Contractions

Definition from The Concise Oxford Dictionary:

contraction n. shrinking, contracting; shortening of word by the combination or elision; conracted form of word(s).

Apply this to MUD2 and contractions are combinations of abbreviations that can be used to make commonly used strings of commands easier to type. By typing contractions in-game you are provided with a list of useful but not all-inclusive examples of contractions:

Contractions of commands are as follows:

From above you can see that contractions are made up of abbreviations (see Abbreviations from the June 2001 issue) such as G for GET, D for DROP, K for KEY e.t.c. You'll also notice the use of F for FROM and X for EXCEPT. These are known as universal prepositions and excluding prepositions. (Feel like you're back at an English Language class at school yet?) MUDspeke explains universal prepositions as follows:

defn universal preposition

[universal preposition]
     NOUN In most MUA input sentences, prepositions are only 
present to separate the object and the instrument; they don't have any 
other function apart from this purely syntactic one. Therefore, players 
always tend to use the same preposition whatever the circumstances, normally 
choosing the one that is easiest to type. This is known as their universal 
preposition. In MUD2, it's normally f, although the parser does 
differentiate between prepositions ('get sand with coracle' and 'get sand from 
coracle' are two different commands) so it doesn't always work as planned. 
There is also an 'excluding preposition' in MUD2, which indicates that the 
instrument is to be excluded from the set of objects under 
consideration; this gives rise to the unwieldy term universal excluding 
preposition. See f, wi, x, b.

defn f

[f]
     (1) PREPOSITION The abbreviation for 'from', but used as the 
universal preposition by true addicts because it's shorter than 
wi. See g, x (sense 3). 


     (2) VERB/0/1 The abbreviation for the 'flee' command. Classic 
usage: 'f o' ('flee out').

defn wi

[wi]
     PREPOSITION An abbreviation for 'with'. Although true addicts 
prefer f, wi still enjoys the privilege of being the universal 
preposition for some players; a few traditionalists stick to it even 
though they know that f is shorter. Wi is used in conversation when 
f (read as 'from') would make less sense: "He hit me wi the LS a couple of 
times, but I was stacked with wafers so I wasn't worried". True addicts 
talking to one another may still use f even then, though.

defn x

[x]
     (1) VERB/0 Abbreviation for the 'exits' command. When 
newbies start using this in earnest, it's one of the signs they're hooked! 
     (2) PREPOSITION Abbreviation for 'except', an excluding 
preposition. See universal preposition. 
     (3) PREPOSITION The universal preposition used in BL. Any 
word will do, and although x isn't actually defined as a preposition, it's 
traditionally the one to use.

defn b

[b]
     PREPOSITION Abbreviation for 'but', used as the universal 
excluding preposition by many true addicts. 'G t b gfc' means you want to 
pick up all the treasure in your room except for the GFC. 

defn g

[g]
     (1) VERB/1/2 The abbreviation for the 'get' command in 
MUD. As with 'drop', there are related commands that use the same 
MUDDLE routines, namely 'steal' and 'remove'. G is the archetypal one-
letter verb, as in 'g t f z'. 
     (2) NOUN The abbreviation for 'goblin'. You can 'g t f 
g' if you like. Sometimes, specific goblins may be abbreviated by number, 
eg. "Watch out for G10, he's mean...". 

Basically, although f is the abbreviation for FROM,it is also used as the universal preposition for WITH and FROM. wi is the abbreviation for WITH, x is the abbreviation for EXCEPT, b is the abbreviation for BUT, an alternative to except and g is the abbreviation for GET. Use these combined together along with the objects, mobiles or players you are refering to and there you have contractions!

Of course it isn't as simple as that, mainly because the universal preposition f is an abbreviation for two things, from and with, which when used with the two same objects can do two very different things, although if there are two possible alternatives the game will assume that when you type f you mean FROM e.g.

You are carrying the following:
        the potty.
Weight carried: 1kg/100kg.
Objects carried: 1/12.
*get gravel with potty
You top up the potty from the gravel.
*i
You are carrying the following:
        the potty.
        The potty contains:
                gravel.
Weight carried: 2kg/100kg.
Objects carried: 1/12.
*g gravel from potty
The gravel trickles out of your grasp.
The gravel is swiftly lost in the greater mass of gravel.
*i
You are carrying the following:
        the potty.
Weight carried: 1kg/100kg.
Objects carried: 1/12.
*g gravel with potty
You top up the potty from the gravel.
*g gravel f potty
The gravel trickles out of your grasp.
The gravel is swiftly lost in the greater mass of gravel.
*i
You are carrying the following:
        the potty.
Weight carried: 1kg/100kg.
Objects carried: 1/12.
*g gravel f potty
There isn't gravel in the potty!

Contractions get further complicated by the use of or exclusion of spaces in the string of commands e.g.

You are wandering in a pleasant maze of hedges.
Dropped nearby is a tulip. A large-eyed, soft and cuddly teddy bear sits here.
*g t x teddy
Tulip taken.
*da
Tulip dropped.
*
*gtx teddy
Tulip taken.
*da
Tulip dropped.
*
*gt x teddy
Teddy taken.
Tulip taken.
*da
Teddy dropped.
Tulip dropped.
*
*gtxteddy
I don't know the word "gtxteddy".

• A command sentence must start with a VERB.
• The VERB must be followed by a NOUN.
• If the verb is not followed by a noun the parser attempts to make sense of the VERB on its own.

In each of the above examples this translates as follows:

1. G (verb) T (noun) X (preposition) TEDDY (noun).
2. GTX (verb) TEDDY (noun).
3. GT (verb) X (preposition) TEDDY (noun).
4. GTXTEDDY (verb)

• In example 1 the command sentence starts with a verb (g) and is followed by the noun (t), so the total sentence is parsed as indended.
  
• In example 2 the command sentence starts with a verb (gtx) and is followed by a noun (teddy), so the total sentence is parsed as indended.
  
• In example 3 the command sentence starts with a verb (gt) and is followed by a preposition (x), this doesn't follow the rule so the parser attempts to make sense of the verb - GT, which is in fact the contraction of GET TREASURE, and this is what happens, the player picked up all the treasure present, teddy included.
  
• In example 4 the command sentence starts with a verb (gtxteddy), it is followed by nothing. The parser attempts to make sense of the verb instead but gtxteddy is a garbage command to the player gets an error message.