read me.txt

专家系统外壳工具

----------------------  v2.3 (May 2001) --------------------

Info dialogue shows creation date

The 'Info...' command ('Models' menu)  now includes a field that
shows the time and date of creation of the appropriate model window. 
A window's creation information is saved to file along with other
details. Files saved by older versions of InterModeller will show
'N/A' in place of the creation time and date in the 'Info...'
dialogue.

Further graphics optimisations

More efficient code is now used for tree model processing. Dragging,
erasing, arrow-key editing, tidying, and other operations on trees
are now faster. Tables models have also been further optimised,
benefitting cut-and-paste operations especially.

Bug fixes

The following bugs affecting v2.2 have now been fixed:
- Tree and table models were not always refreshed correctly 
to show the effect of a graphical deletion.
- If a tree or table model was Run and then immediately saved 
under a different name then the Run command subsequently
would not work until after a further edit. 
- The 'Select all' command when applied to a tree model should 
cause the model's root node(s) to be selected, but under certain
circumstances did not do so.
- Clicking on a classification tree featureless node label did not 
prefill the edit field with the label's value (although editing
did still operate correctly).


------------------  v2.2 (December 2000)  ---------------

Graphics optimisations

Graphical model types now use a more efficient internal 
representation of graphical structures. This has allowed some 
optimisations to be made that will be evident in an improved 
performance of the associated tools and commands.

Improved eraser tool action with tree models

Clicking with the eraser tool anywhere on an arc (or sufficiently
close to an arc) of a dtree or ctree model will now delete the 
arc and its subtree. Previously, only eraser clicks on the labels 
of arcs had any effect. Also, the  action of the eraser tool has 
been changed to reduce the risk of excessive erasure. Previously, 
clicking on a non-leaf node deleted the node, any parent arc and 
the node's subtree. Now, clicking on a non-leaf node will delete 
only the subtree. If it is required to delete also the node and 
its parent arc, a second click on the node is necessary. The 
effect of clicking on a leaf node is unchanged, i.e. the node and 
any parent arc is deleted.

File format changed for table models

The file format for table models has been changed to exploit a 
more efficient representation that is now used for these models. 
Table model files are now significantly more compact. Table files 
produced by older versions of InterModeller will still be properly 
interpreted by this version of IM, but not vice-versa. If you want 
to send a table model created in v2.2 to someone who is using an 
older version of IM, you could first transform it into another 
form of representation and send that file instead (or you could 
tell that person to download v2.2 free from our website!). 

Bug fix in 'Run' command

A minor bug has been fixed that could cause the 'Run' command to fail
unexpectedly when numbers were used for attribute names.


------------------------- v2.1 -----------------------

(1) Export of Graphical Models via Windows Clipboard Now Supported
When a graphical model window is at the front and some graphics 
are selected (e.g. with the Edit menu 'Select all' command), the 
Edit/Copy command now automatically makes a copy of the window's 
visible graphics as a bitmap into the external Windows
clipboard. This means that it is now easy to export a decision 
tree (for example)into the Windows Paint program. Note that (a) if
there are no selected graphics, nothing will be written to the 
Windows Clipboard and (b) in the case of a table
model, any borders will not be included (because borders are not 
selectable objects in a table window). 

(2) Printing bug fixed
In v2.0 when a tree model was printed, arcs could appear above 
nodes. This could give an unpleasing appearance. This bug has now 
been fixed.

(3) Edit menu copying of tree label text bug fixed
The User Guide states that when using the pen tool, tree label 
text in the editor can be copied with Edit/Copy and pasted with 
Edit/Paste (plus Enter). In fact, in v2.0 this feature did not 
work properly. The problem has now been fixed.

(4) Rule editor bug fixed
In v2.0 a bug prevented the rule editor's Paste and Paste/Clear 
buttons from working. This has now been fixed.



------------------------- v2.0 -------------------------

Version 2 is a major upgrade. Compared to InterModeller for 
Windows v1 there are many new and improved features, including:

     - Addition of new table model type
     - Fast arrow key editing
     - Improved Undo, Copy and Paste commands
     - Improved model transformation
     - Adjustable colours
     - Printing of graphical models improved
     - Full compatability with Macintosh InterModeller
 
These are described in more detail below (or see the User's 
Guide).

Addition of new table model type

This version of InterModeller supports tables (sometimes called 
factor or decision tables). Table models can be freely 
transformed into other model types and vice versa. See the User 
Guide for details.

Fast arrow key editing

Text labels in tree models can now be rapidly edited using the 
arrow keys; after clicking on a label and editing its text, use 
the arrow key (instead of return or enter) to immediately select 
the next label for editing. For example, when a node label is 
edited in a classification tree model and the left-arrow key is 
pressed, the label of the node's parent is automatically brought 
into the editor. Table models also support arrow key editing.

Improved Undo, Copy and Paste commands

The Edit/Undo command can now be used to reverse the effect of 
any graphical tool operation. Menu commands such as 'Transform', 
'Format neatly' and 'Redraw neatly' can also now be reversed 
with Undo. Copy and paste of graphical models has been upgraded. 
Selected parts of graphical models can now be pasted between 
windows as well as within the same window (providing the windows 
are of the same type). 

Improved model transformation

In InterModeller v1 the Models/Transform command (without 
slimming) always applied a form of transformation which could be 
reversed, i.e. the derived model could be transformed back into 
the form of the source model if required. A disadvantage of this 
was that classification trees usually fragmented on 
transformation: transforming a classification tree into a factor 
table for instance normally generated multiple tables, which 
could be confusing. In the new version reversible transformation 
remains an option, as is slimmed transformation. But the default 
(labelled 'standard') is a new type of transformation which aims 
to derive a single structure (e.g. a single factor table). These 
options (standard/reversible/slim) are accessed via the 
Models/Transform dialogue. Other changes are: the Transform 
command is now Undo-able; the 'Clear window first' option has 
been removed to simplify the dialogue (the option of preserving 
existing contents is unnecessary because the same effect can be 
achieved by use of copy and paste between windows).

Adjustable colours

It is now possible via the File/Preferences dialogue to adjust 
the colours used for drawing in graphical windows. For example, 
you could arrange to draw decision trees with nodes in cyan and 
arcs in green. Changing the colour preferences will affect 
future drawing colours (to force existing trees to be redrawn in 
the new colours, choose 'Redraw neatly').  Note that selected 
colours are not stored in model files, so when a model is opened 
it will be displayed in the colours currently set in 
Preferences.

Printing of graphical models improved

It is now possible to print graphical models in both portrait 
and landscape formats. Also, except for some very large models, 
printouts should now fit on a single page.

Full compatability with Macintosh InterModeller

Version 2 of IM for PC is virtually identical to the current 
version (v3) of InterModeller for Macintosh. Users should be 
able to switch between platforms without difficulty. File 
formats are identical, so PC-produced models should run directly 
on the Mac and vice-versa.  


------------------------- v1.06 ------------------------- 

Fixed a bug which could cause a window name 'IM Scratch Window' 
to appear in the Transform dialogue. IM created a window of this 
name as part of the pretty-printing process for rule windows. 
The process has been revised and IM no longer uses a scratch 
window.
Fixed a bug which could cause a session's first-created rule 
model window to change font unexpectedly after the model was 
transformed to another rule model. 

------------------------- v1.05 ------------------------- 
 
Fixed a bug which could prevent a tree model, which had 
previously been saved to file, from being extended by editing 
following a re-loading of the file in a subsequent session with 
InterModeller. Symptoms included disconnected arcs and labels 
that appeared on incorrect nodes. This bug only affected some 
tree models.
Improved the 'Models' menu 'Redraw neatly' command for tree-
tidying. This command now always preserves the user's own 
(spatial) ordering of tree branches. Also the method used to 
arrange the nodes at each level has been changed to give an 
appearance that is usually (hopefully) more pleasing. 

------------------------- v1.04 -------------------------  

Fixed a bug in v1.02 which prevented InterModeller from loading 
on PCs (mostly running older versions of Windows95) that did not 
have the Windows system file CTL3D32.DLL. This file provides 3D 
and grey effects in dialogue boxes. InterModeller should now 
load correctly whether or not the CTL3D32.DLL file is installed.

------------------------- v1.02 ------------------------- 

First full release version. Fixed a bug in v1.01 whereby if the 
close box in the InterModeller main window was clicked, the 
program quit without first offering to save changed windows. 

------------------------- v1.01  ------------------------- 

Only guest and evaluation editions of this version were 
released. Fixed several bugs in v1.00. 

------------------------- v1.00 ------------------------- 

Issued only to selected test sites. 

************ End of Older Version history ************