From: Brian Candler <b.candler@...>
Date: 2008-10-07T03:24:04+09:00
Subject: Re: Object Persistence for a MUD

Jeff Moore wrote:
> At this point, I'm generating the static part of the universe and 
> Marshaling it to file so it can be re-used. Some would argue with 
> Marshal as a choice but I'm using DRb between clients and servers and 
> Marshal is the default object protocol within DRb so in for a penny, in 
> for a pound as they say...
> 
> On the plus side, it's considerably faster than YAML or a database.
> 
> On the minus side but isn't readable or mindful changes in object 
> version. If you've modified the object definition between store and 
> load, you need to rebuild. This is the reason I've relegated it to 
> managing static data only.
> 
> The dynamic/stateful part looks like it's going to require a database of 
> some sort largely to provide a relatively stable/secure repository.

You might want to have a look at Madeleine, which could be a suitable 
half-way house: it uses a Marshal (or YAML) dump as a snapshot of your 
universe, plus incremental transactions for updates.

At startup it reads in the last snapshot plus the intervening 
transactions. This means you only have to write out a full snapshot 
occasionally. The code is also small and simple enough to be easily 
understood.
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