At Last an ISO C Binding of GKS

The C⁴ bindings of GKS1 and other semantic computer graphics standards like GKS–3D² and PHIGS³ are long overdue. While GKS was completed in 1985 and GKS–3D² (and PHIGS³) became an international standard in 1988, none of their C bindings could be standardized, for the simple reason that the C language itself was not a standard. Instead, a host of de facto GKS/C bindings⁹ appeared.
This paper will give the flavour of the ISO C binding^5,6 of GKS; the main features will be outlined.
1983 CR Categories: D.3.0,I.3.0,I.3.4.     

Subtitled interaction: complementary support as an alternative to localization

Many computer users face problems in their interaction as a result of the native language employed by the application. The language of the application is often at variance with the native language of its users. This issue is frequently addressed through localization. In turn, localization generates a range of new problems. We propose an alternative to localization that is analogous to cinematic subtitles. This has the potential to reduce the user interaction defects that otherwise arise with localization whilst benefiting users through an additional channel of information in their own language. This paper outlines a prototype implementation and describes our initial evaluation of this approach. We suggest that our complementary ‘subtitles’ promise consistent support for all applications in the user's computing environment and yield a system that is expandable and much easier to maintain than pre-localized software.     

A natural language interpreter for plate girder design

One of the major problems in developing computeraided design software is the establishment of effective man-machine communication. This paper describes a computer-aided plate girder design software package and its man-machine interface using natural language processing techniques. The natural language interpreter takes advantage of the user's communication and technical skills and accepts commands in the user's native language. The user can verify the correct interpretation of the commands from the responsive graphic display of the design.     

A Method for the Representation, Evaluation and Display of CSG Models in PHIGS and PHIGS+

The Programmer's Hierarchical Interactive Graphics System (PHIGS) is about to become a standard graphics system ^† which caters for the definition, display and modification of two and three-dimensional graphical data.
PHIGS , however, is mainly a wireframe system, and the PHIGS⁺ , extensions to it have been put forward to allow the incorporation of shaded 3D graphics into PHIGS. ,
One area that is important to a large constituency and which has so far not been considered in PHIGS , and PHIGS⁺ , is that of solid modelling. This paper addresses one aspect of solid modelling by describing a simple method for the representation, evaluation and display of Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG) models in PHIGS , and PHIGS⁺. .     

Computer supported collaborative writing in an early learning classroom

Abstract This paper describes a collaborative experiment in an early learners' classroom, equipped with special software and hardware to support the acquisition of initial reading and writing skills. This 'Computer-integrated Classroom' originated from the EU project NIMIS. Here, a new method to teach 'reading through writing' is supported by a specific software tool (T³) in the general framework of the classroom environment. Particularly, a collaborative writing task facilitated by a shared workspace system has been evaluated with a group of first graders using the T³ application. The speciality of this experiment lies in the study of domain-specific collaboration in a rich real world learning setting.     

Empirical Derivation of a Sequence of User Stereotypes for Language Learning

The work described here pertains to ICICLE, an intelligent tutoring system for which we have designed a user model to supply data for intelligent natural language parse disambiguation. This model attempts to capture the user's mastery of various grammatical units and thus can be used to predict the grammar rules he or she is most likely using when producing language. Because ICICLE's user modeling component must infer the user's language mastery on the basis of limited writing samples, it makes use of an inferencing mechanism that will require knowledge of stereotypic acquisition sequences in the user population. We discuss in this paper the methodology of how we have applied an empirical investigation into user performance in order to derive the sequence of stereotypes that forms the basis of our modeling component's reasoning capabilities.     

Supporting the programmer of a rule based language

Abstract: In this paper we take up the plight of the programmer of a rule based language. Our focus is on the type of development environment that is most supportive of such programmers. Our view will be that programming is programming, whether it be with a rule based, functional or imperative language. While it is true that rule based languages have strong links to the Expert Systems field, our discussion in this paper has less to do with 'expert systems' per se ¹ , and more to do with the view of rule based languages as yet another computational paradigm, often included under the same roof with non-rule-based languages. Just as programming environment research has progressed for non-rule-based languages, we would like to build more powerful environments in the rule based world as well. We report here on an attempt to build such an environment. ²     

COMPLEXITY RESULTS FOR SAS+ PLANNING

We have previously reported a number of tractable planning problems defined in the SAS⁺ formalism. This article complements these results by providing a complete map over the complexity of SAS⁺ planning under all combinations of the previously considered restrictions. We analyze the complexity of both finding a minimal plan and finding any plan. In contrast to other complexity surveys of planning, we study not only the complexity of the decision problems but also the complexity of the generation problems. We prove that the SAS⁺-PUS problem is the maximal tractable problem under the restrictions we have considered if we want to generate minimal plans. If we are satisfied with any plan, then we can generalize further to the SAS⁺-US problem, which we prove to be the maximal tractable problem in this case.     

A visual query language for graphical interaction withschema-intensive databases

This paper presents a visual query language called VQL for interacting with an object-oriented schema-intensive data model. VQL allows convenient access to the various types of knowledge captured by the semantic model. It consists of a set of “graphical primitives” along with a combination grammar for creating graphical queries. The visual language is internally supported by a prolog-like predicate based query language. The formal grammar underlying the predicate based language is also presented. Apart from being able to create simple queries that can be specified in SQL or QBE, VQL can be used for making queries on any object-oriented data model including the generalization of the E-R model. VQL also handles complicated, indirect queries, specially those that require a reasoning system for query interpretation and response generation. Further, recursive queries on graph structures such as finding transitive closures of graphs may be easily specified. Perhaps the most powerful feature of VQL is its ability to provide high semantic expressibility (in being able to specify highly complex queries) while maintaining simplicity in the user's query formulation process. VQL is embedded in an object-oriented graphical database interaction environment that supports schema creation and manipulation in addition to database querying and updation. The prototype has been implemented in Smalltalk-80 running on a Sun 3/60 workstation. All the illustrations of visual interaction presented are taken from actual interaction sessions     

Relational-grammar-based generation in the JETS Japanese-English machine translation system

This paper describes the design and function of the English generation phase in JETS, a minimal transfer, Japanese-English machine translation system that is based on the linguistic framework of relational grammar. To facilitate the development of relational grammar generators, we have built a generator shell that provides a high-level relational grammar rule-writing language and is independent of both the natural language and the application. The implemented English generator (called GENIE) maps abstract canonical structures, representing the basic predicate-argument structures of sentences, into well-formed English sentences via a two-stage plan-and-execute design. The modularity inherent in the plan-and-execute design permits the development of a very general and stable deterministic execution grammar. Another major feature of the GENIE generator is that it iscategory-driven, i.e., planning rules and execution rules are distributed over a part-of-speech hierarchy (down to individual lexical items) and are invoked via an inheritance mechanism only if appropriate for the category being processed. Categorydriven processing facilitates the handling of exceptions. The use of a syntactic planner and category-driven processing together provide a great deal of flexibility without sacrificing determinism in the generation process.     

Graphics, Bifurcation, Order and Chaos

Chaos theory involves the study of how complicated behaviour can arise in systems which are based on simple rules, and how minute changes in the input of a system can lead to large differences in the output. In this paper, bifurcation maps of the education X_t+1=αλX_t [1+X_t] ^-β, where α= 1 or α=e^-Xi, are presented, and they reveal a visually striking and intricate class of patterns ranging from stable points, to a bifurcating hierarchy of stable cycles, to apparently random fluctuations. The computer-based system presented is special in its primary focus on the fast characterization of simple "chacs equation" data using an interactive graphics system with a variety of controlling parameters.     

数据增广策略在英语语法纠错中的应用综述

近年来,将语法错误纠正当作机器翻译任务在英语语法纠错领域取得重大进展,对于数据驱动的自然语言处理方法,大规模、高质量的标注语料成为翻译等相关任务最重要的资源.在调查中,主要关注英语语法纠错领域的数据集和数据增广方法.全面地概括了英语语法纠错领域使用的数据集、数据合成、评价方法及应用现状,并对其进行归纳分析;对今后如何提...     

Parsing of edNLC-graph grammars for scene analysis

An edNLC-graph grammar, introduced by Janssens,⁽⁴⁾ is a strong formalism for generating scene representations. This grammar generates directed node- and edge-labelled graphs, EDG-graphs. A method of construction of unambiguous string EDG-graph representation is briefly described. The characteristics of edNLC-graph grammar for syntactic pattern recognition allows us to construct the parsing algorithm. The deterministic top-down syntax analyzer is constructed for the subfamily of an edNLC-graph grammar, called an ETL/1-graph grammar. An ETL/1-graph grammar is parallel to a finite state string grammar. The notions introduced in the paper are useful for researches in less restricted edNLC-graph grammars, for example grammars analogical to context-free string grammars.     

基于单句表示的篇章事件可信度识别方法

事件可信度表示文本中事件的真实状况,描述了事件是否是一个事实,或是一种可能还是不可能的情形,是自然语言处理中一个重要的语义任务。目前,大多数关于事件可信度分析的方法都集中在句子级,很少涉及篇章级。该文基于卷积神经网络,结合篇章中的句子级特征(包括句子的语义、语法以及线索词特征表示),使用对抗训练来识别篇章可信度。在中英文数据集上的结果显示,该文方法与最新的实验结果相比,微平均F₁值分别提高了3.51%和6.02%,宏平均F₁值分别提升了4.63%和9.97%。同时,该方法在训练速度上也提高了4倍。     

Parametric Surfaces in PHIGS PLUS: a New Chance for Patterning and Hatching?

The Polygon Fill style PATTERN and HATCH, which are quite successful in 2D graphics standards as GKS¹ and CGI² have proved to be less suitable for 3D graphics standards as GKS-3D³ and PHIGS⁴. However, the emerging standard PHIGS PLUS⁵ offers a unique chance to successfully employ these Interior Styles (under another name and in a slightly different form), because PHIGS PLUS supports a.o. topologically rectangular parametric surfaces In this article it is shown how these Interior Styles could be efficiently applied to curved surfaces in PHIGS PLUS. In addition, the possible interaction between the tessellation method and the patterning is shown.     

Adopting a musical intelligence and e-Learning approach to improve the English language pronunciation of Chinese students

This study investigates the use of musical intelligence to improve the English pronunciation of Chinese third level students. It is relevant for a human-centred systems engineering approach to cross-cultural interaction. Language learning is important as valid communication can help interactions and cultural understanding between countries, this also may benefit international stability. There are natural barriers between the English and Chinese language which are reflected in teaching approaches. The teaching of English in Chinese classrooms is removed from real-world English learning environments. The academic environments and approaches focus on the learning of grammar, spelling and writing with little real-life conversation and interaction with native English speakers. English language learning in China is from a more academic perspective rather than practical utilisation. Correct pronunciation and accent is therefore diminished. This study demonstrates that a musical intelligence e-Learning approach can benefit Chinese English language students.     

The potential of Swetra — A multilanguage MT system

One may indicate the potentials of an MT system by stating what text genres it can process, e.g., weather reports and technical manuals. This approach is practical, but misleading, unless domain knowledge is highly integrated in the system. Another way to indicate which fragments of language the system can process is to state its grammatical potentials, or more formally, which languages the grammars of the system can generate. This approach is more technical and less understandable to the layman (customer), but it is less misleading, since it stresses the point that the fragments which can be translated by the grammars of a system need not necessarily coincide exactly with any particular genre. Generally, the syntactic and lexical rules of an MT system allow it to translate many sentences other than those belonging to a certain genre. On the other hand it probably cannot translate all the sentences of a particular genre. Swetra is a multilanguage MT system defined by the potentials of a formal grammar (standard referent grammar) and not by reference to a genre. Successful translation of sentences can be guaranteed if they are within a specified syntactic format based on a specified lexicon. The paper discusses the consequences of this approach (Grammatically Restricted Machine Translation, GRMT) and describes the limits set by a standard choice of grammatical rules for sentences and clauses, noun phrases, verb phrases, sentence adverbials, etc. Such rules have been set up for English, Swedish and Russian, mainly on the basis of familiarity (frequency) and computer efficiency, but restricting the grammar and making it suitable for several languages poses many problems for optimization. Sample texts — newspaper reports — illustrate the type of text that can be translated with reasonable success among Russian, English and Swedish.     

Java heap protection for debugging native methods

Java virtual machine (JVM) crashes are often due to an invalid memory reference to the JVM heap. Before the bug that caused the invalid reference can be fixed, its location must be identified. It can be in either the JVM implementation or the native library written in C invoked from Java applications. To help system engineers identify the location, we implemented a feature using page protection that prevents threads executing native methods from referring to the JVM heap. This feature protects the JVM heap during native method execution; if the heap is referred to invalidly, it interrupts the execution by generating a page-fault exception. It then reports the location where the exception was generated. The runtime overhead for using this feature depends on the frequency of native method calls because the protection is switched on each time a native method is called. We evaluated the runtime overhead by running the SPECjvm98, SPECjbb2000, VolanoMark, and JFCMark benchmark suites on a PC with two Intel Xeon^® 1.6 GHz processors. The performance loss was less than 2% for the benchmark items that do not call native methods so frequently (10⁴ times per second) and 5%–20% for the benchmark items that do (10⁴–10⁵ times per second). The worst performance loss was 54%, which was recorded for a benchmark item that calls native methods 2.0×10⁶ times per second.