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Unlike many other wikis, such as Wikipedia, the VDC, as a site focused on programming in relation to certain games and engines, can benefit greatly from automatic gathering and formatting of much of the data that these engines use. Automation can also greatly help with tasks such as applying and updating templates across pages, for example updating pages using the old template {{Lang}} to use it's new counterpart {{MultiPage}}.

This article delves into the realm of automation, exploring the usage of scripts and bots in streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency across the VDC.

A script for generation entity lists from fgd file

Scripts

Scripts are fundamental to automation, enabling the automation of repetitive tasks and the execution of complex operations. This section will detail the types of scripts used in automation, their applications, and the programming languages most commonly employed for scripting.

Note:While AI can be used for some automation, it still often makes errors and needs specific prompts. Regular scripts are still recommended for most tasks.

The following scripts provide utility for task automation:

Entity Lists

Creating lists of entities is not difficult task; in fact, it is rather straightforward.

Warning:This script is useless if the format for the FGD file in the game is modified, for example in games using Strata Source. This script works with standard FGD files for all vanilla Source branches.

Note:These scripts utilize a combination of Bash scripting and Unix/Linux command-line tools, such as grep, sed, and awk

Issues

Bug:Sometimes the script adds entities to the wrong section (with a different prefix)

Bug:Sometimes unnecessary spaces may be added

For Source FGD's

The Script^[1]

• Uses grep -i '^\(@solidclass\|@pointclass\|@NPCClass\)' "$1" to filter lines from the input file that start with @solidclass, @pointclass, or @NPCClass.

• Creates sections based on the prefixes extracted from the processed lines. It uses an associative array declare -A seen to keep track of prefixes that have already been processed. This ensures that each prefix corresponds to a single section.

• Uses *{{ent|$result}} to format the processed lines as wiki entries.

• The section headers are formatted as ===%s_*=== where %s is replaced with the prefix. For example, if the prefix is foo, the section header will be ===foo_*===. Each processed line is then added under the appropriate section.

• Handles unincluded lines by appending them to a separate "Unincluded" section at the end of the output file. This ensures that all lines are accounted for, even if they don't fit the criteria for the other sections.

Usage

Source-FGD-Ent-List-VDC-2.sh <input> <output>

Pages created using this script

• List of Fistful of Frags entities
• List of Heart of Evil: Source entities
• List of Grey entities
• List of Wilson Chronicles entities

For GoldSrc FGD's

The Script^[2]

• The logic is the same as the Source script
  • Uses grep -i '^\(@solidclass\|@pointclass\)' "$1" to filter lines from the input file that start with @solidclass, @pointclass, or @NPCClass.
  • Uses *{{ent|$result_(GoldSrc)|alt=$result}} to format the processed lines as wiki entries.

Usage

GoldSrc-FGD-Ent-List-VDC-2.sh <input> <output>

Pages created using this script

• List of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero Deleted Scenes entities
• List of James Bond 007: Nightfire entities
• List of Paranoia entities
• List of Cry of Fear entities

Bots

Bots are automated software agents designed to perform repetitive or time-consuming tasks, often in response to certain triggers or conditions.
This is a table of bots that currently exist on this site.

Bot	Operator	Framework	Purpose	Status
VDCBot	Valve	N/A	A range of automated cleanup assignments.	Active (intermittently)
PIPEbot	Mailmanmicky	Pywikibot	N/A	Inactive , likely to never become active
WisdomBot	Wisdurm	DotNetWikiBot	Updating pages using {{lang}} to use {{multipage}}, as well as other possible tasks when it becomes functional again.	Possibly active , functionality under question
Thunder4ik	Noug4at	AutoWikiBrowser Pywikibot	Updating deprecated templates, optimizing pages, categorization & adding templates. See more at it's user page.	Active (intermittently)
PeeBot	Pee	DotNetWikiBot	Fixing redirects, updating templates, helping with template creation and possibly more.	Inactive , seemingly due to lack of motivation by owner to operate it

First community bot

WisdomBot marks the inaugural creation of an automated bot within the VDC, realized by Wisdurm. Despite the existence of PIPEbot prior to this, there is no evidence to suggest that it operated autonomously or performed any specific functions^[3]. As of current time, the bot has made a number of edits, including significantly replacing the outdated {{entity}} and its derivatives with {{this is a}} on pages featuring it,^[4] as well as having begun the process of moving pages using {{lang}} to use {{multipage}}. The bot has recently had problems with editing due to an apparent block of some kind, although this now appears to have been lifted.

See also

• Help:Page Creation (Basics)
•  Bots (Wikipedia)
•  ChatGPT (Wikipedia)
• Bot operators in the VDC (Category)
• Bot accounts on the VDC (Category)

External links

• Bot (Wikimedia)
• Bot policy (Wikimedia)
• Bots (Mediawiki)

References

References
1. "FGD to Entity List" for Source Engine (GitHub Gist) 2. "FGD to Entity List" for GoldSrc Engine (GitHub Gist) 3. PIPEbot, lack of auto-contributions 4. WisdomBot, list of auto-contributions