Research and Development in Natural Language Understanding as Part of the Strategic Computing Program. Volume 2. IRUS-II User Manual. Revision

This user's manual for the Irus-II natural language system describes the capabilities of the different modes of the end user interface for Irus-II, including entering and editing queries the history list, control of processing, viewing of the intermediate results, window management and the use of files of queries. Irus-II, is part of a larger system called Janus, which is composed of a number of seamless interface utilities, including understanding (provided by Irus-II), generation (provided by Spokesman), maps, and other graphics tools. This is the second volume of a three volume final report. The different applications of IRUS require that the interface provide configurations for three different classes of users; (1) an end-user configuration that supports easy and flexible input, editing, and processing of typed or mouse-selected queries and commands; (2) developer configurations for natural language experts who are developing, testing, debugging, or updating IRUS; (3) pop up windows for query-response interactions that may be used in conjunction with other interfaces. The available IRUS interface configurations use the Symbolics Lisp Machine window system to provide multiple pane displays and mouse and keyboard input. The interface can be developed from the generic capabilities and illustrated below and tailored to the needs of a particular application. (Author) (kr) See also Volune 3, AD-A228 162.