Chess uci - how to send to engine

Chrisir

Hello,

I have a chess gui and want it to use the chess engine fruit (eg.).

How can I communicate with the engine after launch? I can start it with open but after each move I have to send data with uci

Thanks!

Chrisir

Chrisir

http://www.fruitchess.com

http://www.shredderchess.de/schach-info/features/uci-universal-chess-interface.html

Chrisir

I don't need to know how to make the uci itself but rather the way how to communicate to fruit, is it via println or... what is the equivalent to stdOut?

Chrisir

anyone?

quark

Does Fruit have any API documents? Without them I can't see how to interface with it.

Chrisir

how can I build a pipe?

quark

Taking up smoking eh :D

No idea how to create a pipe in this situation but you would need Fruit to accept one end of it.

Chrisir

something like this pipe:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5724646/how-to-pipe-input-to-java-program-with-bash

Chrisir

Examples:
---------

This is how the communication when the engine boots can look like:

GUI     engine

// tell the engine to switch to UCI mode
uci

// engine identify  
      id name Shredder
        id author Stefan MK

// engine sends the options it can change
// the engine can change the hash size from 1 to 128 MB
        option name Hash type spin default 1 min 1 max 128

// the engine supports Nalimov endgame tablebases
        option name NalimovPath type string default <empty>
        option name NalimovCache type spin default 1 min 1 max 32

// the engine can switch off Nullmove and set the playing style
       option name Nullmove type check default true
        option name Style type combo default Normal var Solid var Normal var Risky

// the engine has sent all parameters and is ready
        uciok

// Note: here the GUI can already send a "quit" command if it just wants to find out
//       details about the engine, so the engine should not initialize its internal
//       parameters before here.
// now the GUI sets some values in the engine
// set hash to 32 MB
setoption name Hash value 32

Chrisir

// this is supposed to be a chess program later. 

// this is the GUI part.

// It is supposed to communicates with the chess-engine "fruit".  

// see http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/lang/ProcessBuilder.html#start()
// http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5724646/how-to-pipe-input-to-java-program-with-bash

import java.lang.ProcessBuilder;
import java.io.*;

//InputStreamReader isReader = new InputStreamReader(System.in); // is = inputstream 
//BufferedReader bufReader = new BufferedReader(isReader);

//OutputStreamWriter isWriter = new OutputStreamWriter(System.out); //  
//BufferedWriter bufWriter  = new BufferedWriter(isWriter);

ProcessBuilder pb;
Process p=null;

InputStream in    = null; 
OutputStream out  = null;

// this directs the discourse 
int lineToSay = -1; // ????
boolean guiHasToSaySomething=true; 

// -------------------------------------------------------

void setup() {
  size(700, 400);

  pb = new ProcessBuilder( "C:\\Program Files\\Fruit\\Fruit2.2.1.exe", "" );
  // pb.directory(new File("C:\\Program Files\\Fruit\\"));

  try {
    p = pb.start();
    println("success 1");
  } 
  catch (Exception e) {
    println("Error");
  }

  if (p!=null) {
    // // success
    println("success 2");
    // now get streams - http : // stackoverflow.com/questions/22563986/understanding-getinputstream-and-getoutputstream
    in = p.getInputStream();
    out = p.getOutputStream();
    if (in==null||out==null) {
      println("Error 2 - failed ");
      exit();
    }
  } else {
    println("Error - failed ");
    //exit();
    //return;
  }
  background (0);
}

void draw() {

  background (110);
  fill(255);
  text (lineToSay, 20, 22); 

  // getting from engine this:  
  String inputStr = "";
  inputStr = listen();
  // println(inputStr);
  if (inputStr!=null) {
    print(inputStr);

    switch (lineToSay) {

    case -1:
      lineToSay ++;
      guiHasToSaySomething=true; 
      break; 

    case 0:
      // say( "uci\n"); // with \n  !!!!!
      if (inputStr.equals("uciok")||inputStr.contains("uciok")) {
        lineToSay ++;        
        guiHasToSaySomething=true;
        //  println ("Here 2");
      }
      break;

    case 1:    
      //say( "isready\n");
      inputStr=inputStr.trim();
      if (inputStr.equals("readyok")||inputStr.contains("readyok")) {
        lineToSay ++;
        //  lineToSay ++;
        guiHasToSaySomething=true;
        println ("Here 1");
      }
      break;


    case 2:
    case 3:
      // say( "debug off\n"); 
      if (inputStr.equals("readyok")||inputStr.contains("readyok")) {
        guiHasToSaySomething=true;
        println ("  Here 2 " + lineToSay);
        lineToSay ++;
      }
      //lineToSay ++;
      //guiHasToSaySomething=true;

      break ; 

    case 6:
      if (inputStr.equals("bestmove")||inputStr.contains("bestmove")) {
        println (" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! bestmove 2 " + lineToSay);
      }
      break; 

    default:
      println ("Here default " + lineToSay);
      delay(111); 
      lineToSay ++;
      guiHasToSaySomething=true;
      break;
    } // switch
  } // if
  else {
    delay(111); 
    lineToSay ++;
    guiHasToSaySomething=true;
  }

  // --------------------------------------------

  if (guiHasToSaySomething) {
    switch (lineToSay) {
    case 0:
      say( "uci\n"); // with \n  !!!!!
      break;

    case 1:    
      say( "isready\n");
      break;

    case 2:
      guiHasToSaySomething=true;
      // say( "debug off\n"); 
      say( "isready\n");
      break;

    case 3:    
      guiHasToSaySomething=true;
      //  say( "ucinewgame\n");
      say( "isready\n");
      break; 

    case 4: 
      // now the GUI sets some values in the engine
      // set hash to 32 MB
      //   guiHasToSaySomething=true;
      say("setoption name Hash value 32\n"); 
      guiHasToSaySomething=true;

      say( "position startpos moves e2e4 e7e5\n");  
      guiHasToSaySomething=true;

      say("go infinite\n");

      guiHasToSaySomething=true;


      delay(2222);
      // lineToSay ++;
      say("stop\n");

      guiHasToSaySomething=true;
      delay(22);
      // lineToSay ++;

      break; 

    case 5: 
      // init tbs
      guiHasToSaySomething=true;
      say("setoption name NalimovCache value 1\n"); 
      delay(22);
      lineToSay ++;
      break; 

    case 6: 
      guiHasToSaySomething=true;
      say("setoption name NalimovPath value d:\tb;c\tb\n");
      break;

    case 7:    
      guiHasToSaySomething=true;
      say( "isready\n");
      break;

    case 8:
      guiHasToSaySomething=true;
      // say( "position e2e4\n");
      println ("Here 1");
      say( "position startpos moves e2e4 e7e5\n"); 
      // position e2e4\ngo\n
      break;

    case 9:    
      guiHasToSaySomething=true;
      //  say( "go\n");
      say("go infinite\n");
      // position e2e4\ngo\n
      break;
    } // switch
    //
  }

  println ("Here draw() " + lineToSay);
  //
} // func 

// ----------------------------------------

void say (String str) {

  println(""); 
  println("----->"+str);
  //  println(lineToSay);

  out = p.getOutputStream();

  try {
    byte buf[] = str.getBytes();
    out.write(buf);
  }
  catch (Exception e) {
    println("Can't write ! ");
  }

  try {
    out.flush();
  }
  catch (Exception e) {
    println("Can't flush ! ");
  }

  // !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! kill all speaking here  
  guiHasToSaySomething=false;
}//func 

String listen() {

  // gui gets from engine

  int c;
  String inputStr = "";
  char stop1 = (char) char(13); 

  try {

    // http : // stackoverflow.com/questions/22563986/understanding-getinputstream-and-getoutputstream

    // while ((c=in.read()) != -1)
    while ((c=in.read()) != 13)
    {
      //  print((char) c);
      inputStr += (char) c;
    }

    // println (inputStr);
  }
  catch (Exception e) {
    println("Can't read");
  }

  if (inputStr != null && !inputStr.equals("")) {
    return inputStr ;
  } else {
    println("inputStr is null");
    return null;
  }
}

// ----

Chrisir

almost there....

Chrisir

so the solution was to use ProcessBuilder

see Bird's comment here:

https://forum.processing.org/two/discussion/comment/73515/#Comment_73515