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DC Decoder

What is the Dragon Code, you ask? Take a look at the official Dragon Code homepage. What is my Dragon Code Decoder, you ask? It is a program (or, rather, an engine), which decyphers both DC v2.x and v1.0 dragon codes. There are three versions available: a Windoze system tray version which watches the clipboard and automatically pops up the decoded DC when one is copied to the clipboard; a Windoze console version that runs in a DOS box; and a Linux console version. Please send any bugs/comments/suggestions to Also, if you use this program, please email me, just so I can get an idea of how many beings use it.
The source code is freely and openly available, and you are free to download it, poke at it, change it, and generally molest it, as long as I retain credit for what I did.
To see a sample of the decoder's output, given my own DC, go here.
In the near future, I may discontinue the development of my current DragonCode decoder, because I am currently developing what I call my eXperimental DCDecoder (XDCD for short), which relies on a more complex and fundamentally different approach to decoding the DC2, but an approach which should produce unprecedented results.

Downloads

Windows
Tray version executable | documentation | screenshot | source
Console version executable | screenshot | source
Linux

Support

To the best of my knowledge, my decoder supports all documented features of both the original dragon code and the DC2, except:
  • The weight (T) tag doesn't handle quoted properties quite as it should
  • The appendage (P) tag doesn't handle modifiers on quoted properties (is this a problem?)
  • Need a better word for w` in appendages tag (P)
  • Sometimes a space must follow the species tag in order to distinguish it from the next tag (eg Dw[H]Gm)
  • Many of the tags ignore quoted properties when they are obvious from the tags column
  • Custom properties on the original DC must be quoted ala the DC2
  • Experimental original DC tags are not supported
  • Some idiosyncracies with the skin-type none

Change log

dcd2.5-a
  • Made the versioning system sane. It is now composed of the DC version which is supports up to, followed by a letter indicating which release it is for that version of the code.
  • Added support for DC v2.5
dcd2.4-b (was V.851)
  • Minor bug fixed involving bracketed options and crashing (ie V[Ice] would see the capital I and think it a new tag and then crash because the bracket didn't close ];--8)
  • Now the Windows tray version won't take out the copying program and every other clipboard viewer in the system if it crashes
dcd2.4-a (was V.85)
  • Shapeshifter tags can now have {} characteristics (although the output format is not too friendly)
  • Added support for DC V2.4
dcd2.3-c (was V.82)
  • Window$ system tray version created
dcd2.3-b (was V.81)
  • First public release
  • Minor bug fixes over V.8
dcd2.3-a (was V.8)
  • Every saga has a beginning... And, actually, this version wasn't it.
  • But it might as well have been
  • Totally rewritten from the badly-coded barely-working original version of the DC2 decoder I wrote, only a few of the large data tables were kept.
  • Known to support DC V2.3 and the original DC, should support all V2.* up to and including 2.3
  • Why 0.8? Why not?

Created by and COPYRIGHT 2001 Amthrax Arlan
Made with claw, keyboard, and Emacs