[Chamaco]

Hi all,
this is my first post here after 17 years of inactivity, so hello everyone !


I need help on the following:

FIRST QUESTION

Long time ago I used to resort to a version of Dealer compiled for Win/Dos, but looking around today I found one only for Linux (ancd I can't compile the source code).
Can anyone point me to some reference where I can find the executable for Dos/win10?

The original Dealer program seems to me far more flexible in generating the constraints, compared to the built in BBO Dealer

SECOND QUESTION

If I have to use the BBO built in dealer,
what would be the syntax to generate the following constraints (all of them should be true in the generated hands) ?
a) west has a 1NT 15-17 opener
b) north has ANY 66xx, 65xx, 64xx, 54xx AND has AT LEAST 7 hcp exactly concentrated in the long suits

Thanks to anyone will help !

Cheers

mauro

[helene_t]

Hi Mauro, great to see you again! I think you used the same signature 17 years ago Other than me and Hrothgar and MikeH and Barmar and Jillybean and Kenberg there might not be many around whom you still remember, though.

[Chamaco]

helene_t, on 2023-February-16, 10:24, said:

Hi Mauro, great to see you again! I think you used the same signature 17 years ago Other than me and Hrothgar and MikeH and Barmar and Jillybean and Kenberg there might not be many around whom you still remember, though.

Hi!
Yes, I know , "Long time no see"...

Well, I suppose we'll have to catch up :-)

[mycroft]

Hello Chamaco! (you might remember me as well).

After lots of work trying to get dealer working in dos/windows, I gave up and did something else.

Good chance this won't help you, but I've moved on to Thomas Andrews' Deak. The syntax is totally different, but it's much more programmable (and ties into DDS so I can do sims). Either Mr. Andrews' original Tk syntax at https://bridge.thoma...ownloading.html , or (my go-to, because I'm forced to use Python at work) anntzer's redeal at https://github.com/anntzer/redeal .

I guarantee you that your question is easy to implement in Deal (I expect I can actually SmartStack it in redeal; if not, I can SmartStack the 1NT opener and logic out the "accept" pretty easily, but it might run a *lot* of hands before finding matches). Having said that, "don't do what you've got 20 years experience doing, learn a totally new tool (and potentially, langauge) instead" is almost the canonical example of "hlep" (defined by the Tor books editors as "comments which look helpful, but really aren’t". Sorry.

[pescetom]

Hi.
Your second question is easy, but unfortunately I have only a phone underhand so I can't give you the actual script. If you look in the (parallel and more appropriate, albeit confusingly named) forum 'Full Disclosurer and Dealer' you will find several Dealer scripts I posted which include NT opening, shapes and suits and strength and so on.

[paulg]

This works even if not the most concise. I think you should be able to add 55xx if needed

wh=shape(west, any 4432 + any 4333 + any 5332) and hcp(west)>14 and hcp(west)<18
nmaj=shape(north, 66xx +65xx + 56xx + 64xx + 46xx + 54xx + 45xx) and
   (hcp(north,spades)+hcp(north,hearts))>6
nblack=shape(north, 6xx6 +6xx5 + 5xx6 + 6xx4 + 4xx6 + 5xx4 + 4xx5) and
   (hcp(north,spades)+hcp(north,clubs))>6
nred=shape(north, x66x +x65x + x56x + x64x + x46x + x54x + x45x) and
   (hcp(north,hearts)+hcp(north,diamonds))>6
npoint=shape(north, 6x6x +6x5x + 5x6x + 6x4x + 4x6x + 5x4x + 4x5x) and
   (hcp(north,spades)+hcp(north,diamonds))>6
nround=shape(north, x6x6 +x6x5 + x5x6 + x6x4 + x4x6 + x5x4 + x4x5) and
   (hcp(north,hearts)+hcp(north,clubs))>6
nminors=shape(north, xx66 +xx65 + xx56 + xx64 + xx46 + xx54 + xx45) and
   (hcp(north,diamonds)+hcp(north,clubs))>6
   
wh and (nmaj or nblack or nred or npoint or nround or nminors)

[pescetom]

I think you forgot that he also wants zero (?) hcp outside the long suits.

[sfi]

It looks like Dealer lives on at https://github.com/d...aler-Version-2-, but no compiled version there that I can see.

[paulg]

pescetom, on 2023-February-16, 12:57, said:

I think you forgot that he also wants zero (?) hcp outside the long suits.

This version means that 7+ hcp are concentrated in the long suits with no points outside:

wh=shape(west, any 4432 + any 4333 + any 5332) and hcp(west)>14 and hcp(west)<18

nmaj=shape(north, 66xx +65xx + 56xx + 64xx + 46xx + 54xx + 45xx) and ((hcp(north,spades)+hcp(north,hearts))>6) and ((hcp(north,diamonds)+hcp(north,clubs))==0)

nblack=shape(north, 6xx6 +6xx5 + 5xx6 + 6xx4 + 4xx6 + 5xx4 + 4xx5) and ((hcp(north,spades)+hcp(north,clubs))>6) and ((hcp(north,diamonds)+hcp(north,hearts))==0)

nred=shape(north, x66x +x65x + x56x + x64x + x46x + x54x + x45x) and ((hcp(north,hearts)+hcp(north,diamonds))>6) and ((hcp(north,spades)+hcp(north,clubs))==0)

npoint=shape(north, 6x6x +6x5x + 5x6x + 6x4x + 4x6x + 5x4x + 4x5x) and ((hcp(north,spades)+hcp(north,diamonds))>6) and ((hcp(north,hearts)+hcp(north,clubs))==0)

nround=shape(north, x6x6 +x6x5 + x5x6 + x6x4 + x4x6 + x5x4 + x4x5) and ((hcp(north,hearts)+hcp(north,clubs))>6) and ((hcp(north,diamonds)+hcp(north,spades))==0)

nminors=shape(north, xx66 +xx65 + xx56 + xx64 + xx46 + xx54 + xx45) and ((hcp(north,diamonds)+hcp(north,clubs))>6) and ((hcp(north,spades)+hcp(north,hearts))==0)
   
wh and (nmaj or nblack or nred or npoint or nround or nminors)

[Gerardo]

Ciao Mauro, nice to see you back!

Because of your post, I noticed the page where the dealer sources used to be was taken down.
I asked Mr. Uijterwaal if there is a working one.

Meanwhile, as usual, am using ones from Debian packages for dealer, where (I believe) latest published sources can be found.

I compiled these in Linux without issues, what are yours?

The "Deal Source" (where available, Teaching and Practice tables) Advanced tab lets you paste and use most dealer scripts,
In particular, Paul's above.

[Chamaco]

Gerardo, on 2023-February-17, 04:22, said:

Ciao Mauro, nice to see you back!

Because of your post, I noticed the page where the dealer sources used to be was taken down.
I asked Mr. Uijterwaal if there is a working one.

Meanwhile, as usual, am using ones from Debian packages for dealer, where (I believe) latest published sources can be found.

I compiled these in Linux without issues, what are yours?

The "Deal Source" (where available, Teaching and Practice tables) Advanced tab lets you paste and use most dealer scripts,
In particular, Paul's above.

Ciao Gerardo, quite a long time since the last hands together, isn't it ? :-)

My "issue" is that I work only on a Windows computer and I am looking for something practical (e.g. no hassle about compiling source code etc etc)

[Chamaco]

BTW
I want to thank every single person who took the time to reply to my question.
All of them were quite useful!

And, indeed, I enjoyed the "welcome back" greetings from old and new friends :-)

Cheers!

Mauro

[mycroft]

Really dumb answer here, and possibly just as hlepy as the last one, but Ubuntu for Linux (under WSL) exists, and happily would build dealer for you. It's not like it requires a graphical UI...

[pescetom]

Chamaco, on 2023-February-17, 08:18, said:

My "issue" is that I work only on a Windows computer and I am looking for something practical (e.g. no hassle about compiling source code etc etc)

It's very practical to use the BBO web version.

Although unfortunately BBO arbitrarily took down the alternative version //dealergib1.bridgebase.com/tools/dealer/dealer.php which included a working 'tricks' function and have not yet got round to restoring this function in some way (for example, moving the enabled Dealer over to the link above).

[and you aren't going to fix that easily by finding/compiling a Dealer for Windows, as you will still need a working version of 'bridge' (GiB) to enable the 'tricks' function].

[thorvald]

sfi, on 2023-February-16, 14:22, said:

It looks like Dealer lives on at https://github.com/d...aler-Version-2-, but no compiled version there that I can see.

There is a compiled version, but only for Linux - running fine on windows using The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

[pescetom]

thorvald, on 2023-February-26, 19:06, said:

There is a compiled version, but only for Linux - running fine on windows using The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

Interesting. Can it calculate 'tricks' ?

[Gerardo]

pescetom, on 2023-February-27, 09:59, said:

Interesting. Can it calculate 'tricks' ?

No.

"tricks(compass, strain)
Runs GIB's double-dummy engine (BRIDGE under Linux, BRIDGE.EXE
under Windows/NT or /98), which must be present on the path or in
the same directory as the Dealer executable (together with, on
Windows, SH.EXE and CYGWIN.DLL from Cygnus' free Cygwin package;
this latter is not necessary in Paul Baxter's version), to compute
the number of tricks that, at double-dummy par, will be taken by
the given declarer in the given strain (suit or notrumps)."

GIB's double-dummy engine would not be available in that environment.

[pescetom]

Gerardo, on 2023-February-27, 16:08, said:

No.

"tricks(compass, strain)
Runs GIB's double-dummy engine (BRIDGE under Linux, BRIDGE.EXE
under Windows/NT or /98), which must be present on the path or in
the same directory as the Dealer executable (together with, on
Windows, SH.EXE and CYGWIN.DLL from Cygnus' free Cygwin package;
this latter is not necessary in Paul Baxter's version), to compute
the number of tricks that, at double-dummy par, will be taken by
the given declarer in the given strain (suit or notrumps)."

GIB's double-dummy engine would not be available in that environment.

As I feared, thanks.

As an insider, can you not put pressure on BBO to restore this simple but vital feature which they apparently disabled simply to save on costs for a server without affronting the minimal difficulty of substituting that version of Dealer and adding Bridge.exe?

[mycroft]

1. not sure why it wouldn't work on WSL. It is "straight" ubuntu after all. Not saying it does - haven't tried it, don't need to - but I don't see what would be different against linux running natively or in a VM.

2. redeal on windows (linked in my first) includes a DDS DLL that works. I'm not sure it's compatible with dealer, but if not, Tk or Python are your friends.

[Gerardo]

pescetom, on 2023-February-27, 16:33, said:

As I feared, thanks.

As an insider, can you not put pressure on BBO to restore this simple but vital feature which they apparently disabled simply to save on costs for a server without affronting the minimal difficulty of substituting that version of Dealer and adding Bridge.exe?

"GIB's double-dummy engine would not be available in that environment."

The operative phrase there is double-dummy engine, not GIB.

A suitable double-dummy engine, libdds, IS available.

In a Debian based environment (Debian, Ubuntu, etc), including WSL:

git clone -b dds https://github.com/GerMalaz/dealer.git

then follow the instructions in the README.md file.
(they include patching and compiling code).

The resulting dealer will use DDS for the tricks() function, instead of the unavailable GIB.

The Windows environment can do similarly, with a suitable compiler and DDS installed.
(and a corresponsing code change, the true_dd function can probably call DDS in all environments).