The Design of Interpreters, Compilers, and Editors for Augmented Transition Networks

The Planes Interpreter and Compiler for Augmented Transition Network Grammars

This chapter discusses the design and implementation of the ATN interpreter and compiler used in the PLANES system ([Walt75], [Walt76] and [Walt78]). This system, developed at the University of Illinois in the mid 1970’s, is an interactive question-answering system which answers questions concerning a large database of aircraft maintenance information. The intended scope of the PLANES system is to answer such questions as:

  • How many Skyhawks required engine repairs in 1973?
  • Did any of these log more than 200 hours in March?
  • Show me the tail numbers of planes which were NOR during May.
  • What kinds of aircraft are in the data base?
The processing of a user’s request is divided into three main phases: parsing, interpretation, and evaluation (see figure 1 — The PLANES System).


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Springer

Leonard Bolc

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-82122-6_1

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