-*- Mode: Text -*- POWERLOOM 2.0 INSTALLATION GUIDE Copyright (C) USC Information Sciences Institute, 1997-2001 See the file `COPYRIGHT' for detailed copyright information. GENERAL INFORMATION PowerLoom is the successor to the Loom knowledge representation system. It provides a language and environment for constructing intelligent applications. PowerLoom uses a fully expressive, logic-based representation language (a variant of KIF), and it uses a natural-deduction-style backward and forward chainer as its inference engine. The inference engine is not a complete first-order theorem prover, but it can handle complex implication rules, negation, equality reasoning, subsumption, and restricted forms of higher order reasoning. PowerLoom has a classifier that is able to classify descriptions expressed in full first order predicate calculus. PowerLoom uses modules as a structuring device for knowledge bases, and ultra-lightweight worlds to support hypothetical reasoning. POWERLOOM 2.0 PRE-RELEASE This is a pre-release of PowerLoom 2.0. Its purpose is to give prospective users a chance to try out PowerLoom 2.0 before the official release becomes available. The main things remaining to be done for the final release are consolidating the API, packaging up the OntoSaurus browser, better integrating the XML support, completing the implementation of default reasoning, tying up various loose ends, fixing a variety of bugs, and providing better documentation. Some of these issues are very close to being done, others might take longer to be fully resolved. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS To try out the Java version of PowerLoom you need Java 2 Standard Edition version 1.2 (aka JDK 1.2) or higher installed on your computer. We've successfully installed this version under SunOS 5.6, Linux Redhat 7.0, Windows 98, Windows NT, and Mac OS X. On other systems your milage may vary. To try out the Lisp version of PowerLoom you need a full ANSI Common Lisp installed on your computer. We've successfully installed this version using Allegro CL 5.0 under SunOS 5.6 and Linux Redhat 7.0, CMU Common Lisp 18c under Linux Redhat 7.0, and with Mac Common-Lisp 4.2 and higher. While we haven't tried this recently, using Allegro CL 5.0 on a Windows platform should also work without too much trouble. Again, using other Lisp systems or platforms your milage may vary. INSTALLATION JAVA INSTALLATION First copy the PowerLoom release to a directory of your choice and then unpack it by running jar xvf powerloom-M.N.P.S.jar (substitute the proper version numbers for M.N.P.S). This will create a directory `powerloom-M.N.P.S' that contains the actual `powerloom.jar' file plus some additional support files. LISP INSTALLATION First copy the PowerLoom release to a directory of your choice and then unpack it by running % gunzip -qc powerloom-M.N.P.S.tar.gz | tar xvf - (substitute the proper version numbers for M.N.P.S). This will create a directory `powerloom-M.N.P.S' that contains the Lisp version of PowerLoom plus some additional support files. Then startup Lisp and load the file (load "load-powerloom.lisp") The first time around this will compile all Lisp files before they are loaded. During subsequent sessions the compiled files will be loaded right away. RUNNING POWERLOOM RUNNING POWERLOOM IN JAVA To run PowerLoom, run a shell or terminal window in the directory `powerloom-M.N.P.S' into which you un-jarred this pre-release and execute the following command (currently, PowerLoom has only a command line interface but no GUI): java -jar powerloom.jar If you run it from a different directory, PowerLoom will still run, but it won't be able to automatically find various example files. After PowerLoom has been initialized and you see the `|=' prompt, type (demo) which will give you a list of PowerLoom demo files to choose from. Most of these demo files are heavily annotated and are currently the only form of PowerLoom documentation we have. To step through a demo file, simply hit `enter' after each pause prompt. You should go at least through the first five demo files in sequence to get a good overview of basic PowerLoom concepts. If you are running PowerLoom in a different directory than the one you installed it in, it won't find these demo files. However, you can still run the individual demos by supplying the demo filename explicitly. For example, to demo the file PL:sources;logic;demos;basics.ste and PowerLoom is installed in, say, /usr/local/powerloom-2.0.0.alpha-, you would run the demo as (demo "/usr/local/powerloom-2.0.0.alpha-/sources/logic/demos/basics.ste") Once you've familiarized yourself with PowerLoom, you can start to define your own knowledge bases either by typing in at the PowerLoom prompt, or by generating files that you can then load into PowerLoom with the `load' command. RUNNING POWERLOOM IN LISP Startup Lisp and load the file `load-powerloom.lisp'. When loading has completed type (powerloom) After PowerLoom has been initialized and you see the `|=' prompt, type (demo) which will give you a list of PowerLoom demo files to choose from. Most of these demo files are heavily annotated and are currently the only form of PowerLoom documentation we have. To step through a demo file, simply hit `enter' after each pause prompt. You should go at least through the first five demo files in sequence to get a good overview of basic PowerLoom concepts. Alternatively to using the PowerLoom listener, you can switch to the STELLA package, e.g., type (in-package "STELLA") and then execute the various PowerLoom commands directly from the Lisp top level. IMPORTANT: The STELLA package does not inherit anything from the COMMON-LISP (or CL) package (see `native/lisp/stella/cl-lib/cl-setup.lisp' for the few exceptions), hence, you have to explicitly qualify every Lisp symbol you want to use with `CL:'. E.g., to get the result of the previous evaluation you have to use `CL:*'. In some situations, this also causes problems for the Allegro-CL Emacs/Lisp interface. For example, starting up Allegro Composer does not work while your Lisp listener is in the STELLA package. You have to switch back to the CL-USER package to start it, or start it before you switch to the STELLA package. To reduce startup time, you might want to create a Lisp image that has all of PowerLoom preloaded. BUG REPORTS, QUESTIONS, AND COMMENTS If you do encounter a bug or have a question or comment, please let us know. The best way to do so is to send e-mail to `powerloom-forum-request@isi.edu'. If you think your question or comment might be relevant to the general PowerLoom user community, you can send mail to `powerloom-forum@isi.edu' instead. If you want to be added to that mailing list please send e-mail to `powerloom-forum-request@isi.edu'. If you encounter a bug, please provide us with as much information as possible to reproduce it. In particular, let us know which version of PowerLoom you are using (the version number is printed as part of the startup banner of the PowerLoom listener).