Mudlib

A mudlib, short for mud library, is a library of code forming part of the technical infrastructure of a MUD.^[1][2] Though different varieties of MUD may be considered to have mudlibs,^[3] the term is most often used with LPMuds. In an LPMud, the mudlib consists of interpreted code written in the LPC language, which is interpreted on the fly by a driver. The driver acts as a virtual machine while the mudlib acts as an operating system by defining how the world acts and controlling its processes.^[4]

Publicly available LPC mudlibs include:

• CDlib
• Dead Souls
• Lima
• Sapidlib, also known at one time as the LPUniversity Mudlib
• Nightmare
• TMI

An example of a non-LPC MUD with a clearly identifiable mudlib is MUME, a DikuMUD that implements global support code in its language Mudlle.

References

1. Bartle, Richard (2003). Designing Virtual Worlds. New Riders. p. 43. ISBN 0-13-101816-7. Above this layer is what (for historical reasons) is known as the mudlib⁵⁸. [...] ⁵⁸For "mud library". MUD1 had a mudlib, but it was an adaptation of the BCPL input/output library and therefore was at a lower level than today's mudlibs. The modern usage of the term was coined independently by LPMUD.
2. Busey, Andrew (1995). Secrets of the MUD Wizards. SAMS Publishing. p. 239. ISBN 0-672-30723-5. MUDLib is short for MUD library. [...] Files within a MUDLib are akin to books on the shelves of a library.
3. Bartle, Richard (2003). Designing Virtual Worlds. New Riders. p. 45. ISBN 0-13-101816-7. Everything that is hard-coded constitutes the engine. For MUSHes and MOOs, the engine is just the driver; [...] for DikuMUDs it's the driver, the mudlib, and the world definition.
4. Bartle, Richard (2003). Designing Virtual Worlds. New Riders. p. 43. ISBN 0-13-101816-7. The mudlib defines the physics of a virtual world, which will include things such as mass/weight, timers, movement and communication, along with higher concepts such as (in a game context) magic and combat mechanisms.