Frequently Asked Questions

General Info:


Q: What does NICOLE stand for?

A: NICOLE is an acronym which stands for NEARLY INTELLIGENT COMPUTER OPERATED LANGUAGE EXAMINER.


Q: Where on earth did you get this silly idea from?

A: NICOLE was inspired by the program NIALL written back in 1990. NIALL was a simple program that linked one word with the next.


Q: I've got more questions to ask, where are the answers?

A: If you need help, or want to ask questions then go the the support request area at Sourceforge. You can log support requests for nicole at http://sourceforge.net/support/?group_id=2968


Installation:


Q: Where can I find the latest version of NICOLE?

A: The lastest version of NICOLE can be downloaded from http://nicole.sourceforge.net


Q: How do I create a database for NICOLE to use?

A: You need to run the 'root.sh' script located in the sql directory when you have downloaded NICOLE. You need to be logged in as root to do this. You will also need the root password for your MySQL installation.


Usage:


Q: NICOLE doesn't talk to me, all I get back from it is *I'm speechless* What am I doing wrong?

A: You aren't doing anything wrong. You can't expect NICOLE to know everything from a blank database. The knowledge base needs to grow over time and use. When you encounter a *I'm speechless* response, NICOLE doesn't know how to answer, so it gives up and starts up a new conversation thread.


Q: How can I populate the dictionary with words and phrases?

A: NICOLE automatically populates the database with new words that it encounters as it is used. This is a uniqie feature with NICOLE that stands above the rest with other similar programs is that NICOLE learns as it goes.


Q: But I am lazy and I don't want to teach NICOLE to begin with. Is there another way?

A: Yes there is. With the distribution of NICOLE, there is a sample.db.gz file which needs to ungzip'd and imported into the database using the 'importdb' utility. This should get your version of NICOLE to have some responses back. For more detailed information on how the 'imoportdb' and 'exportdb' commands work, read the Utilities file in the doc directory of the distribution.


Q: What about importing sentences from other documents?

A: There is now a 'learn' utility included with NICOLE. You can use this utility to import sentences and conversations into NICOLE from other files, however the file MUST be in a specific format. See the Utilities file in the doc directory of the distribution for detailed information about this command..


Q: How can I share databases with someone else?

A: There is currently a file generated in the /tmp directory called history.txt This file is a record of all the conversations that you have ever had with NICOLE. You can simply mail this file to someone else, and they can 'learn' this file into their own copy of NICOLE's database.

Another alternative (and prefered) method is to import/merge someone's export file into your own copy of your database. Simply get someone to email you their export file, that was generated by 'exportdb' and you can simply import it using 'importdb'. For further information on these utilities, refer to the Utilities file in the doc directory of the distribution.


Where can I get more databases from??

A: At this stage, the only database that is available for import is the sample database provided with the distribution. This should hopefully change as soon as other people start creating their own databases. Try asking other NICOLE users, or asking in the message forums. Once a few databases are available then a download area will be setup for extra databases. Why not create and submit your own? :)


Q: Hey, I found a bug! What do I do?

A: Great! I love to know about bugs. Go the the Bug report page and report your nasty bug so that it can be fixed ASAP. (I hate bugs and I love to squash them as soon as they appear!)


Development:


Q: NICOLE looks great! Why don't you make an online version with a global database?

A: If only I had $! everytime someone asked my that. Well due to popular demand, I'm planning on doing just that!! While it is still in the early planning stage, NICOLE will have a WWW interface, which means it doesn't matter what platform you are running on, providing that you have a WWW browser, you can talk to NICOLE. Stay tuned as more details are released.


Q: I want to help with the development of NICOLE, where do I join up?

A: Simply go to http://sourceforge.net/projects/nicole and read up on the latest and greatest about NICOLE. Join into the discussion groups, and suggest ideas to add to the project (even become a programmer to the group) You can also submit patches to the NICOLE team via the sourceforge web site on the patches page.


Q: Why have you coded NICOLE in C/C++ and not in another langaue?

A: To put it simply, C/C++ is what I'm most comfortable with. Sure NICOLE could be more portable using some other language, and anyone is welcome to port NICOLE to another language, but why should I develop NICOLE in a language that I'm not familiar with and take twice as long as developing in something that I know quite well.



Phil Howlett
19th September 2000