HawkNL Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Copyright 2001-2002 Phil Frisbie
Updated 24 July 2002

1. Why should I use HawkNL (NL low level) instead of Berkeley Sockets
or Winsock?

HawkNL provides a compatibility layer between your app and sockets. You
don't need to worry about the differences between them, so your network
code will be cleaner. Also, as HawkNL is ported to other platforms,
your network code will already work on those additional platforms.

2. Can I use NL_RELIABLE and NL_UNRELIABLE sockets fully interchangeably?

No, but version 1.2 and higher support NL_RELIABLE_PACKETS which are like
UDP packets over a TCP stream. NL will take care of sending and receiving
complete packets so you don't need to change your code at all to switch
over to reliable TCP connections. Note that the packet size has been
limited to 16384 bytes to conserve memory.

3. When will NLU (or HawkVoice) be ready for my game?

NLU is a very ambitious project for one person, so it will take some
time. Also, the API is being 'engineered' as it takes shape, and that
takes extra time too. And, of course, it be MUCH faster if I had help
<hint><hint>.

4. The name OpenNL was much cooler, why did you change the name to
HawkNL?

OK, the brief details: Loki Games choose the name OpenNL for a DirectPlay
clone. They had already purchased all the OpenNL domains (.com, .net, and .org)
before I made my announcement here on hawksoft.com. Scott Dreaker of Loki
pushed his weight around and promised me some inside work with OpenNL,
but it turned out to be just a ploy to get me to give up the OpenNL name.
Maybe more details later...

5. Why don't you support (name your OS)?

I run Windows for my main development (Windows NT 4.0 and Win9x), and
Unix/Linux was very easy to add, but I need volunteers to port to other
OSs and platforms. The good news is that HawkVoice and NLU are written
in 100% ANSI C. So HawkNL is the only part that will take much work.

6. Where is the 'select' function. I don't want to use threads or a
polling loop?

Version 1.3 adds nlPollGroup, which internally uses select() to check
the read or write status of all sockets in the group. It returns an
array of sockets that are ready to read or write.


Last, but not least... How can I help?

You can try out the sample apps, and report any problems. You can look
at the source code and provide 'constructive' criticism , suggestions,
or better yet, code showing your ideas. You can use the code, and let
me know so I can link to your site, and of course, you should link to
mine ;)