Re: [Bug-XBoard] small bug

[h.g. muller]

Andrew Schultz wrote:

> Found a small bug--maybe someone saw it before. If you start a new game 
and try
> to move a pawn from a2 to a8, the promotion dialogue pops up before you 
are informed
> it is an illegal move. In any case, it's an excuse to write to say 
thanks for something
> that can let me look at a game quickly when I need a short work break.

Hi,

note that I fixed this bug in WinBoard 4.3.12 and higher. There, if 
legality testing is on,
WinBoard first checks if the move is legal, and only when it passes the 
test, pops up
the promotion menu. Especially in Shogi, where the promotion zone is not 
just last rank,
and it is not only Pawns that promote, getting the premature popup was 
extremely annoying.

I don't really agree with Tim's answer: Most variants are played with 
legality checking on,
and there is no need in that case for xboard to consult the engine in order 
to know that
the move was illegal. So it is not too big an effort to at least suppress 
the promotion
popup in those cases where xboard is aware from the start that the move is 
illegal, and will
not even pass it on to the engine no matter what piece you select.

If legallty testing is off, there is no alternative to the old behavior. 
People switch off legality
testing for the purpose of playing variants for whcih the rules are not 
known to xoard,
and it is conceivable that there are variants in which the legality of a 
move depends on
which piece you promote to. (e.g. suppose that a ' Rook'  represents an 
'Immobilizer' ,
freezing the opponent's neighboring piece that was checking you.)

Regards,
H.G.Muller