BIB-VERSION:: CS-TR-v2.0
          ID:: STAN//CS-TR-90-1323
       ENTRY:: September 14, 1994
ORGANIZATION:: Stanford University, Department of Computer Science
       TITLE:: Protograms
        TYPE:: Technical Report
      AUTHOR:: Mozes, Eyal
      AUTHOR:: Shoham, Yoav
        DATE:: July 1990
       PAGES:: 19
    ABSTRACT:: Motivated largely by tasks that require control of complex
               processes in a dynamic environment, we introduce a new
               computational construct called a protogram. A protogram is a
               program specifying an abstract course of action, a course
               that allows for a range of specific actions, from which a
               choice is made through interaction with other protograms. We
               discuss the intuition behind the notion, and then explore
               some of the details involved in implementing it.
               Specifically, we (a) describe a general scheme of protogram
               interaction, (b) describe a protogram interpreter that has
               been implemented, dealing with some special cases, (c)
               describe three applications of the protogram interpreter, one
               in data processing and two in robotics (both currently only
               implemented as simulations), (d) describe some more general
               possible implementations of a protogram interpreter, and (e)
               discuss how protograms can be useful for the Gofer project.
               We also briefly discuss the origins of protograms in
               psychology and linguistics, compare protograms to blackboard
               and subsumption architectures, and discuss directions for
               future research.
       NOTES:: [Adminitrivia V1/RAM/19940914]
         END:: STAN//CS-TR-90-1323