tinymux/docs/inventory-tabular-notifies.md

Inventory: multi-column player-facing tables (Phase 1)

Epic: #1667
Design: design-tabular-notifies.md
Date: 2026-07-28
Scope: Player/staff notifies that look like tables (header + aligned columns). Not softcode #-1 output, not log lines, not debug printf to stdout.

Policy (unchanged): leave alone or do it right — no conversion in this inventory.

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Legend

Tag	Meaning
Blob header	One msgid/string with spacing baked into English (M_("… …") or same text via T_)
Label+fmt header	Header built from labels with %-N.Ns / field helpers (still dual: labels vs row math)
No header / freeform	Multi-field lines without a separate column header, or single-line “forms”
Cell primitive	How row cells are width-limited: PadField+StripTabsAndTruncate, co_copy_field / append_ljust_field, %-N.Ns printf, LeftJustify*
Dual	Engine + loadable module both implement (comsys/mail)

Translate? “No (blob)” = do not fill msgstr until Phase 4 conversion.
“Not yet / labels OK later” = header labels could become per-msgid when schema exists; still do not half-migrate.

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A. Dual path — comsys (highest NLS + parity priority)

A1. @clist/full — full channel directory

	Engine	Module
File	modules/engine/comsys.cpp do_listchannels	modules/comsys/comsys_mod.cpp ChanListFull
Header	Converted (#1667 Phase 4) — "*** " + per-label Channel / Header / Owner / Access / freeform Users Msgs	Same via T_() labels
Cell primitive	mux_table_* on co_copy_field	mux_table_* (aliases)
Columns	PLS/*** (4) · name 13 · header 15 · owner 15 · access 6 (JXR+pad) · freeform counts	Same
Translate?	Per-label — do not reintroduce the full-line blob	Same
Dual	Yes — both paths converted together

A2. @clist / @clist/headers — short channel directory

	Engine	Module
File	comsys.cpp do_chanlist	comsys_mod.cpp ChanList
Header	Converted (#1667 Phase 4) — "*** " + M_("Channel") / M_("Owner") / M_("Header"|"Description") via mux_table_append_ljust	Same construction with T_() labels
Cell primitive	mux_table_* on co_copy_field	mux_table_* (via module aliases)
Columns	PLS/*** (4) · name 13 · owner 15 · third 45 · pad to 79	Same
Translate?	Per-label Channel, Owner, Header, Description — do not reintroduce a pre-spaced blob	Same
Dual	Yes — both paths converted together

A3. comlist — player’s channel aliases

	Engine	Module
File	comsys.cpp (~3029)	comsys_mod.cpp ComList
Header	Converted (#1667 Phase 4) — Alias / Channel / freeform Status Title via mux_table_*	Same
Cell primitive	mux_table_* + freeform status trail	Same
Columns	alias 15 · channel 18 · status/title freeform	Same
Translate?	Per-label Alias, Channel, Status, Title	Same
Dual	Yes — both paths converted together

A4. @cwho — who is on a channel

	Engine	Module
File	comsys.cpp do_channelwho	comsys_mod.cpp ChanWho
Header	Converted (#1667 Phase 4) — M_("Name") / Status / Player via mux_table_*	Same with T_()
Cell primitive	mux_table_* + strip_color(unparse_object)	mux_table_* + UnparseObject + strip_color
Columns	name 29 · status 6 · player 6	Same
Translate?	Per-label Name, Status, Player	Same
Dual	Yes — both paths converted together

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B. Dual path — mail

B1. Mail alias list (player-visible)

	Engine	Module
File	mail.cpp do_malias_list_all	mail_mod.cpp do_malias_list_all
Header	Converted (#1667 Phase 4) — Name / Description / Owner via mux_table_*	Same
Cell primitive	mux_table_*	Same
Columns	name 12 · description 40 · owner 15	Same
Translate?	Per-label	Same
Dual	Yes — both paths converted together

B2. Mail alias admin list

	Engine	Module
File	mail.cpp do_malias_adminlist	mail_mod.cpp do_malias_adminlist
Header	Converted (#1667 Phase 4) — Num / Name / Description / Owner	Same
Cell primitive	mux_table_*	Same
Columns	num 4 · name 12 · description 40 · owner 15	Same
Translate?	Per-label	Same
Dual	Yes — both paths converted together

B3. Mail folder / review list lines

	Engine	Module
File	mail.cpp list/review paths	mail_mod.cpp list helpers
Header	Folder banner MAIL_LINE / dash lines — not a column schema header	Similar banners
Rows	Converted (#1667 Phase 4 B3) — format_mail_list_line_sub / _at: From 16 display cols via mux_table_append_ljust; Sub trunc 25 via mux_table_append_trunc; At freeform time + Conn	Same (format_mail_list_line / format_mail_list_line_at)
Shape	Single-line semi-table; labels stay English format fragments until a form-layout pass	Same
Translate?	Labels still in C format chrome (From:, Sub:, At:) — not per-label pot entries yet
Dual	Yes — both paths converted together

B4. Mail read / detail block

Multi-line forms (From:, At:, Fldr:, To:, Subject:) with width on moniker/time fields. Form layout, not a columnar directory. Track under epic for completeness; lower priority than A/B blob grids.

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C. Engine-only staff / diagnostic tables

These are player-visible (wizard/staff) but not dual comsys/mail. Still subject to the blob rule if translated.

C1. @list guests

File	mguests.cpp CGuests::ListAll
Header	Converted (#1667 Phase 4) — per-label Guest / # / Name / dbref / Status / Last Site
Rows	mux_table_* (num 3, name 15, dbref 5, status 10)
Translate?	Per-label
Dual	No

C2. Site access (@list site / subnet list)

File	src/net.cpp mux_subnets::listinfo
Header	Converted — Address (50) + Status freeform
Rows	mux_table_append_ljust address 50 + freeform control
Translate?	Per-label
Dual	No

C3. @list hashstat (abbreviated)

File	command.cpp list_hashstats
Header	Converted — Name (13) + Entries (11); old full-stat blob dropped (it never matched the rows)
Rows	name 13 + right-just entries 11 via RightJustifyNumber
Translate?	Per-label
Dual	No

C4. Buffer pool stats

File	lib/alloc.cpp list_bufstats
Header	Converted — Buffer Stats / Size / InUse / Total / Allocs / Lost
Rows	name 12 ljust + numeric fields right-just via RightJustifyNumber
Translate?	Per-label
Dual	No

C5. @list ref / reference list

File	predicates.cpp
Header	Converted (#1667 Phase 4) — Reference / Target / Owner via mux_table_*
Rows	name 12 · target 20 · owner 20
Translate?	Per-label
Dual	No

C6. User-defined function list (@list ufun / FN_LIST)

File	functions.cpp
Header	Converted — Function Name / DBref# / Attribute / Flgs
Rows	name 28 · dbref 8 · attr 30 · flags freeform
Translate?	Per-label
Dual	No

C7. @hook list command/attr columns

File	command.cpp hook_loop / list
Header	Converted — Built-in Command
Rows	command 32 (or tag + 30) + | + mask freeform
Dual	No

C8. Activity report (do_report day bins)

File	walkdb.cpp
Header	Converted — separate Day / Hours / Players / Total labels
Rows	unchanged numeric mux_sprintf layout
Translate?	Per-label
Dual	No

C9. Reality levels (list_rlevels)

File	command.cpp list_rlevels (REALITY_LVLS)
Header	per-row labels Level / Value / Desc via mux_table_*
Rows	name 20 + hex value + freeform desc
Dual	No
Status	Converted (#1667 Phase 4)

C9b. (historical note)

File	was mis-cited as ~4189; actual rlevel list is under REALITY_LVLS
Shape	Level: %-20.20s Value: 0x%08x Desc: %s — labeled freeform row, no multi-col header blob
Dual	No

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D. Out of inventory scope (recorded so they are not forgotten)

Item	Why out
Softcode function return tables	Not notify grids; #-1 ABI
Log tinyprintf columns	I18N_LOG / operators
DBT / HIR / harness printf	Developer stdout
Single-line banners (***** End of Mail Aliases *****, --- Site Access ---)	Not multi-column alignment
Help text files	Separate content localization

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E. Pot / catalogue summary (pre-spaced multi-word headers)

From mux/po/tinymux.pot at inventory time (grep for multi-space column-like msgids):

msgid	Family
Buffer Stats Size InUse Total Allocs Lost	C4 — removed Phase 4
*** Channel Header Owner Access Users Msgs	A1 — removed Phase 4 (per-label)
Alias Channel Status Title	A3 — removed Phase 4 (per-label)
*** Channel Owner Header	A2 — removed Phase 4 (per-label)
*** Channel Owner Description	A2 — removed Phase 4 (per-label)
Name Description Owner	B1 — removed Phase 4
Num Name Description Owner	B2 — removed Phase 4
*Guest # : Name dbref Status Last Site	C1 — removed Phase 4
Day Hours Players Total	C8 — removed Phase 4
Address Status	C2 — removed Phase 4
Hash Stats Size Num Del Lookups…	C3 — removed Phase 4 (header now matches rows)

Translator rule: leave all of the above msgstr "" until that family is converted under #1667 Phase 4.

Module-side duplicates that use only T_() may be missing from pot while still English-only blobs at runtime — conversion should mark headers with M_() per label, not re-introduce blobs into pot.

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F. Cell-primitive map (as of inventory)

Primitive	Used by
PadField + StripTabsAndTruncate	Engine comsys @clist*
append_ljust_field / co_copy_field	Module comsys + mail (many columns)
%-N.Ns / tprintf	Engine comlist, cwho, mail aliases, ufun list, hooks, refs
LeftJustifyString / RightJustifyNumber	Buffer stats, hashstat abbreviated rows
trimmed_name + STT	Mail list/review monikers

Phase 3 API should sit on co_copy_field (design doc); migration of engine PadField tables is part of “do it right,” not a separate partial.

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G. Suggested conversion order (when Phase 2–4 unblocked)

Order optimizes dual-parity pain × NLS risk × player visibility:

1. A2 @clist / headers — dual, high visibility, blob
2. A1 @clist/full — dual, more columns
3. A3 comlist — dual blob
4. A4 @cwho — dual; labels already separable
5. B1–B2 mail aliases — dual blob
6. C1, C2, C4, C8, C3 staff tables — engine-only blobs
7. B3 mail list lines — done; B4 multi-line forms — later

Do not convert only the module or only the engine for A/B. Phase 2: both sides of a dual family convert in the same change via the libmux layout API. Product default may still be the built-in until #1614 directives land.

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H. Gaps / follow-ups for a later inventory refresh

• Full mail list/read format matrix (every raw_notify width in mail.cpp / mail_mod.cpp).
• Any module-only tables outside comsys/mail.
• Confirm which T_ blob headers are extracted (or not) by xgettext keywords.
• Re-measure after any large comsys/mail rewrite.

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I. Phase 1 exit criteria

• Dual comsys tables A1–A4 listed with engine/module primitives and widths
• Dual mail alias tables B1–B2 listed
• Known pot blob headers catalogued
• Staff engine-only tables C1–C9 sampled
• Explicit non-goals (D)
• Conversion order proposal (G) without starting conversion

Phase 2 (done in design doc §4): product ownership follows #1614 (modules become 2.14 default; built-ins fallback until directives). Layout ownership is libmux so dual paths and engine-only staff tables share one API. See design-tabular-notifies.md §4.

Phase 3–5: layout API in libmux; columnar families converted; NLS guard bans new pre-spaced multi-column header msgids (tests/nls/check_nls.py).

Remaining outside this epic’s grid scope: B4 mail multi-line read/detail forms.