Re: Manual

[Holly Arrow]

I think this two manuals idea is EXCELLENT. If I ever get Swarm up and 
running (a matter of finding the time first off) my next step will be to 
recruit other faculty who are using totally idiosyncratic simulation written 
(by them or a stray programmer they are no longer in touch with) in 
Pascal or Basic to try Swarm.  My hope is to get a little mutual support 
Swarm community going here.

The "system simulation manual" is what they need to look at first.  I 
became a convert listing to Nelson talk at SFI, but others haven't had 
that pleasure. 

The user's manual will be the nitty gritty guide for using swarm AFTER one 
has made the decision that this is a promising route.

Holly A.

On Mon, 3 Feb 1997, glen e. p. ropella wrote:

> >I personally prefer the O'Reilly "? in a Nutshell" format. With a few
> >chapters of introductory material and then the bulk of the book being a
> >reference manual. 
> >
> >John Eikenberry
> 
> I do to.  But, I still wonder if something as abstracted
> as Swarm can be explained well that way.  The O'Reillys
> are sometimes short on philosophy and long on technical
> detail.  I guess I envision two Swarm Manuals, one for,
> say, "System Simulation using Swarm," and one, say, 
> "Swarm Users' Guide and Reference Manual."
> 
> This is an extrememly important topic.  In my opinion,
> most objects (be they software packages, services, ideas,
> or philosophies) don't get used efficiently because most
> people don't know what the hell they can do with them.i  I
> mean, if someone could explain why it's useful to learn 
> phenomenology, then maybe more people would be aware of 
> it and understand it. [grin]
> 
> glen
> 

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Holly Arrow, Assistant Professor   address@hidden
                           
Department of Psychology  &  Center for Social Cognition & Decision Making
1227 University of Oregon               at the 
Eugene OR 97403              Institute for Cognitive and Decision Sciences
Phone: (541) 346-1996        University of Oregon 
FAX: (541) 346-4911          FAX: (541) 346-4914
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