Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 12:19:22 +0300 (IDT)
From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz AT is DOT elta DOT co DOT il>
To: Paul Derbyshire <ao950 AT FreeNet DOT Carleton DOT CA>
cc: djgpp AT delorie DOT com
Subject: Re: The DJGPP Oracle
In-Reply-To: <5smhq6$6k9@freenet-news.carleton.ca>
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On 11 Aug 1997, Paul Derbyshire wrote:

> Some people have noted how big the FAQ is getting, and
> thus how much harder it is to find info in it or even know where the FAQ
> ends.

The large indices at the end of the FAQ should serve as a vehicle to
look up required information.  If these indices somehow don't do the
job, I'd like to know why, so I could think about improving them.

> (I have asked questions here seemingly unrelated to DJGPP, as about
> "cawf", and been told the answer is, amazingly enough, in the FAQ!)

At least for this example, CAWF is also in the Program Index at the
end of the FAQ.

> Thus, perhaps a computer program, an expert system, could be made with the
> FAQ as its database, which responds to hierarchical questions or allows
> direct browsing of the FAQ questions. Imagine this:

Paul, I think that's a wonderful idea!  I thought about it for a while
way back, when the FAQ began to grow.  The only problem that precluded
me to do something like that was that people usually ask questions in
a variety of forms, and making an AI program that would parse them and
get useful answers seemed like a major project.  But if you can make
it happen, I'm sure lots of users would be a lot happier.

> 1. How do I install DJGPP? (What to get, how to set it up)
> 2. What is cawf/groff/Allegro/etc: DJGPP connected utilities and
> add-ons

I doubt if this menu-driven approach is good enough, since menus are
usually too rigid.  As a recent example, someone who asks about
`getvect' won't necessarily understand that ``How do I hook an
interrupt'' is the same question.

The best way to see if this approach works is to take a single FAQ
chapter and make a prototype program that will answer such questions.
Then everybody and their dog could play with the prototype and tell
you what they think.