V.9 Design Decisions

This section enables you to understand two fundamental design decisions of DokChess in detail.

9.1 How Does the Engine Communicate with the Outside World?

Problem Background

As a central requirement, DokChess must work together with existing chess frontends. How do we connect them?

A whole series of graphical user interfaces are available for playing against chess programs. Moreover, there are software solutions with a larger scope for chess enthusiasts. In addition to the game Human vs. Machine, they offer more functionality, such as analyzing games. Over time, new chess programs will be released – and others will possibly disappear from the market.

Depending on how the connection with such programs is realized, DokChess can or cannot communicate with specific frontend clients. Thus, the issue affects DokChess' interoperability with existing chess software and its adaptability to future chess software.

Influences on the Decision

Constraints

The following are the...