[alicebot-archcomm] Posix Standards

[Jon Baer]

I don't get why you need the tags @ all ... the only real reason you are using a
<system> tag to begin with is because ALICE is an interface/application and
nothing native, it's using the underlying resources of what it is running on.
BTW, running Cygwin on Win32 is not really a problem, in fact it's beautiful.
If you use a "standard pattern" like:

<pattern>SYS _</pattern>
<template>
    <system><star/></system>
</template>

Technically you *could* do it all legit and write ur own low-level C
libraries/executables that AIML could work with, but then u are better off just
redistributing the GNU apps aren't you?

What I think may be better off is extending <set>,<get>, to a <write>,<read>
area that is more defined and having a complete abstract "storage" architecture
for something as small as a single property to something larger like even a log
entry and gossip.

I don't really think as a "conversational" project that I'd be interested in
most of the items in Posix ...

And who the hell knows what Microsoft is ever up to, after read this:
http://news.com.com/2009-1017-857509.html you can see why.  I know its a matter
of time before they announce that they have come up with an NLP solution so
similar to ALICE and everyone will claim it as a breakthrough.

<snip>
We're going to have to redo the Windows shell; we're going to have to redo
Office, and
                    Outlook particularly, to take advantage" of the new data
store, Microsoft CEO Steve
                    Ballmer said in a recent interview with CNET News.com.
"We're working hard on it. It's
                    tough stuff."

                    Tough indeed. The development of the new file system
technology is so difficult that
                    Microsoft may have to market two distinctly different
product lines while it completes
                    the work--a move Ballmer concedes would be a huge step
backward in the company's
                    long-sought plan to unify its operating systems with Windows
XP and Windows .Net
                    Server, which has been delayed until year's end.
</snip>

- Jon

"Dr. Richard S. Wallace" wrote:

> It has become apparent to several of us that the extensibility of AIML with
> <system> and <javascript> present several problems, not least of which is
> portability between various implementations and platforms.
>
> Linux succeeded in part because the developers coded an existing standard,
> the Posix operating system standard.
>
> I would think that we could "inherit" a lot of nice work in operating
> systems interfaces, is we also chose to follow the Posix standard.
>
> Some examples of stuff in the standard:
>
> F = open() : open a file
> close(F) : close it
> read(F) : low-level read
> write(F, data) : low level write
> stat(F) : return 0 is the file F exists, 1 otherwise.
> pid : returns process id.
> tmpnam : Generate unique temporary file name
> kill(p) : Send signal to process p.
>
> also more stuff dealing with multiple processes, network sockets, and
> waiting for I/O interrupts.
>
> Our <system> tag is already quite close to the Posix system(3)
> specification.  I intentionally trying to resist the urge to make up any new
> XML syntax for Posix concepts.  Maybe someone has done this already?  If
> not, we could consider making up tags like <tmpnam/>, <kill pid="10"/> or
> even the Unix <select>.  In any case, I'd like to keep the converation for
> now focused on whether or not adopting Posix standards for AIML is a good
> idea, not what the tag syntax will be.
>
> Our <gossip> tag might be defined as:
> <category>
> <pattern>GOSSIP *</pattern>
> <template>
> <set var="filename">gossip.txt</set>
> <set var="F"><open mode="a"><get var="filename"/></open></set>
> <write var="F"><star/></write>
> <close>F</close>
> </template>
> </category>
>
> One minor drawback to the Posix standard: Microsoft does not comply.  But we
> would probably not need the entire standard, and the parts we do need are
> likely to have equivalent functions in the world of Microsoft.
>
> Dr. Rich
>
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