BRDGHTM2 Information for Programmers

BRDGHTM2.DLL is available on a freeware/shareware basis. It is completely functional as freeware, but it will display a five-second self-advertisement when the DLL is loaded. The routine necessary to suppress the ad is supplied to programmers who register the DLL as shareware.

BRDGHTM2.DLL and the related gif files are distributed with Duper.

Creating HTML documents with BRDGHTM2 consists of these steps:

1. Add all the deals you want displayed to a queue, using the AddDeal routine.
2. Create the HTML document, which will show all deals in the queue, by calling either of the HTML-creation routines, HTMLCustom or HTMLDef. The only difference between these routines is that the 'custom' routine uses a large number of parameters to give the user more control over the resulting HTML document. The 'defaults' routine, HTMLDef, takes fewer parameters and uses many default values, all of which should be acceptable for purposes of American English. (British English speakers might prefer 'All' to 'Both' when describing vulnerability; if so, they should use HTMLCustom. Speakers of languages other than English will almost certainly want to use HTMLCustom.)
3. Clear the deal queue, using ClearDeals.

GIFs

The dimensions of the gifs are coded into the HTML documents created by BRDGHTM2.DLL, so if you use gifs other than the ones supplied with the DLL, you may have to do some editing of the HTML documents it creates.

While the DLL anticipates that users may want to use terms other than the English ones ('N','E','S','W'), board.gif does use those letters. Several non-English alternatives to board.gif are distributed with Duper. Any one of those alternative gifs may be used with the html code generated by BRDGHTM2 by the simple expedient of renaming it 'board.gif'.

If none of the supplied board gifs reflect the language you want to use, you can create your own. The gif you create should be 50 pixels by 50 pixels, the dimensions anticipated by the HTML documents created by the DLL. (Creating such a gif is a pretty simple operation. If you have trouble, let me know and I'll be happy to create one for your language myself.)

Routines and parameters

Important note:

All parameters passed to the routines must be passed using the Windows stdcall calling convention. Please consult your compiler documentation on this calling convention.

BRDGHTML2 exports five routines. They are AddDeal, ClearDeals, HTMLCustom, HTMLDef, and AbortAd. Each is described below.

AddDeal

• Function : Adds a deal to the queue.

• Syntax: AddDeal(Deal)

• Parameter:
  • Deal is a pointer to a null-terminated string. The string must be in PBN format (http://home.iae.nl/users/veugent/pbn.html), except that all PBN 'tags' passed to AddDeal must be passed as a single concatenated string. The Deal parameter must include the PBN Deal Tag. The PBN Board, Vulnerable, and Dealer Tags may optionally be concatenated with the Deal Tag. All tags must comply strictly with PBN standards, including, for example, the use of brackets.

ClearDeals

• Function: Clears the queue of all deals added by calls to AddDeal. ClearDeals must be called explicitly after the desired HTML documents have been created. Otherwise, the already added deals will be written to the next HTML document, along with any newly added deals, when the next call to HTMLCustom or HTMLDef is made.

• Syntax: ClearDeals

• Parameters
  • None.

HTMLCustom

• Function: HTMLCustom gives the programmer extensive control over the HTML document to be created. If your HTML documents will be in English, particularly American English, you can probably ignore this routine and use HTMLDef, which requires fewer parameters, instead.

• Syntax: HTMLCustom (FName, GIFDirectory, Header1, Header2, ASymbol, KSymbol, QSymbol, JSymbol, TSymbol, NoneTerm, BothTerm, DealerTerm, DealTerm, VulTerm, NorthTerm, EastTerm, SouthTerm, WestTerm, AutoNumberDeals, AutoDealerAndVul)

• Parameters
  • FName is a pointer to a null-terminated string for the filename of the HTML document that will be created. BRDGHTM2.DLL does no checking for the validity of the name, so validity should be tested by the calling program before the call.

  • GIFDirectory is a pointer to a null-terminated string giving the directory location of the gifs on the web site. If the gifs will be in the same directory as the html file itself, just pass a null string to GIFDirectory. Internally, BRDGHTM2 appends a '/' character to the end of any string (other than a null string) that does not have one, unless the string ends in a backslash ('\').

  • Header1 and Header2 are pointers to null-terminated strings that will appear as headers on the HTML document. Pass null strings if no headers are desired. In addition to showing these as headers, BRDGHTM2.DLL concatenates them to make a <TITLE> tag within the HTML <HEAD> tag.

  • ASymbol, KSymbol, QSymbol, JSymbol, and TSymbol are pointers to null-terminated strings representing how the symbols for the five honor cards are to be displayed.
    • Note that regardless of the symbols passed in HonorSymbols, the Deal Tag passed to AddDeal must use the English symbols required by PBN standards.

  • NoneTerm and BothTerm are pointers to null-terminated strings representing the terms to be used in describing vulnerability. A null string passed to NoneTerm will result in 'None' being used. A null string passed to BothTerm will result in 'Both' being used. (When the vulnerability is North-South or East-West, vulnerability designations will be based on NorthTerm, etc.)
    • Note that regardless of the strings passed to NoneTerm and BothTerm, the terms used in any tags passed to AddDeal must be the English terms required by PBN standards.

  • DealerTerm is a pointer to a null-terminated string representing the term to be used to identify the Dealer. A null string passed to DealerTerm will result in 'Dlr'.
    • Note that regardless of the string passed to DealerTerm, the term used in any tags passed to AddDeal must be the English term required by PBN standards.

  • DealTerm is a pointer to a null-terminated string representing the term to be used to identify each deal. A null string passed to DealTerm will result in 'Board'.
    • Note that regardless of the string passed to DealTerm, the term used in any tags passed to AddDeal must be the English term required by PBN standards.

  • VulTerm is a pointer to a null-terminated string representing the term to be used to represent the term for vulnerability. A null string passed to VulTerm will result in 'Vul'.
    • Note that regardless of the string passed to VulTerm, the term used in any tags passed to AddDeal must be the English term required by PBN standards.

  • NorthTerm, EastTerm, SouthTerm, and WestTerm are pointers to null-terminated strings indicating the compass positions. The code generated by BRDGHTM2 will look best if abbreviations (e.g., 'N','E','S','W'), rather than full terms, are passed to NorthTerm, etc. (String support is provided for any displayed language in which one-character abbreviations might be ambiguous.)
    • As noted above, these parameters will not affect the notations at the center diagram, because that is a gif. They are used only for designating the dealer and the vulnerability.

    • Note that regardless of the strings passed to NorthTerm, etc., the characters used in any tags passed to AddDeal must be the English characters required by PBN standards.

  • AutoNumberDeals is an 8-bit value indicating whether the deals should be numbered automatically (beginning with 1). 1 = yes; 0 = no. If autonumbering is used, any Board Tags that have been passed in the parameter to AddDeal will be ignored. If autonumbering is not used and no Board Tags are passed via AddDeal, then the deals will not be numbered.

  • AutoDealerAndVul is an 8-bit value indicating whether the dealer and vulnerability should be given according to the normal scheme for duplicate board numbering. 1 = yes; 0 = no. If this is set to yes, any Dealer Tags and Vulnerable Tags that have been passed in the parameter to AddDeal will be ignored. If this is set to no and no Dealer and Vulnerable Tags are passed via AddDeal, then there will be no indication of dealer and vulnerability.

HTMLDef

• Function: Creates HTML page with all deals in the queue, using many default values.

• Syntax: HTMLDef (FName, GIFDirectory, Header1, Header2, TenChar, AutoNumberDeals, AutoDealerAndVul)

• Parameters
  • TenChar is an 8-bit char character indicating the symbol to be used to represent tens. Pass '1' to have tens represented by '10'.
    • Note that regardless of what character is passed to TenChar, the character used in the Deal Tags passed to AddDeal must be 'T', the character required by PBN standards.

  • All other parameters: See the identically named parameters under HTMLCustom.

  • Note: Internally, HTMLDef calls HTMLCustom with the following parameters:
    • FName: FName
    • GIFDirectory: GIFDirectory
    • Header1: Header1
    • Header2: Header2
    • ASymbol: 'A'
    • KSymbol: 'K'
    • QSymbol: 'Q'
    • JSymbol: 'J'
    • TSymbol: TenChar, unless TenChar='1', in which case TSymbol will = '10'
    • NoneTerm: 'None'
    • BothTerm: 'Both'
    • DealerTerm: 'Dlr'
    • DealTerm: 'Board'
    • VulTerm: 'Vul'
    • NorthTerm: 'N'
    • EastTerm: 'E'
    • SouthTerm: 'S'
    • WestTerm: 'W'
    • AutoNumberDeals: AutoNumberDeals
    • AutoDealerAndVul: AutoDealerAndVul

AbortAd

• Function: suppresses the advertisement that appears when BRDGHTM2.DLL is loaded. It must be called immediately after loading.

• Syntax: The AbortAd parameters are supplied upon registration.

Registering BRDGHTM2.DLL

David Howorth
1420 South 10th Street
Oxford, Mississippi 38655

or send $25 via PayPal to howorthd@bellsouth.net.

In either case, please supply the following information:

• Name
• Address
• Email Address

The information necessary to suppress the BRDGHTM2 self-advertisement will be supplied by email.