MTML, Meaningful Text Markup Language
Experiments in MTML 3.1
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MTML, Meaningful Text Markup Language, as an experiment involving text,
computers, readable semantic association, relational text gathering, and the
pursuit of a likely human interface.
Mark Brownell
Garage-Basement
Laboratories, RV-ville, USA
INTRODUCTION:
This explains the
results of experiments in software development that use extensible markup within
commonly viewed text and that are used as unseen background devices to
facilitate a relational text gathering system. This can facilitate convenience
of finding information for viewers by presenters or for personal use for finding
information later. These experiments revealed several primary problems to be
overcome before implementing a useful computer based tool that could be made
into a working example that would be simple to use.
So by selecting text
like this:
and then clicking this Blue Dot button while "Scope" is entered: 
You get this when you do a search for "Scope" :
You end up with a section of markup language code that looks like this:
In the very early announcement year of XML 1.0 I was introduced for the first
time to XML by an article written for a tech website, "ZDnet." After reading a
short abstract I had my own impression of what I thought XML was going to be
used for. I discovered after reading the full article that my idea for XML's use
was nonexistent or mentioned. This raised the first problem discovered if I were
to use my idea for extensible markup and that was that existing XML parsers can
not be used to extract information from commonly read text. The need for a
pull-parser, as it is referred to today, needed to become available.
The
second problem was to create a user interface that allowed the viewer/user to
add extensible markup while remaining in the viewing mode. This would not have
been a problem if the user were expected to edit the text while in the markup
language mode. Having a function that did all this in the background would be
much better or more likely the best approach.
A third problem became
obvious that having the ability to merge an existing open file with a second
unopened file and then save both of them combined with the first file would add
to the value of topical or semantically referenced information through the
merging of common interest topics.
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Using MTML as the
extensible markup solution after considering XML for relational or meta-data
associations within commonly presented text.
To compare MTML to the
semantic-web development perhaps is like comparing apples to oranges, both are
fruit. Both utilize markup languages and both use computers to associate topical
references and perhaps someday information gathering.
In the future of
the Semantic Web powerful computers will parse and index XML tag sets
surrounding published information that include topical references using
meta-data in the form of namespace and attribute type formats of SGML / XML. The
addition of a human readable attribute is unlikely. There is also a project to
develop a similar kind of markup / file type that is more human readable, the
Human Markup Language, and that is also based on namespace and attribute type
formats of SGML / XML.
The absence of a magic glue to bind together the
topical points of interest in the future envisioned semantic-web development can
be overcome now by the user's or creator's actions as a binding force that acts
as an interface now. The use of a human interface in conjunction with
computer-based machines can allow the user to add or utilize human-readable
extensible markup that can be shared across an interest group's topic by use of
a construct in the form of a construct library or simpler topical
dictionary.
To make such an interface work in a human-readable form a
simplification of the extensible markup might be considered. By deliberately
eliminating the use of namespaces and attributes in markup like XML it is
possible to be left with element type only extensible markup tag-sets that work
very well with pull-parsers. If that were to be taken one step further by
dropping one significant rule of well-formed SGML or XML, and the use of empty
spaces within the element type tag-set could be added then the user could read
what the computer-based machine reads to act or take a meaningful action with
the portion of information being sought.
Example [from MTML
explained]:
It's easy to make an element type tag-set. Begin by
putting "<" in front of the phrase "secret fishing
spots", and ">" after the phrase "secret fishing
spots" for the begin handle.
Example: <secret fishing
spots>
To create the end handle for the same set of tags you add "</" in front of the phrase "secret fishing spots", and ">" after the phrase "secret fishing spots", for the end handle.
Example: </secret fishing spots>
It works like this:
There is a trail out of Wrights Lake, California that leads up into the crest of the <secret fishing spots> Crystal Range, in the Sierra Nevada mountains, known as Desolation Valley. The trail goes east of Wrights Lake for about one and one half miles, to a fork in the trail, that goes either northeast to Twin Lakes, or southeast to Hemlock Lake. Just above Hemlock Lake is a lake without a name, that sits at the base of Mt Price. This lake is full of Golden Trout and is a fisherman's dream, if you're the first one to fish it after the ice thaws. </secret fishing spots> Ha Ha... I told!
Now let's call it what it really is. We need a word that best describes the stupidity of telling this fishing spot to everyone that reads this. How about "<jerk>."
There is a trail out of Wrights Lake, California that leads up into the crest of the <secret fishing spots> Crystal Range, in the Sierra Nevada mountains, known as Desolation Valley. The trail goes east of Wrights Lake for about one and one half miles to a fork in the trail that goes either northeast to Twin Lakes, or southeast to Hemlock Lake. Just above Hemlock Lake is a lake without a name, that sits at the base of Mt Price. <jerk> This lake is full of Golden Trout and is a fisherman's dream if you're the first one to fish it after the ice thaws. </secret fishing spots> Ha Ha... I told!</jerk>
You will notice that the jerk tells the secret about that lake :-) Anyway that <jerk> fragment begins inside the <secret fishing spots> tag-set, but ends outside of it. This would not be considered well formed by XML standards. I recommend not doing this if you are using MTML in an XHTML document. [end]
This simple to read extensible markup then could be parsed using a fast
and powerful pull-parser technique by the computer-based machines that read it.
Each point of interest can be isolated and gathered from fuller texts that
contain these topical based human-readable tag-sets. The user sees only readable
information that relates to embedded information existing within the fuller text
but is not seen while viewing it on these machines.
Two primary uses can
be obtained that make using such a system worth having a system like this at
this time. The user can utilize existing readable extensible markup created by
others or the user can create their own.
The creation of a simple to use
method for adding these tag-sets is necessary. The user should never see any
extensible markup unless that it being part of an editing process or during the
creation of presented documents by publishers.
In conclusion:
The relational text gathering system was the inspiration behind all the experiments. The user-accessible experiments presented the most interesting challenges. To this point explaining what it does and what it is used for still remains the greatest challenge of all. I believe that is because the future of this idea has yet to be implemented in a computer program that has gained wide spread acceptance.
Thanks to those that have taken an interest in this experiment.
What can you do with Intuition 1.3 ?
As far as what Intuition can do is simple to say. You can open an Intuition file, read it, make changes to it, and save it. You can export an Intuition file that can be made web-ready for cross-platform distribution over the internet. You can protect the cross-platform integrity of an Intuition file so that you can send it through the e-mail without destroying it. When you receive a protected Intuition file in the e-mail you can use a convenient process to convert it to user ready. You can place web-ready Intuition files on the internet that when downloaded from the internet will automatically convert themselves so that the protection process is unseen by the user. Intuition does this by using a hyper-link in a page. Intuition files can carry embedded images in the single file that is downloaded. In that way you can provide an entire website in a single downloadable file. Intuition files can be pre-indexed using MTML so as to facilitate a more powerful reading experience.
Past Experiments:
The end of the parser experiments.
There are only a few requirements that can be regarded as standard rules or technique that hold true to using MTML in documents and that work well.
1.) An MTML tag set must start and end inside of the document that it is being used in.
2.) An MTML tag set must start and end inside of any object set that is inside of the document that the object set is being used in. Objects can be isolated by using "<page>" & "</page>" tags like in the e-Book Study Tool version or they can be specialized forms of tagging that are specific to the needs of the computer application utilizing them. An example of special-use-tags could be like the ones used inside this HTML page for the sub-browser experiment. This holds true even in the XML-SQL experiments using the PNLP algorithm to parse and selectively populate an existing database using MTML and the Valentina Database as an experimental platform.
This is used to create individual objects that need to be defined before they are utilized in the sub-browser experiment.
When it comes down to using MTML in documents there is one single reason for doing so, and that is having the presented document utilize the relational text gathering system features of MTML. Even though MTML at times barrows from XML and HTML it has its one unique ability. MTML was designed to work inside of the text being presented. MTML was designed to be accessible for alteration by the user after the text was presented.
