[I7-2062] [Mantis 2099] Ambiguity of HER as object pronoun versus possessive pronoun causes errors

curiousdannii-testing commented 2 years ago

Reported by : DavidG

Description :

A longstanding bug dating at least as far back as version 6/3 concerns trouble with correctly distinguishing between HER as an object pronoun versus HER as a possessive pronoun. This was first brought to my attention with Balances.z5 by Graham Nelson (Release 5 / Serial number 961216 / Inform v6.10 Library 6/3). I was told that TAKE HER on the first move would trigger the bug. That was brought to me by someone who didn't fully understand the implications of the -i flag in Frotz. Then I got a report that a similar problem happens with the current Library codebase. This time it was TALK TO HER ABOUT STUFF.

With strict error checking turned on, the error message would be a nonfatal complaint of an "in" or "notin" test being done on something not an object. Without strict error checking, the error would be a fatal error about an attempt to access an illegal object.

Steps to reproduce :

Include "parser.h";
Include "verblib.h";

Object here "Here or anywhere"
   with description "You are somewhere.",
   has light;

Object ball "ball" here
   with name 'ball';

Object rock "rock" here
   with name 'rock';

[ Initialise;
    location = here;
];

Include "grammar.h";

Additional information :

Balances crash:

BALANCES
An Interactive Short Story
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 by Graham Nelson.
Release 5 / Serial number 961216 / Inform v6.10 Library 6/3
Standard interpreter 1.0

Ramshackle Hut
Until quite recently, someone lived here, you feel sure. Now the furniture is
matchwood and the windows are glassless. Outside, it is a warm, sunny day, and
grasslands extend to the low hills on the horizon.
Warning: @get_child called with object 0 (PC = ad67) (will ignore further
occurrences)

>take her
You can't see "her" (@Attempt to address illegal object -1. This is normally
fatal.
Fatal error: Illegal object
[Hit any key to exit.]

Newer report:

Release 1 / Serial number 190512 / Inform v6.33 Library v6.12.3pre S

Here or anywhere
You are somewhere.

You can see a ball and a rock here.

>ask her about stuff

[** Programming error: tried to test "in" or "notin" of **]

[** Programming error: tried to test "in" or "notin" of **]
I'm not sure what "her" refers to.

>

Same as previous, but compiled without strict checking (inform '-~S' test.inf).

Release 1 / Serial number 190512 / Inform v6.33 Library v6.12.3pre

Here or anywhere
You are somewhere.

You can see a ball and a rock here.

>ask her about stuff
@Attempt to address illegal object 7223. This is normally fatal.
Fatal error: Illegal object
[Hit any key to exit.]

imported from: [Mantis 2099] Ambiguity of HER as object pronoun versus possessive pronoun causes errors
status: Closed
resolution: Resolved
resolved: 2022-04-07T05:02:51+10:00
imported: 2022/01/10

curiousdannii-testing commented 2 years ago

557058:4c095ffd-6d6f-47ce-9e73-77c613347b86:

Comment by DavidG :
Curiously, Balances when compiled with 6.21 and 6/10 would not show this behavior.

BALANCES
An Interactive Short Story
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 by Graham Nelson.
Release 5 / Serial number 961216 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/10 D

Ramshackle Hut
Until quite recently, someone lived here, you feel sure. Now the furniture is
matchwood and the windows are glassless. Outside, it is a warm, sunny day, and
grasslands extend to the low hills on the horizon.

>take her
I'm not sure what "her" refers to.

>

BALANCES
An Interactive Short Story
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 by Graham Nelson.
Release 5 / Serial number 961216 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/10 D

Ramshackle Hut
Until quite recently, someone lived here, you feel sure. Now the furniture is
matchwood and the windows are glassless. Outside, it is a warm, sunny day, and
grasslands extend to the low hills on the horizon.

>ask her about stuff
I'm not sure what "her" refers to.

>

curiousdannii-testing commented 2 years ago

557058:4c095ffd-6d6f-47ce-9e73-77c613347b86:

Comment by DavidG :
First reported at https://intfiction.org/t/inform-6-12-lib-fatal-error/41261/

Cross-filed at https://gitlab.com/DavidGriffith/inform6lib/issues/65

curiousdannii-testing commented 2 years ago

557058:4c095ffd-6d6f-47ce-9e73-77c613347b86:

Comment by DavidG :
It seems that I have solved the problem with https://gitlab.com/DavidGriffith/inform6lib/commit/455bd379f234c0233e237b794c026dd14b500582, but the person who gave me the report about trouble with the current library tells me it's still happening. After a couple checks, I've confirmed this. Curiouser, the problem manifests on MacOS, but not Linux.

curiousdannii-testing commented 2 years ago

557058:4c095ffd-6d6f-47ce-9e73-77c613347b86:

Comment by DavidG :
The problem is now completely fixed.
See https://gitlab.com/DavidGriffith/inform6lib/commit/686ab9708cfc886ee166e1deef03f986a546deae

curiousdannii-testing / inform7-imported-bugs