
Qwertz Toolbox README file.
--------------------------

This is the qwertz toolbox, a library of Standard ML modules with 
an emphasis on symbolic Artificial Intelligence programming.

The manual is in the man directory, in the style of Unix man pages.
There are nroff and PostScript versions.  The qwertz manual page
provides an overview of the library.

The copyright for the library belongs to the German National Research
Center for Computer Science (GMD), but is being published under the
GNU General Public License.  See the COPYRIGHT file for details.

There are two ways to "install" the library, depending on whether or
not you are using SourceGroup, the "make" system distributed with
Standard of ML of New Jersey.

If you want to use SourceGroup, which is recommended, do the
following:

1. Change to the src directory of the qwertz toolbox.
2. Start a version of SML of New Jersey which includes SourceGroup.
3. Use the file "makefile.sml".  This will create a structure called
   "QwertzGroup" containing a SourceGroup called "toolbox".
4. Execute "QwertzGroup.build()";  This will build the qwertz toolbox,
   creating a structure called "Qwertz" containing the whole library.
   There will be some warning messages, but they can be ignored.  

See the qwertz.sml file for the signature of the Qwertz structure.
This signature takes advantage of the extension of SML of NJ allowing
structures to includes signatures and functors, as well as
substructures.

To build the toolbox without using SourceGroup, start your SML system
and use the "load" file in the src directory of the qwertz toolbox.
It uses all of the files of the toolbox in an order which allows them
all to be compiled.  A Qwertz structure is not created, as it is
assumed that you are not using Standard ML of New Jersey if you have
chosen to build the toolbox in this way and thus probably also do not
have an Standard ML system with the extension for higher-order
structures.  CAVEAT: The qwertz toolbox has not been tested using any
SML system other than SML of New Jersey.  We have tried to write
portable code, but there may be some unintended SML of NJ
dependencies.

Tom Gordon
thomas.gordon@gmd.de


