Amzi! News, Spring `96

Contents

If you would like a printed copy of this newsletter that includes screen shots, please e-mail us on www.amzi.com with your name and mailing address. Amzi! customers will receive this newsletter automatically in early May.

Integrate Prolog Logic-Bases with Your Web Pages with WebLS

WebLS is a freeware system for integrating Amzi! logic-bases with web pages. You don't have to be a current Amzi! customer to use it.

The first application we built for WebLS is internet-based tech support for Amzi! Prolog + Logic Server (see below).

WebLS is written in Amzi! Prolog and `C' and communicates with web servers via CGI (Common Gateway Interface). It uses HTML forms to communicate with the user and Prolog for the logic.

There are three major subsystems:

Logic-Base

The logic-base contains easy-to-read rules, plus specifications for gathering facts from the user and outputting resolutions.

Custom Inference Engine

The Prolog inference engine is designed specifically to meet the demands of the CGI interface. It tries to group questions together to minimize the length of the dialog with the user (because under CGI, a program is fired off each time a form is filled in and submitted).

CGI Interface

The CGI interface consists of a set of Prolog and `C' routines for interfacing with the web server, generating HTML forms and output, logging and error handling.

You can download WebLS which includes full documentation, examples and source code from our web site,
http://www.amzi.com

WebLS is an active work-in-progress and the first step in tighter integration between the Amzi! Logic Server and the Internet. All bug reports and enhancement requests are welcomed, but tech support is not guaranteed.

Try Our New Internet-Based Tech Support

We've used WebLS to implement a tech support system for Amzi! Prolog + Logic Server (all editions). Our goal is to answer most new users questions and all common tech support questions.

Currently the system is available over a 28.8k dial-up line (although we hope to remedy that soon).

We are very interested in hearing your feedback, so next time you have a question, or even if you don't, give it a try.

We are constantly adding new rules to the logic-base as tech support e-mails answers to customers.

Amzi! Prolog Interpreter for Windows--Now Available on Internet

We are making our 16-bit Windows interpreted development environment available via freeware, for individual use, and shareware, for organizational use.

This package can be downloaded from Internet and includes a complete Prolog tutorial (the Adventure in Prolog book in Windows help format) plus the Interactive Developer's Environment (IDE) which includes:

The Amzi! Prolog Interpreter is free for personal use (but does not include tech support). Site licenses for organizational use (business, education or government) are available for a small fee. 

CyberTax Integrates Acrobat and Amzi! for Electronic Filing

CyberTax™ is a newly announced product that allows the general public to file federal taxes electronically by modem or via the Internet. CyberTax merges the technologies of Adobe's Acrobat® Portable Document Format (PDF), VerTec Solutions' TranZform™ plug-in software and Amzi!’s Logic Server together with Nelco’s expertise in electronic tax filing.

CyberTax is not a "stand-alone" software product, but a software enhancement to the Adobe Reader v2.1 that allows the user to fill in the forms in Acrobat.

Adobe Acrobat provides visual display of IRS-provided tax forms, TransZForm allows the form to be used for input and output by the user, and an Amzi! logic-base provides all of the rules that embody the tax code.

Prolog was chosen to represent the tax rules because of the nature of the tax rules--they change every year and are made up of rules for relating data. Also, since tax forms contain so many duplicate values, Prolog provided the best means to handle the redundant values on all the forms. Due to Prolog, the user has no need to enter the same information more than once. Currently, CyberTax contains approximately 800 rules and supports 22 of the most commonly used federal tax forms, including multiple W-2s, W-2Gs, and 1099Rs.

The workflow for CyberTax is simple due to Prolog handling most of the logic for each form. Users enter their tax information by tabbing to and entering data into simple edit boxes. After the data is entered, it is passed to the built-in Knowledge Base which analyzes the information. This approach provides a quick and effective means to perform all of the related computations in all of the supported tax forms.

Once the tax return has been completed, the system sends the data to a verification module to ensure that there are no obvious mistakes. After passing the verification process, the tax information may be sent electronically, or by mail.

For more information contact VerTec Solutions

Tel 910-855-9555
Fax 910-855-1766

info@vertec.com
http://www.vertec.com

`97 ACC Basketball Season is Scheduled with Amzi!

The 1997 Atlantic Coast Conference basketball season schedule was created using Amzi! Prolog. This is the first time the ACC has used rule-based technology. They turned to it because they couldn’t get a schedule anywhere else that met their constraints for television, balance and fairness.

Fred Barakat, Assistant Commissioner of the ACC said, “Amzi! is the only organization that was able to give us a complete schedule that met all our requirements and scheduling constraints.”

The ACC has some extremely demanding constraints on their regular season playing schedule. In addition to the normal pattern of each team having to play each other team twice, once home and once away, there are additional constraints based on TV coverage, teams which must play on certain days, and a desire by the highly competitive coaches to have a schedule that is fair to all teams.

The fairness constraints are the most difficult to enforce, as they require teams to have equal home and away games during each half season, not have to play more than two home or away games in a row, and have an equal number of their home games on weekends as during the mid-week.

The problem has become too complex for hand scheduling, and was even dubbed impossible by top sports scheduling professionals who use linear programming techniques.

This year the ACC tried Amzi! Prolog and the result was a program that generated a schedule that met all of their constraints.

A simplified version of this program that generates round-robin sports schedules is available for downloading from our web site. It is a full, working application that can be used for scheduling your sporting events. 

3.3 Mar96 Patch Available on Internet

We are pleased to introduce a new method for delivering software updates.

If you have the Jan96b release of Amzi!, you can download and apply the Mar96 patch. (Anyone can download the updated samples).

The main features are:

Upgrade Information

Subscribers have already received the Mar96 release.

If you have Jan96b you can download the Mar96 patch at no charge (see page 2). Anyone can download the new Prolog and Logic Server samples. Otherwise, please fill out the form below. You get a credit against the full purchase price for whatever product/edition you currently own. Recent purchasers can get the upgrade for the cost of shipping. For multiple copy or site license upgrades, please contact us.

Order/Upgrade Form

Offer Expires June 15th
Name:

Organization:

Full Address:




Phone/Fax:

E-Mail:

Payment Method:  __Check    __MasterCard    __Visa    __AmEx

Card #:  __________________________________    Exp: __________

Signature:  __________________________________________________

If you did not purchase directly from Amzi! and have not 
registered, please enclose your filled-out registration cards.  If 
you purchased after Dec 1, 1995 (and not from us), please enclose 
a copy of your dated sales receipt.

   To order call us:     508 897 7332
   Or, fax form to:      508 897 2784
   Or, mail form to:     address at TOP

[1]  SELECT PRODUCT--Which of the following editions      
     would you like to purchase or upgrade to?
     Professional   16-bit Prof.     Personal     Student     
     __ $598        __$298           __$298       __$79      

     New Purchases include a FREE APT ($75 value)

     Check your choice and enter the price here             _______

[2]  CREDIT FOR PRIOR PURCHASE--Select the amount of 
     the credit below based on your current copy.
     Purchases after Dec 1,1995:
          Professional Edition                  $598
          16-bit Prof. or Personal Editions     $298
     Version 3.3 Users:
          Professional Edition                  $500
          16-bit Prof. or Personal Editions     $233
     Version 3.0 Users:
          Cogent for NT                         $400
          Cogent for Windows/DOS                $133

     Enter the applicable credit (if any) here:              _______     

[3]  Subtract [2] from [1] and enter result here (>= 0)      _______

[4]  ORDER ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS--Select here:
     __Subscription Plus                       $198          _______
     __Expert Systems in Prolog, book/disk     $94           _______
     __Active Prolog Tutor, Personal Ed.       $75           _______
     __Programming in Prolog, book             $34           _______

[5]  SUBTOTAL--Add [3] and [4] and enter result here:        _______

[6]  SALES TAX--Mass. residents add 5% sales tax:            _______

[7]  SHIPPING--$10 North America; $20 Otherwise              _______

[8]  TOTAL--Add [5], [6] and [7] (payable in US$ please)     _______

Need More Information?

Call, Write or E-Mail for a free copy of our latest catalog
Amzi! inc.
40 Samuel Prescott Drive
Stow, MA 01775 U.S.A.
tel 508 897 7332
fax 508 897 2784
http://www.amzi.com
ftp.amzi.com /pub/users/amzi