REL: a Rapidly Extensible Language System II. REL English

Abstract

REL, a Rapidly Extensible Language System, is an integrated information system operating in conversational interaction with the computer. It is intended for work with large or small data bases by means of highly individualized languages. The architecture of REL is based on theoretical assumptions about human information dynamics [I], among them the expanding process of conceptualization in working with data, and the idiosyncratic language use of the individual workers. The result of these assumptions is a system which allows the construction of highly individualized languages which are closely knit with the structure of the data and which can be rapidly extended and augmented with new concepts and structures through a facile definitional capability. The REL language processor is designed to accommodate a variety of languages whose structural characteristics may be considerably divergent. The REL English is one of the languages within the REL system. It is intended to facilitate sophisticated work with computers without the need for mastering programming languages. The structural power of REL English matches the extremely flexible organization of data in ring forms. Extensions of the basic REL English language can be achieved either through defining new concepts and structures in terms of the existing ones or through addition of new rules.

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