diff --git a/doc/gf-faq.t2t b/doc/gf-faq.t2t new file mode 100644 index 000000000..016511cf0 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/gf-faq.t2t @@ -0,0 +1,91 @@ +Grammatical Framework: Frequently Asked Quuestions +Aarne Ranta +%%date(%c) + +% NOTE: this is a txt2tags file. +% Create an html file from this file using: +% txt2tags gf-bibliography.t2t + +%!style:../css/style.css +%!target:html +%!options(html): --toc +%!postproc(html): <meta name = "viewport" content = "width = device-width"><TITLE> +%!postproc(html): #BR <br> +%!encoding:utf-8 +%!postproc(html): <H1> <H1><a href="../"><IMG src="../doc/Logos/gf0.png"></a> + + +===What has been done with GF?=== + +**Translation**: systems with any number of parallel languages, with input in one language and output in all the others. + +**Natural language generation** (NLG): translation from a formal language to natural languages. + +**Ontology verbalization** is a special case of NLG. + +**Language training**: grammar and vocabulary training systems. + +**Human-computer interaction**: natural language interfaces, spoken dialogue systems. + +**Linguistics**: comparisons between languages. + + + +===What parts does GF have?=== + +A **grammar compiler**, used for compiling grammars to parsing, generation, and translation code. + +A **run-time system**, used for parsing, generation and translation. The run-time system is available in several languages: +Haskell, Java, C, C++, Javascript, and Python. The point with this is that you can include GF-based parsing and generation in +larger programs written in any of these languages. + +A **resource grammar library**, containing the morphology and basic syntax of currently 26 languages. + +A **web application toolkit**, containing server-side (Haskell) and client-side (Javascript) libraries. + +An **integrated development environment**, the GF-Eclipse plug-in. + +A **shell**, i.e. a command interpreter for testing and developing GF grammars. This is the program started by the command ``gf`` in a terminal. + + + +===Is GF open-source?=== + + +===Can I use GF for commercial applications?=== + +Yes. Those parts of GF that you will need to distribute - the run-time system and the libraries - are licensed under LGPL and BSD; it's up to you to choose which. + + + +===When was GF started?=== + + +===Where does the name GF come from?=== + +GF = Grammatical Framework = LF + concrete syntax + +LF = Logical Framework + +Logical Frameworks are implementations of type theory, which have been built since the 1980's to support formalized mathematics. GF has its roots in +type theory, which is widely used in the semantics of natural language. Some of these ideas were first implemented in ALF, Another Logical Framework, +in 1992; the book //Type-Theoretical Grammar// (by A. Ranta, OUP 1994) has a chapter and an appendix on this. The first implementations did not have +a parser, and GF proper, started in 1998, was an implementation of yet another LF together with concrete syntax supporting generation and parsing. +Grammatical Framework was a natural name for this. We tried to avoid it in the beginning, because it sounded pretentious in its generality. But the +name was just too natural to be avoided. + + + +===Is GF backward compatible?=== + + + +===Do I need Haskell to use GF?=== + +No. GF is a language of its own, and you don't need to know Haskell. And if you download the GF binary, you don't need any Haskell tools. But if you want to +become a GF developer, then it's better you install GF from the latest source, and then you need the GHC Haskell compiler to compile GF. But even then, you +don't need to know Haskell yourself. + + +===What is a lock field?=== +