User:Rhmccullough/Design features

Design features

• Simple English

mKR's syntax is similar to English, simplified so that the same name is used regardless of tense and number, actions are always in the infinitive, and attributes always take the first person singular. mKR's built-in vocabulary includes all Natural Semantic Metalanguage concepts;the user may augment this vocabulary with his own English words and phrases. These features make mKR easy to use.

• UNIX shell

From the UNIX shell, mKR inherits the conceptual and syntax elements of variables, methods, conditionals, and iteration, but unlike the UNIX shell there are no wild cards or pipes. These features give mKR its computational power.

• Context

mKR "implements" the context theories of Ayn Rand and Keith Devlin. The basic mKR statement takes the form

   at space=s, time=t, view=v { subject verb object preposition-phrase-list [done]; };

view (aka situation) names a list of propositions, which logically define the context. When object is an action, space and time constitute a subcontext which characterize the changes associated with the action, and done terminates the preposition-phrase-list. mKR uses entity-charateristic-proposition hierarchies as a visual aid in grasping the meaning of knowledge, and as a primary means of input/output. For example, see the tabula rasa hierarchy in the next section. These features give mKR its intellectual power.