Экспертная система Kappa / README

Copyright (c)1991, IntelliCorp, Inc.

The following are final notes regarding version 1.2 that could not be included in the version 1.2 Update Manual:

1. Renaming system-defined functions
2. About Transcript Image Scrollbars
3. Limits on entering data in the KAL Interpreter
4. Object Browser fails to show connecting lines
5. Object Browser does not scroll to newly-created object location
6. Recursive Chaining should not be used
7. If-Needed methods add their attached slots to the agenda
8. Only one KAPPA-PC can be launched at once
9. Clarification of Integer? and Number? return values
10. New DBControl function for multiple servers
11. Limit on number of open editors
12. Dialog boxes and starting new applications
13. Limits on the Format Field in Images
14. Failed DDE communications with Excel

1. Renaming system-defined functions:

You cannot redefine system-defined functions; an error will be generated if
you attempt to do so.

If you have an application built in a previous version of KAPPA-PC that
redefines system functions, load your .kal file into an ascii editor and
search and replace all system-defined functions.


2. About Transcript Image Scrollbars

It is recommended that Transcript images be used with the Scrollbar slot set
to ON, particularly in situations where more than a single page of text will
be displayed in the image. In previous versions of KAPPA-PC, the _only_
option for this slot was AUTO; the current default is to have them set to
AUTO, but the option to set them ON or OFF is available. Performance of
Transcript Images with the Scrollbars turned to ON or OFF is substantially
improved over Transcript Images with their Scrollbars set to AUTO.


3. Limits on entering data in the KAL Interpreter:

The maximum number of characters that can be processed through the KAL
Interpreter's clipboard is about 6,500. Lines of text pasted into the
current KAL prompt count towards this limit. Use the Clear Window option
from the Edit menu to set the character count back to zero.


4. Object Browser fails to show connecting lines:

When both the parent node and a given child node lie outside the borders of
the Object Browser, no line will be drawn to represent their connection. In
large object hierarchies, it can appear that you are viewing the "lowest
branch" of a tree when in fact there are more objects to be seen by scrolling
downward in the Object Browser.


5. Object Browser does not scroll to newly-created object location:

Creating a new object will place the new object beneath all other
previously-created objects at the same level in the Object Browser display.
If there are more objects at that level than fit in the current Object
Browser display, this object will not be immediately visible. Scroll
downward to view the new object.


6. Recursive Chaining should not be used:

While KAPPA-PC does support 'mixed' chaining (calling BackwardChain from
within a call to ForwardChain), it does not support calls to BackwardChain
from within BackwardChain. While ForwardChain can be called from within
ForwardChain, stack space may be quickly exhausted if the chaining strategy
does not terminate itself.


7. If-Needed methods add their attached slots to the agenda:

A slot with an If Needed method attached to it will be placed on the agenda
twice during rule chaining if the slot's value is NULL when a rule
referencing the slot is considered. The If Needed method will be fired twice
as a result.


8. Only one KAPPA-PC can be launched at once:

Double-clicking on the KAPPA-PC icon does not launch a new KAPPA-PC if
KAPPA-PC is already running. (You can, however, launch the Runtime version
concurrently with the Development version of KAPPA-PC.)


9. Clarification of Integer? and Number? return values:

The KAL functions Integer? and Number? currently return NULL when passed NULL
as an argument, not FALSE, as documented in the Reference Manual.


10. New DBControl function for multiple servers:

Syntax: DBControl (controlNum, controlVal);

The value of both arguments must be determined from the TechGnosis
documentation based on which server you are connected to. Returns TRUE if
successful, ERROR otherwise. Please refer to "Control" in the TechGnosis
documentation for further information.


11. Limit on number of open editors

Windows Free System Resources limits the number of KAPPA-PC windows that can
be opened at one time. As each KAPPA-PC Editor Window uses between 3-5% of
the remaining Free System Resources in order to display, you should not open
more than 15 or 20 KAPPA-PC Editor Windows at a time.

Periodically check the "About Program Manager..." choice from your Program
Manager's Help menu item. When Windows Free System Resources drops below 5%,
incorrect windowing behavior may result.

Other items which make significant use of these resources are: Windows
Program Group windows (including the icons), KAPPA-PC Session windows, and
KAPPA-PC images. Since KAPPA-PC releases System Resources which it no longer
uses, closing the editors, for example, will free up such resources for
subsequent use.


12. Dialog boxes and starting new applications

All exposed dialog boxes, such as AskValue windows, error messages, Session
window attribute editors, and so on, must be responded to before attempting
to New, Open, or Exit an application from the KAPPA File menu.


13. Limits on the Format Field in Images

The Meter, Slider, and LinePlot images have Format fields in their
classes. This field is used like a 'C' printf format field to control
the number of digits displayed or set the number of places past the
decimal point. Any format combination which will cause output of
more than 100 characters might cause the system to crash. To be on the
safe side, no format larger than %50.50f is recommended (in most cases,
you should not need to approach even half this limit. Remember that
you are limited to 16 significant digits for numeric values by your PC).


14. Failed DDE communications with Excel

When initiating DDE communications with Excel from KAPPA-PC, you may
get a message indicating that communication with Excel could not be
established. The win.ini "options" variable for Excel must be set to
a value greater than 64 if remote communications are to be enabled for
Excel. KAPPA-PC may on occasion cause this variable to be changed to
a value 64 or lower upon initiating communications. In this event,
you can either edit your win.ini file and change the "options=" line
to a value 65 or greater for Excel, or you can directly adjust this
value from Excel's Options menu. Find the Workspace option on this
menu and ensure that the "Ignore Remote Requests" checkbox is not
checked.