ZCODE Patch
-----------

This pair of command-line programs is used to create and apply
patches between different versions of a given zcode file, in
particular those from Infocom.

zcdiff takes two zcode files and creates a patch file, with syntax:

$ zcdiff from.z5 to.z5 from-to.pat

zcpatch applies a patch with syntax:

$ zcpatch from-to.pat from.z5 to.z5

In both of the above, the first two files are required and the last
file is created.

zcpatch can also give information about a patch, with syntax:

$ zcpatch from-to.pat

Help for each program can be viewed by running it with no arguments.

INSTALLING
----------

WINDOWS
To ease distribution on Windows, a compiled binary copy is
included for Windows, in directory win32; simply copy these
executables to wherever you wish to use them, such as your folder
of patches.

UNIX-LIKE
For FreeBSD, Linux, and Mac systems, one may compile and install them
as follows:

Go to the zcode-patch directory and type:

$ make

To install, type (as root/superuser):

$ make install

DOWNLOADS
---------

ZCODE-Patch 2.3 can be downloaded from the
Interactive Fiction Archive:

http://www.ifarchive.org/if-archive/infocom/patches/zpat-2_3.zip

Patch files for several Infocom games can be found in the same
directory:

http://www.ifarchive.org/indexes/if-archiveXinfocomXpatches.html

DEVELOPMENT
-----------

ZCODE-Patch is in maintenance mode, and is not being actively developed:
it is feature-complete, appears to be bug-free, and builds on a
variety of platforms.

No future releases are planned, but may occur to fix bugs, build
problems, or other changes as necessary.

Patches are welcome; please announce and discuss on Usenet group
rec.arts.int-fiction, and feel free to upload an updated
distribution to the IF Archive at:
http://www.ifarchive.org/indexes/if-archiveXinfocomXpatches.html

Updated distributions should preferably include a patch file
between the new source code and the old source code, so that
one can go back to old versions if necessary.

If you'd like assistance with putting together an updated
distribution, feel free to contact the de facto maintainer:
Nils Barth <nils_barth AT post.harvard.edu>

CREDITS
-------

ZCODE-Patch was originally written by Paul Gilbert
(paulfgilbert AT gmail.com)

Other contributors include:
* Rodney Hester <rod3 AT mindspring.com> (bounces)
* Nils Barth <nils_barth AT post.harvard.edu>
* Mike Ciul <captainmikee AT yahoo.com>

These programs are Copyright (c) 1997/98 Paul Gilbert, with
modifications Copyright (c) 2000/2001 Rodney Hester and Nils Barth
and 2009 by Mike Ciul and Nils Barth.