UMBC ebiquity
Proceedings of the ACM National Conference (ACM'82)
Intelligent Assistance for Complex Systems
January 1, 1982
Complex systems are becoming more pervasive, yet in order for these systems to be used effectively, machine-based assistance is needed. With the advent of powerful personal systems, it is anticipated that experts in various disciplines will become increasingly dependent on computational environments, provided they are given a means of exploiting system capabilities. Traditional help systems have made use of canned text, which is presented in response to typing a “?” or “help”. Many integral help systems embed canned hints at appropriate places in the program. Help is commonly provided via a scheme for accessing text files. Help files may be indexed by names such as MAIL, EDIT, LOGIN. Indexing of files is sometimes extended by permitting the user to type a sequence of words, such as HELP MAIL READ to provide assistance on subcategories of a topic. Canned text can also be accessed hierarchically through the use of a menu system. Most traditional help systems use one of the techniques described to provide assistance.