Dune Internet - Web Hosting, Talker Hosting, and Mud Hosting Services

Uploading and Compiling Files

The first thing you'll probably want to do is get a code base to start working with. You have a couple of options:

Uploading the files from your computer. If you have already downloaded the code to your computer, you will need to use an FTP client (see our FTP support page), connect to pi.dune.net, and upload the files into your home directory.
Using your shell account to download the files. You can also use your dune.net shell account to download the files from a different site. Utilities like "ftp", "ncftp", "lynx" and "wget" can help you download the files. The "ftp" and "ncftp" commands are command-line based FTP clients, the latter of which has a slightly more user-friendly interface. "lynx" is a text-based WWW browser that can also view FTP directories. If you know the exact location of the filename that you want to get, you can use "wget" for immediate FTP or HTTP transfers.

The next thing that you'll need to do is uncompress the code that you uploaded. Most of the time, the code will come in a ".tar.gz" or ".tgz" format. To uncompress your code, type this command:

tar xzvf <filename>

If the file ends with just .tar (no .gz or .Z), then remove the "z" from the above command. For example:

tar xvf <filename>

After you're done uncompressing, you'll need to configure your talker/mud to use the right port(s). Many talkers have this configuration in a "config" file under the "data" directory. Many muds keep it in a "startup" script under the "src" directory. Just edit the correct file (using pico or another text editor), and change the port number(s) that you were assigned.

Ok, you're just about done! Next, you need to compile your code. If your code has a "Makefile", just type "make" and it should automatically do it. If you do not have a makefile, you'll probably need to type something like:

gcc filename.c
Or, commonly:

gcc -lcrypt filename.c

Where filename.c is the name of the C file that your code is in. If your code has more than one C file, it SHOULD come with a Makefile.

The default compiled filename will be "a.out". You can change this by putting a "-o <outfilename>" flag in your gcc command.

You're pretty much done! Now you just need to run the file - either the a.out file, or a "startup" script. Often times, especially with the scripts, you'll need to put an ampersand (&) after the command, so that the process runs in the background. Like this:

./startup &

You should now be able to telnet to dune.net <YourPortNum>!

If you ran into any problems while trying to compile your talker/mud, please read our code troubleshooting guide.