daemon@ucbvax.UUCP (08/05/84)
From MCGREW@RUTGERS.ARPA Sun Aug 5 11:21:02 1984
HUMAN-NETS Digest Sunday, 5 Aug 1984 Volume 7 : Issue 44
Today's Topics:
Administrivia - Silence is Golden?,
Queries - NEXIS, NEWSNET and XANADU &
Crackers/Hackers &
Computer Assisted Technical Documentation &
Algorithms Library,
Response to Query - Database of Algorithms,
Computers and People - Multi-Language Documents and Mail (2 msgs)
Chess - Request for Players
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Date: Sun 5 Aug 84 14:00:00-EDT
From: Charles <Mcgrew@RUTGERS.ARPA>
Subject: The Long Silence
Rutgers has been off the Arpanet (our connection was being changed)
and so there has unfortunately been a long delay in putting out a
digest. Anyone who has sent a message to be included in the digest in
the past two weeks (that isn't in this digest), please resend it.
Thanks,
Charles
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Date: Sat 21 Jul 84 10:10:37-EDT
From: Wayne McGuire <MDC.WAYNE%MIT-OZ@MIT-MC.ARPA>
Subject: NEXIS, NEWSNET & XANADU
Two questions:
1) I would like to know if anyone here has searched occasionally,
or searches regularly, NEXIS and/or NEWSNET (two commercial databases
which store the full text of many leading U.S. magazines and
newsletters). Has anyone found either database to be a particularly
useful source of information about developments in artificial
intelligence, WorldNet and related topics? Opinions, impressions,
evaluations, tips, gripes, etc. would be appreciated.
2) Would any of the Xanadu experts on the list describe for those
of us who are only superficially familiar with Ted Nelson's work what
the project is all about? What functions and powers would Xanadu/
Hypertext include that are not present in such currently operating
full-text databases as NEXIS and NEWSNET?
-- Wayne McGuire --
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Date: Tue, 31 Jul 84 19:40:15 cdt
From: David Wilson <wookie@rice.ARPA>
Could someone please explain the difference between a "hacker" and
a "cracker" as described in Vol 6, #68 for an ignorant undergrad?
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Date: Thursday, 2 August 1984 10:16:52 EDT
From: Purvis.Jackson@cmu-cs-cad.arpa
Subject: rhetorical software
I am interested in developing computer assisted writing tools for
producing technical documentation, and I would appreciate any info on
the topic of "Computer-Aided Invention" software. I am familiar with
Hugh Burns's approach, but I want to approach the problem from a
somewhat more task-oriented perspective. Also, is anyone out there in
netland familiar with the software marketed by PromptDoc of Denver?
If so, what are the strong and weak points of their package?
Replies to pmj@cmu-cs-cad.arpa
Thanks. --Purvis Jackson
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Date: Sat 28 Jul 84 21:37:46-PDT
From: Kenneth Brooks <BROOKS@SU-SCORE.ARPA>
Subject: database of algorithms
[Forwarded (with permission) from the Stanford bboard by Laws@SRI-AI.]
I have just come back inspired from Siggraph. At one of the panel
sessions there, Alan Kay showed a demo film of Sketchpad, the first
interactive computer graphics editor. It has a lot of really
excellent features, not seen in many graphics editing systems now
being written and sold. He commented, we ought to be standing on the
shoulders of others. We ought to be doing AT LEAST as well as systems
of the distant past.
Why don't we? Why do we keep on reinventing the wheel, in the process
neglecting to reinvent such amenities as the rubber tire? I can
answer for my own case: I have reimplemented many a standard textbook
algorithm, and have reinvented several algorithms that might have been
learned from a textbook, because I did not know where to look. Other
such programs may exist, yes - but buried how deep? How long might it
take to dig up the program from a thesis done in '72?
I think we could do something very effective about this problem: apply
some database technology and come up with an on-line database of
algorithms. What I would like to be able to do is come up and type in
a key phrase like "balanced 2-3 tree" or "b-tree" or "command parsing"
or "hidden surface". The database should then come up with one or
more headers, each of which could be delved into at will. Entries
might be of several forms:
1. The source of a program, or a module or fragment of a program, that
implements an algorithm for this purpose. The program should be
moderately well-commented, though it need not be extremely
general-purpose. I can translate programs; seeing a real
implementation with bugfixes for the nitty little bugs would be
immmensely valuable.
2. A pointer to a program on-line here or elsewhere. This is much
worse than direct retrieval, as it quite likely adds 24 hours or
more to the effective retrieval time; however, it is alot better
than nothing.
3. An exerpt from a standard text, discussing the topic and hopefully
presenting the algorithm in pseudocode. Where we can get the
author's permission, that would be great.
4. A reference to a standard text. Once again, slow retrieval
problem, the user probably cannot use this reference until tomorrow
when the library is open.
5. A pointer to a commercially available product that handles the
problem. Probably not useful in many cases, but in some it might
be.
If we had such a database with material for all the interesting
algorithms implemented at Stanford, it would be a treasure; if we
could get code from elsewhere as well, even better. If we could get
funded to provide this service to the CS community as a whole, in the
same way that MIT has provided MACSYMA as a service, it would be
really wonderful, and would well repay the funders (could we ever get
them to understand that?)
Any comments?
Kenneth
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Date: Sun 29 Jul 84 04:33:39-PDT
From: Ethan Bradford <BRADFORD@SU-SIERRA.ARPA>
Subject: CS: Database of algorithms.
[Forwarded from the Stanford bboard by Laws@SRI-AI.]
The ACM publishes a reference book (with periodic supplements) called
"The Collected Algorithms of the ACM", which has most of the
information you ask for, though it is on paper. It does not point to
net-available implementations of the algorithms, however, and on-line
lookup has many advantages. One problem with providing pointers to
implementations is protecting against sloppy code and Trojan horses.
-- Ethan
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Date: 20 July 1984 09:12-EDT
From: Robert Elton Maas <REM @ MIT-MC>
Subject: Sci.Am. article on multi-language computer-documents
To: TREITEL @ SUMEX-AIM
Neither. It's infeasible to do automatic translation or to develop a
new lingua franca (Latin, Esperanto and Interlingua all failed to
become a common business language), thus we must allow multiple
languages to exist in a single document so that the language of origin
can be used whatever it is but translations (by humans) can be added
later and the reader can always compare the original with the
translations to verify the translations are correct. At least that's
my interpretation/suggestion.
------------------------------
Date: 21 July 1984 05:40-EDT
From: "Marvin A. Sirbu, Jr." <SIRBU @ MIT-MC>
Subject: Multilingual text and electronic mail
The PTT's of the world have been working over the last 8 years to
develop a standard for an electronic mail system which would be able
to handle all the world's languages. Introduced about four years ago
beginning in Germany and Scandanavia was a system called Teletex or
"super telex". A key feature of Teletex is an alphabet with 256
characters which allows for all the diacritical marks (umlaut,
cedilla, etc) of ALL of the latin-based languages.
In revisions over the last four years, the standard has been expanded
to provide for negotiated character sets. This allows two terminals
to decide before file transfer that the incoming bytes are to be
interpreted as from an Arabic or Persian font as opposed to latin.
Extension to a two-byte font code even allows the terminals to
negotiate the use of Kanji (Japanese and Chinese ideograms).
See CCITT standard S.70.
Marvin Sirbu
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Date: 14 Jul 84 10:53-PDT
From: mclure @ Sri-Unix.arpa
Subject: Delphi Experiment: group play against 8-ply machine
[Please read the note at the end of this message before replying to
this message. Thanks. - Charles]
I would like to conduct a Delphi Experiment with this list. The
format of the experiment is as follows. All interested chess players
will vote for their choice of move in an on-going game between them
(the group) and the Fidelity Prestige which will be set to search a
minimum of 8-ply deep (like Belle and Cray Blitz). This Prestige has
the ECO opening modules (80,000 variations).
A move with the most number of votes will be chosen above others
and made in the current position. A couple days will be given for
gathering the votes. In the event of a tie between two or more moves,
the move will be selected randomly.
The resulting position will then be handed to Prestige 8-ply which
will conduct a brute-force search to at least 8-ply. Its move will be
reported (the search usually takes about 3-15 hours) to the players and
another move vote will be solicited. This process will continue until
the Prestige mates the group or the group mates the Prestige or a draw
is declared.
The moves, as they are made, will be reported to this list.
Please include the move number and the move in either Algebraic
or English notation.
>>>>>>>>> Prestige 8-ply will play White.
>>>>>>>>> Prestige 8-ply moves 1. e4 (P-K4)
BR BN BB BQ BK BB BN BR
BP BP BP BP BP BP BP BP
-- ** -- ** -- ** -- **
** -- ** -- ** -- ** --
-- ** -- ** WP ** -- **
** -- ** -- ** -- ** --
WP WP WP WP -- WP WP WP
WR WN WB WQ WK WB WN WR
Your move, please?
Replies to Arpanet: mclure@sri-unix or Usenet: sri-unix!mclure.
DO NOT SEND REPLIES TO THE ENTIRE LIST! Just send them to one of
the above addresses.
[Moderator's note: Due to the loss of our Arpanet connection, I have
not received several moves. Currently I beleive Stuart is up to move
5. I will have the most up-to-date move I can in the next digest.
-Charles]
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End of HUMAN-NETS Digest
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