zz: User semantics for dimensions / sug'd guidelines

[Ted Nelson <ted@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Mark-Jason--

>If the existing contents system is going to work at all, users must be
>able to provide their own semantics for dimensions.  

Definitely!

My intention (and I'm way behind) has been to provide
 about sixteen predefined dimensions, and suggested guidelines
 for how to extend.

I also intend to produce a "Director's Cut" system of
 integrated software around this model, but I can't say when.
 Obstacles and obligations keep erupting.

>It should be easy
>to provide a kitful of common semantics that can be assembled together
>to make more complicated semantics.  An example of an item in the Kit:
>You should be able to say that a certain dimension is symmetric, which
>means that the meaning of the positive and the negative directions are
>the same.

Interesting point.  Except users might want to add some
 meaning to the direction of a dimension whose general
 meaning is predefined without direction.  

Hope to get out a semantics document Real Soon Now.

Best, Ted


At 08:36 PM 10/25/98 -0500, you wrote:
>
>I wanted to use d.contents and d.inside to manage contents lists for
>nodes.  But using `x' and `y' every time was a pain; I needed to press
>them three times each to avance from d.1 to d.inside and from d.2 to
>d.contents.  So I added a new command to do it automatically, and I
>added a new action node to the action menu to invoke the command.
>
>The command is a perl function, `view_inside()'.  It accepts on
>argument, which is a cursor/window number.  It then sets the X
>direction in that window to `d.inside' and the Y direction to
>`d.contents'.  I did not include a key binding for this function.
>
>I can't make up my mind whether the existing inside/contents system is
>a good idea or not.  Over the last couple of days I've made a lot of
>notes about how contents lists can be managed, trying to get to the
>bottom of this.
>
>The general thrust of the notes is this: Dimensions need to have
>semantics associated with them.  For example, if B is linked posward
>from A in the d.contents dimension, B is deemed to be contained in A.
>If the existing contents system is going to work at all, users must be
>able to provide their own semantics for dimensions.  It should be easy
>to provide a kitful of common semantics that can be assembled together
>to make more complicated semantics.  An example of an item in the Kit:
>You should be able to say that a certain dimension is symmetric, which
>means that the meaning of the positive and the negative directions are
>the same.
>
>I'll write these notes up when I get a chance because I'm really
>curious what Ted thinks about it; perhaps I'm not seeing the Big
>Picture.
>
>Here's the patch:
>
>--- zigzag.054	Sun Oct 25 02:57:14 1998
>+++ zigzag.view_inside	Sun Oct 25 19:59:25 1998
>@@ -25,9 +25,15 @@
> # ===================== Change Log
> #
> # Inital zigzag implementation
>-# $Id: zigzag,v 0.54 1998/10/08 03:56:21 xanni Exp $
>+# $Id: zigzag,v 0.56 1998/10/25 18:47:15 mjd Exp $
> #
> # $Log: zigzag,v $
>+# Revision 0.54.0.1  1998/10/25 18:47:15  mjd
>+# Implement new function, `view_inside'.
>+# Argument: Window/cursor number.
>+# Effect:  Adjust X and Y directions in specified window to `d.inside'
>+# and `d.contents', respectively.
>+#
> # Revision 0.54  1998/10/08 03:56:21  xanni
> # Incorporate Gossamer's changes, fix $TEMP_FILE problem
> #
>@@ -205,7 +211,7 @@
>   return (
>     0 =>        "Home",
>       "0-d.1" =>	99,
>-      "0+d.2" =>	30,
>+      "0+d.2" =>	32,
>       "0+d.cursor" =>	11,
>     1 =>        "d.1",
>       "1-d.1" =>	10,
>@@ -270,8 +276,11 @@
>       "20-d.1" =>	19,
>    30 =>        "#Edit\natcursor_edit(1);",
>       "30+d.1" =>	35,
>-      "30-d.2" =>	0,
>+      "30-d.2" =>	32,
>       "30+d.2" =>	40,
>+   32 =>        "#Containment\n#MJD 1998 10 25\nview_inside(1);",
>+      "32+d.2" =>       30,
>+      "32-d.2" =>        0,
>    35 =>        "#Clone\natcursor_clone(1);",
>       "35-d.1" =>	30,
>    40 =>        "#L-ins\natcursor_insert(1, 'L');",
>@@ -1654,6 +1663,36 @@
>   }
> 
>   $ZZ{$curs} = substr($ZZ{$curs}, 0, 1) . $ZZ{$ZZ{"$index+d.2"}};
>+  $Window_Dirty[$number] = $TRUE;
>+}
>+
>+sub view_inside($) 
>+# Rotate dimensions of given cursor so that X=d.inside and Y=d.contents
>+# 1998 08 25 MJD (M-J. Dominus) mjd@xxxxxxxxx
>+{
>+  my $number = @_;
>+  my $curs = &get_cursor($number);
>+  my $dimension1 = $ZZ{"$CURSOR_HOME+d.1"}; # Dimension list is +d.1 from
Cursor home
>+  my $d;
>+  my ($inside, $contents);
>+  my $pass = 0;  # Prevent infinite loop on dimension list by counting
passes
>+  for ($d = $dimension1; !($inside && $contents) && $pass < 2; $d =
$ZZ{"$d+d.2"}) {
>+    $pass++ if $d == $dimension1;
>+    if ($ZZ{$d} eq 'd.inside') {
>+      $inside = $d;
>+    } elsif ($ZZ{$d} eq 'd.contents') {
>+      $contents = $d;
>+    }
>+  }
>+
>+  # Check here for $inside and $contents?
>+  # Abort if either is undefined.
>+
>+  my $curs_x = $ZZ{"$curs+d.1"};
>+  my $curs_y = $ZZ{"$curs_x+d.1"};
>+
>+  $ZZ{$curs_x} = '+' . $ZZ{$inside};
>+  $ZZ{$curs_y} = '+' . $ZZ{$contents};
>   $Window_Dirty[$number] = $TRUE;
> }
> 
>
>
>
____________________________________________________
Theodor Holm Nelson, Visiting Professor of Environmental Information
 Keio University, Shonan Fujisawa Campus, Fujisawa, Japan
 Home Fax from USA: 011-81-466-46-7368  (If in Japan, 0466-46-7368)
Professorial home page http://www.sfc.keio.ac.jp/~ted/ 
_____________________________________________________
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 Tel. 415/ 331-4422, fax 415/332-0136  
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PERMANENT E-MAIL: ted@xxxxxxxxxx
_____________________________________________________
Quotation of the day, 98.10.20:
"Paranoia is the belief in a hidden order behind the visible." 
-- Anonymous.  (From http://www.pithemovie.com)