1103 -Be aware that completed instances can be auto-deleted, and so added sub-cues will not become active in such a case.
1104 -{{/warning}}
1075 +{{warning body="Be aware that completed instances can be auto-deleted, and so added sub-cues will not become active in such a case."/}}
1105 1105  
1106 -{{warning}}
1107 -When adding a variable in a new MD script version and using that variable in multiple places, be aware that the variable doesn't exist yet in older savegames. You may have to check the existence of the variable before accessing it, or add some patch logic that initiailses the variable after loading the savegame, if necessary.
1108 -{{/warning}}
1077 +{{warning body="When adding a variable in a new MD script version and using that variable in multiple places, be aware that the variable doesn't exist yet in older savegames. You may have to check the existence of the variable before accessing it, or add some patch logic that initiailses the variable after loading the savegame, if necessary."/}}
1109 1109  
1110 1110  
1111 1111  
... ... @@ -1113,22 +1113,17 @@
1113 1113  
1114 1114  (% id="patching" %)
1115 1115  
1116 -
1117 1117  == Patching ==
1118 1118  
1119 1119  Cues can have **<patch>** elements with actions that will be performed when an old savegame is loaded. To control which savegames should be affected, you can add a //**version **//attribute to the <cue> node and a //**sinceversion**// attribute in the patch. When a cue is loaded from a savegame that has an older version than //sinceversion//, the <patch> actions will be performed immediately after loading.
1120 1120  
1121 -{{code}}
1122 -<cue [...] version="42"> <conditions> [...] </conditions> <actions> [...] </actions> <patch sinceversion="42"> [patch actions] </patch></cue>
1123 -{{/code}}
1089 +{{code}}&lt;cue [...] version=&quot;42&quot;&gt;  &lt;conditions&gt; [...] &lt;/conditions&gt;  &lt;actions&gt; [...] &lt;/actions&gt;  &lt;patch sinceversion=&quot;42&quot;&gt;    [patch actions]  &lt;/patch&gt;&lt;/cue&gt;{{/code}}
1124 1124  
1125 -The patch actions are only performed if the cue is in a certain state, "complete" by default. Use the //**state**// attribute to change this requirement. For more information, see the XML schema documentation of the <patch> element.
1091 +The patch actions are only performed if the cue is in a certain state, ΓÇ£completeΓÇ¥ by default. Use the //**state**// attribute to change this requirement. For more information, see the XML schema documentation of the <patch> element.
1126 1126  
1127 1127  A sequence of multiple <patch> elements is possible. They will be performed in order of appearance, checking the //sinceversion// and //state// attributes in each case. Patches are also applied to all users of a library and to instances.
1128 1128  
1129 -{{info}}
1130 -The <patch> elements will be ignored when refreshing the MD at run-time. They only affect loaded savegames."
1131 -{{/info}}
1095 +{{note body="The &lt;patch&gt; elements will be ignored when refreshing the MD at run-time. They only affect loaded savegames."/}}
1132 1132  
1133 1133  
1134 1134  
... ... @@ -1136,7 +1136,6 @@
1136 1136  
1137 1137  (% id="common-attribute-groups" %)
1138 1138  
1139 -
1140 1140  = Common attribute groups =
1141 1141  
1142 1142  There are many commonly used actions and conditions which share groups of attributes. The most important ones are explained here.
... ... @@ -1145,24 +1145,17 @@
1145 1145  
1146 1146  (% id="categorybroken_macroanchorvalue-comparisons" %)
1147 1147  
1148 -
1149 1149  == Value comparisons ==
1150 1150  
1151 1151  There are many conditions and conditional actions that require a value comparison, for example the condition <check_value>:
1152 1152  
1153 -{{code}}
1154 -<check_value value="$ware == ware.silicon and $amount != 0"/>
1155 -{{/code}}
1115 +{{code}}&lt;check_value value=&quot;$ware == ware.silicon and $amount != 0&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
1156 1156  
1157 1157  In the value attribute you specify a boolean expression, and if it is true (that is, not equal to zero), the condition is met. This is a special case: This condition and all other nodes that support a value comparison allows you to specify an upper limit, a lower limit, a number range, or a list of allowed values. Examples:
1158 1158  
1159 -{{code}}
1160 -<check_value value="FooCue.state" exact="cuestate.complete"/><check_value value="$foo.count" min="5"/><check_value value="$foo" max="player.age + 1min"/><check_value value="player.money" min="300Cr" max="600Cr"/><check_value value="$method" list="[killmethod.hitbymissile, killmethod.collected]"/><check_value value="$attention" min="attention.visible"/>
1161 -{{/code}}
1119 +{{code}}&lt;check_value value=&quot;FooCue.state&quot; exact=&quot;cuestate.complete&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;$foo.count&quot; min=&quot;5&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;$foo&quot; max=&quot;player.age + 1min&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;player.money&quot; min=&quot;300Cr&quot; max=&quot;600Cr&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;$method&quot; list=&quot;[killmethod.hitbymissile, killmethod.collected]&quot;/&gt;&lt;check_value value=&quot;$attention&quot; min=&quot;attention.visible&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
1162 1162  
1163 -{{info}}
1164 -Values of most enumeration types cannot be compared via ''min'' or ''max'' (also not via lt, gt, etc.). The only data types that can be used with ''min'' and ''max'' are numbers and the enumeration types ''level'' and ''attention'' (see Boolean operators). The ''exact'' attribute can be used with any type, and is equivalent to using the == operator."
1165 -{{/info}}
1121 +{{note body="Values of most enumeration types cannot be compared via ''min'' or ''max'' (also not via lt, gt, etc.). The only data types that can be used with ''min'' and ''max'' are numbers and the enumeration types ''level'' and ''attention'' (see Boolean operators). The ''exact'' attribute can be used with any type, and is equivalent to using the == operator."/}}
1166 1166  
1167 1167  
1168 1168  
... ... @@ -1170,37 +1170,28 @@
1170 1170  
1171 1171  (% id="categorybroken_macroanchorrandom-ranges" %)
1172 1172  
1173 -
1174 1174  == Random ranges ==
1175 1175  
1176 1176  If an action requires a value, e.g. when you set a variable to a value, you can have some randomisation. To specify an exact value, e.g. in <set_value>, you can write this:
1177 1177  
1178 -{{code}}
1179 -<set_value name="$race" exact="race.teladi"/>
1180 -{{/code}}
1133 +{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$race&quot; exact=&quot;race.teladi&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
1181 1181  
1182 1182  To select a random element from a list, this syntax can be used:
1183 1183  
1184 -{{code}}
1185 -<set_value name="$prime" list="[2, 3, 5, 7, 11]"/>
1186 -{{/code}}
1137 +{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$prime&quot; list=&quot;[2, 3, 5, 7, 11]&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
1187 1187  
1188 1188  To get a random number within a given range, you can use min/max:
1189 1189  
1190 -{{code}}
1191 -<set_value name="$foo" min="-20" max="20"/><set_value name="$timeout" max="20s"/>
1192 -{{/code}}
1141 +{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; min=&quot;-20&quot; max=&quot;20&quot;/&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;$timeout&quot; max=&quot;20s&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
1193 1193  
1194 1194  min and max have to be compatible number types. Enumeration types are not allowed, not even level and attention. The min attribute is optional and defaults to 0 (of the number type used in max).
1195 1195  
1196 -You can select one of 5 different probability distribution profiles for the random range, "flat" being the default (all values in the range are equally likely). If you select another profile, e.g. "increasing" to make higher numbers more likely, you also have to specify a scale value (integer) that is greater or equal to 2. Higher scale values result in higher peaks in the distribution profiles (probable values become even more probable).
1145 +You can select one of 5 different probability distribution profiles for the random range, ΓÇ£flatΓÇ¥ being the default (all values in the range are equally likely). If you select another profile, e.g. ΓÇ£increasingΓÇ¥ to make higher numbers more likely, you also have to specify a scale value (integer) that is greater or equal to 2. Higher scale values result in higher peaks in the distribution profiles (probable values become even more probable).
1197 1197  
1198 -{{code}}
1199 -<set_value name="$foo" min="-20" max="20" profile="profile.increasing" scale="4"/>
1200 -{{/code}}
1147 +{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; min=&quot;-20&quot; max=&quot;20&quot; profile=&quot;profile.increasing&quot; scale=&quot;4&quot;/&gt;{{/code}}
1201 1201  
1202 -(% style="color: rgb(0,0,255);text-decoration: none;" %)
1203 -\\
1149 +(% style="color: rgb(0,0,255);text-decoration: none;" %) 
1150 +\\(% id="variables-and-namespaces" %)
1204 1204  
1205 1205  = Variables and namespaces =
1206 1206  
... ... @@ -1207,104 +1207,83 @@
1207 1207  As you have seen above, you can easily access variables by writing their name (including $ prefix) in an expression. Namespaces define in which cue the variables are actually stored (and from which cue they are read).
1208 1208  
1209 1209  (% style="color: rgb(0,0,255);text-decoration: none;" %)
1157 +\\\\\\(% id="categorybroken_macroanchorcreating-and-removing-variables" %)
1210 1210  
1211 -\\\\
1212 -
1213 1213  == Creating and removing variables ==
1214 1214  
1215 -{{{You can create variables with certain actions and conditions, such as the <set_value> action:}}}
1161 +{{{You can create variables with certain actions and conditions, such as the &lt;set_value&gt; action:}}}
1216 1216  
1217 -{{code}}
1218 -<set_value name="$foo" exact="$bar + 1" />
1219 -{{/code}}
1163 +{{code}} &lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; exact=&quot;$bar + 1&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}
1220 1220  
1221 -<set_value> also exists as a "condition", which can be useful if you want to pass information about the conditions to the actions, that would otherwise be lost - like in a complex <check_any> event condition, where you want to create a variable only if you are in a certain check branch. (Other pseudo-conditions are <remove_value> and <debug_text>.)
1165 +<set_value> also exists as a ΓÇ£conditionΓÇ¥, which can be useful if you want to pass information about the conditions to the actions, that would otherwise be lost - like in a complex <check_any> event condition, where you want to create a variable only if you are in a certain check branch. (Other pseudo-conditions are <remove_value> and <debug_text>.)
1222 1222  
1223 -The default operation of <set_value> is "**set**", but there are more: "**add**", "**subtract**", and "**insert**". //add// and //subtract// change the value of an existing variable, which is created as 0 if it didn't exist before. If neither //min//, //max// nor //exact// attribute is provided, an exact value of 1 is assumed.
1167 +The default operation of <set_value> is ΓÇ£**set**ΓÇ¥, but there are more: ΓÇ£**add**ΓÇ¥, ΓÇ£**subtract**ΓÇ¥, and ΓÇ£**insert**ΓÇ¥. //add// and //subtract// change the value of an existing variable, which is created as 0 if it didnΓÇÖt exist before. If neither //min//, //max// nor //exact// attribute is provided, an exact value of 1 is assumed.
1224 1224  
1225 -{{code}}
1226 -<set_value name="$foo" operation="add" />
1227 -{{/code}}
1169 +{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; operation=&quot;add&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}
1228 1228  
1229 1229  The trick is that <set_value> not only works on variables, but also on list elements and table keys:
1230 1230  
1231 -{{code}}<set_value name="$list.{1}" exact="42" /><set_value name="$table.$foo" exact="42" />{{/code}}\\
1173 +{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$list.{1}&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;$table.$foo&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}\\
1232 1232  
1233 1233  The operation //insert// is special, and it only works on lists. It inserts the value at the specified position (note that the position beyond the last element is also valid here):
1234 1234  
1235 -{{code}}
1236 -<set_value name="$list.{1}" exact="42" operation="insert" />
1237 -{{/code}}
1177 +{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$list.{1}&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; operation=&quot;insert&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}
1238 1238  
1239 1239  This shifts the positions of all following elements up by one. If min/max/exact are missing, the default value is null for insertions, not 1 like in other cases.
1240 1240  
1241 1241  Appending is easier than that. The following actions are equivalent:
1242 1242  
1243 -{{code}}
1244 -<set_value name="$list.{$list.count + 1}" exact="42" operation="insert" /><append_to_list name="$list" exact="42" />
1245 -{{/code}}
1183 +{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;$list.{$list.count + 1}&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; operation=&quot;insert&quot; /&gt;&lt;append_to_list name=&quot;$list&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}
1246 1246  
1247 1247  Inserting at a position below 1 or above $list.count + 1 is not possible.
1248 1248  
1249 1249  To remove variables or list/table entries, use <remove_value>:
1250 1250  
1251 -{{code}}<remove_value name="$foo" /><remove_value name="$list.{1}" /><remove_value name="$table.$foo" />{{/code}}\\
1189 +{{code}}&lt;remove_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; /&gt;&lt;remove_value name=&quot;$list.{1}&quot; /&gt;&lt;remove_value name=&quot;$table.$foo&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}\\
1252 1252  
1253 1253  Removing an entry from a list shifts all following elements down by one. If you want to clear an entry without removing it from the list, just use <set_value> instead.
1254 1254  
1255 1255  (% style="color: rgb(0,0,255);text-decoration: none;" %)
1194 +\\\\\\(% id="accessing-remote-variables" %)
1256 1256  
1257 -\\\\
1258 -
1259 1259  == Accessing remote variables ==
1260 1260  
1261 1261  You can also read and write variables in other cues by using the variable name as property key:
1262 1262  
1263 -{{code}}
1264 -<set_value name="OtherCue.$foo" min="0.0" max="1.0" /><set_value name="md.OtherScript.YetAnotherCue.$bar" exact="OtherCue.$foo" />
1265 -{{/code}}
1200 +{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;OtherCue.$foo&quot; min=&quot;0.0&quot; max=&quot;1.0&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;md.OtherScript.YetAnotherCue.$bar&quot; exact=&quot;OtherCue.$foo&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}
1266 1266  
1267 1267  Instead of referencing a cue by name, you could also reference it via a keyword or another variable:
1268 1268  
1269 -{{code}}
1270 -<set_value name="static.$counter" operation="add" /><set_value name="parent.$foo" exact="42" /><set_value name="this.$bar" exact="parent" /><set_value name="$baz" exact="this.$bar.$foo" />
1271 -{{/code}}
1204 +{{code}}&lt;set_value name=&quot;static.$counter&quot; operation=&quot;add&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;parent.$foo&quot; exact=&quot;42&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;this.$bar&quot; exact=&quot;parent&quot; /&gt;&lt;set_value name=&quot;$baz&quot; exact=&quot;this.$bar.$foo&quot; /&gt;{{/code}}
1272 1272  
1273 1273  (% style="color: rgb(0,0,255);text-decoration: none;" %)
1207 +\\\\\\(% id="namespaces" %)
1274 1274  
1275 -\\\\
1276 -
1277 1277  == Namespaces ==
1278 1278  
1279 -In the examples above, a variable was written to and read from the "this" cue. This can be necessary: the expression "$foo" may be different from the expression "this.$foo". The reason for that are namespaces.
1211 +In the examples above, a variable was written to and read from the ΓÇ£thisΓÇ¥ cue. This can be necessary: the expression ΓÇ£$fooΓÇ¥ may be different from the expression ΓÇ£this.$fooΓÇ¥. The reason for that are namespaces.
1280 1280  
1281 1281  Consider this case:
1282 1282  
1283 -{{code}}
1284 -<cue name="Root"> <actions> <set_value name="$foo" /> </actions> <cues> <cue name="SubCue"> [...] </cue> </cues></cue>
1285 -{{/code}}
1215 +{{code}}&lt;cue name=&quot;Root&quot;&gt;  &lt;actions&gt;    &lt;set_value name=&quot;$foo&quot; /&gt;  &lt;/actions&gt;  &lt;cues&gt;    &lt;cue name=&quot;SubCue&quot;&gt; [...]    &lt;/cue&gt;  &lt;/cues&gt;&lt;/cue&gt;{{/code}}
1286 1286  
1287 -When the root cue creates $foo, the variable is stored in the Root cue directly. But SubCue and its descendants will also need access to $foo. Of course they could write "parent.$foo" or "Root.$foo", but since it's very common to have a single location for most variables in the whole cue tree, the easy solution is to write just "$foo" - because variable names are looked up in the **namespace cue**, which is the root by default. Also newly created variables end up in the namespace, and not in "this" cue.
1217 +When the root cue creates $foo, the variable is stored in the Root cue directly. But SubCue and its descendants will also need access to $foo. Of course they could write ΓÇ£parent.$fooΓÇ¥ or ΓÇ£Root.$fooΓÇ¥, but since itΓÇÖs very common to have a single location for most variables in the whole cue tree, the easy solution is to write just ΓÇ£$fooΓÇ¥ - because variable names are looked up in the **namespace cue**, which is the root by default. Also newly created variables end up in the namespace, and not in ΓÇ£thisΓÇ¥ cue.
1288 1288  
1289 -You can also use the keyword "**namespace**" in expressions to get the namespace cue.
1219 +You can also use the keyword ΓÇ£**namespace**ΓÇ¥ in expressions to get the namespace cue.
1290 1290  
1291 1291  (% id="defining-a-cues-namespace" %)
1292 1292  
1223 +=== Defining a cueΓÇÖs namespace ===
1293 1293  
1294 -=== Defining a cue's namespace ===
1295 -
1296 1296  When writing a cue, you can specify what the namespace of the cue should be, by adding the //**namespace**// attribute. The following values are possible:
1297 1297  
1298 -* **this**: Use "this" cue as namespace, even for instances: $foo == this.$foo
1299 -* **static**: Same as "this", but when instantiated, use the static cue: $foo == static.$foo
1300 -* **default**: The namespace is inherited from the parent cue. The default for root cues and for libraries is the same as "static".
1227 +* **this**: Use ΓÇ£thisΓÇ¥ cue as namespace, even for instances: $foo == this.$foo
1228 +* **static**: Same as ΓÇ£thisΓÇ¥, but when instantiated, use the static cue: $foo == static.$foo
1229 +* **default**: The namespace is inherited from the parent cue. The default for root cues and for libraries is the same as ΓÇ£staticΓÇ¥.
1301 1301  
1302 1302  (% style="color: rgb(0,0,255);text-decoration: none;" %)
1303 1303  
1304 1304  
1234 +{{warning body="Although in general the expression ΓÇ£$foo == namespace.$fooΓÇ¥ is true, there is one exception: When library parameters are evaluated in the referencing cue, variables are resolved using the parentΓÇÖs namespace. However, the referencing cue creates a new namespace, so the namespace keyword already points to the library, not to the parentΓÇÖs namespace. Example:
1305 1305  
1306 -{{warning}}
1307 -Although in general the expression "$foo == namespace.$foo" is true, there is one exception: When library parameters are evaluated in the referencing cue, variables are resolved using the parent's namespace. However, the referencing cue creates a new namespace, so the namespace keyword already points to the library, not to the parent's namespace. Example:
1308 -
1309 -<code><cue name="LibRef" ref="Lib"> <param name="Param1" value="$foo" /> <!-- $foo from parent namespace --> <param name="Param2" value="namespace.$foo" /> <!-- LibRef.$foo (error) --></cue></code>
1310 -{{/warning}}
1236 +<code>&lt;cue name=&quot;LibRef&quot; ref=&quot;Lib&quot;&gt;  &lt;param name=&quot;Param1&quot; value=&quot;$foo&quot; /&gt; &lt;!-- $foo from parent namespace --&gt;  &lt;param name=&quot;Param2&quot; value=&quot;namespace.$foo&quot; /&gt; &lt;!-- LibRef.$foo (error) --&gt;&lt;/cue&gt;</code>"/}}