www.delorie.com/gnu/docs/gnugo/gnugo_141.html

search

	Buy GNU books!

GNU Go Documentation

12.1 Overview

Several pattern databases are in the patterns directory. This chapter primarily discusses the patterns in `patterns.db', `patterns2.db', and the pattern files `hoshi.db' etc. which are compiled from the SGF files `hoshi.sgf' (see section 12.16 The Joseki Compiler). There is no essential difference between these files, except that the ones in `patterns.db' and `patterns2.db' are hand written. They are concatenated before being compiled by mkpat into `patterns.c'. The purpose of the separate file `patterns2.db' is that it is handy to move patterns into a new directory in the course of organizing them. The patterns in `patterns.db' are more disorganized, and are slowly being moved to `patterns2.db'.

During the execution of genmove(), the patterns are matched in `shapes.c' in order to find move reasons.

The same basic pattern format is used by `attack.db', `defense.db', `conn.db', `apats.db' and `dpats.db'. However these patterns are used for different purposes. These databases are discussed in other parts of this documentation. The patterns in `eyes.db' are entirely different and are documented elsewhere (see section 11. Eyes and Half Eyes).

The patterns described in the databases are ascii representations, of the form:

Pattern EB112

?X?.? jump under O.*oo O.... o.... ----- :8,ed,NULL

Here `O' marks a friendly stone, `X' marks an enemy stone, `.' marks an empty vertex, `*' marks O's next move, `o' marks a square either containing `O' or empty but not `X'. (The symbol `x', which does not appear in this pattern, means `X' or `.'.) Finally `?' Indicates a location where we don't care what is there, except that it cannot be off the edge of the board.

The line of `-''s along the bottom in this example is the edge of the board itself--this is an edge pattern. Corners can also be indicated. Elements are not generated for `?' markers, but they are not completely ignored - see below. The line beginning `:' describes various attributes of the pattern, such as its symmetry and its class. Optionally, a function called a "helper" can be provided to assist the matcher in deciding whether to accept move. Most patterns do not require a helper, and this field is filled with NULL.

The matcher in `matchpat.c' searches the board for places where this layout appears on the board, and the callback function shapes_callback() in `shapes.c' registers the appropriate move reasons.

After the pattern, there is some supplementary information in the format:

:trfno, classification, [values], helper_function

Here trfno represents the number of transformations of the pattern to consider, usually `8' (no symmetry, for historical reasons), or one of `|', `\', `/', `-', `+', `X', where the line represents the axis of symmetry. (E.g. `|' means symmetrical about a vertical axis.)

The above pattern could equally well be written on the left edge:

|oOO? |...X |..*? |..o. |..o? :8,ed,NULL

The program mkpat is capable of parsing patterns written this way, or for that matter, on the top or right edges, or in any of the four corners. As a matter of convention all the edge patterns in `patterns.db' are written on the bottom edge or in the lower left corners. In the `patterns/' directory there is a program called transpat which can rotate or otherwise transpose patterns. This program is not built by default--if you think you need it, make transpat in the `patterns/' directory and consult the usage remarks at the beginning of `patterns/transpat.c'.