[Arkryal]

I know I'm bumping an ancient thread, but my suggestion was too similar to warrant a new thread.

A basic script repository in an SQL database to function like apt-get or similar Linux functions. Another example would be the FireFox addons manager. Even SVN clients function similarly (though some minor obvious differences do exist).

How it would function in theory:
A central database is created where users can store their script submissions.
The script is uploaded as raw text, and the poster fills out some info on it:
• Script contents
• Description
• External script dependancies (non-standard additional scripts required)
• Compatible version of Run UO
• Required Client Version
• URL linking to the forum post.

From there, we have a basic repository other scripts can access or users can interact with directly. Other variables can be tracked as well.
• Popularity (number of manual downloads)
• Good / Bad (let shard admins vote if it was stable or buggy etc.)

A player could then use an in-game command
[list addon scripts
presents a gump listing most popular systems. User scrolls through the list, finds one they like, clicks
"Install" and the script contents variable is parsed and written into a repository script folder. Likewise,
any listed dependancies are searched for within the database and downloaded / installed at the
same time.

[update
checks all scripts in the local repository folder for new versions and rechecks compatibility. If a new
script is available, it is downloaded and installed.

Other functions would be possible as well. Bug tracking would be very easy under this system. If there is a crash and a repository script is logged as the source, that log, along with the server version and a list of other non-standard scripts, their versions, time/date, and crash log are uploaded back to the database. This would enable developers to track their scripts stability on various server and client versions, in many circumstances and with variable player bases and custom script arrangements.

I know this sounds like a ton of work, but it's really not. Setting up a central database on a reliable server (and possibly some mirrors) would be bulk of it. Syncing mirrors is a pain in the ass, I admit. Beyond that, it's just a few read/write methods and some custom Gumps and commands. A core-mod for bugtracking may be needed to catch a fault, but it could be done outside the core as well with some file procedures. This is the type of thing C# was designed for.

This would be a godsend for SVN development.