Fig.1 (above) The PSB Vacuum Control node in the file
(PSK-PCP)VAC-V1:ENQR. The [prompt] is shown on
the last line.
Fig.2 (below) shows a "circle and arrow" representation
of the same information.
![[figure 2]](p6image.gif)
This is a HyperText rendition of Tim Berners-Lee's original ENQUIRE V 1.1 manual from October 1980, painstakingly copied out by hand from scans of the original manual. See additional notes at the bottom of this document.
EUROPEAN ORGANISATION FOR NUCLEAR RESEARCH
October 1980
The ENQUIRE System
Short Description
T.J.Berners-Lee
For the description of modular systems.
Iss 1.1
(text formatting by REPORT program)
Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. Scope 1
3. Modular Structure in General: Circles and Arrows 2
4. Objectives 3
4.1. Documentation 3
4.2. Analysis 3
4.3. Control 3
4.4. Reminder 3
5. Using ENQUIRE-WITHIN 4
5.1. Implementation under SINTRAN III 4
5.2. Display format 6
5.3. Commands 7
5.4. Edit Mode 8
5.5. User Input 8
5.6. Languages 9
5.7. Possible extensions 10
-1-
1. Introduction
ENQUIRE is a method of documenting a system. It concentrates on
the way the system is composed of parts, and how these parts are
interrelated.
This information about a system is difficult to store, and
particularly to update, using paper documents, so ENQUIRE stores its
information on a computer. The ENQUIRE-WITHIN program allows a person
to create and edit the data, so that others can later extract it as it
is relevant to them.
2. Scope
The ENQUIRE system is designed to fill a gap in many current
documentation systems. A person finding himself faced with a piece
"xxx" of a system should be able to ask ENQUIRE, for example
What is xxx part of?
What is xxx composed of?
What must I alter if I change xxx?
What facilities does xx use?
Where do I find out more about xxx?
Who or what produced xxx?
ENQUIRE does not aim to answer such questions as
How does xxx work?
What format is xxx in, exactly?
Why was xxx created?
What is the format of the interface between xxx and yyy?
The answers to these questions are normally covered by the
descriptions and specifications of xxx. ENQUIRE may be of use in
helping a user to find such documents, but it does not reckon to store
them.
-2-
3. Modular Structure in general: Circles and Arrows
The assumption is made that the system to be described can be
broken up into "modules". It is generally accepted that this is a
necessity for any modifyable or maintainable system involving
computers. No assumptions are made about how the breaking up is done
-- ENQUIRE imposes no constraints on the high level design.
A similar way of describing a structure is to draw, on a piece of
paper, circles with arrows in between. The circles ("modules") could
be programs or pieces of hardware, for instance, and the arrows could
mean "passes data to", "is composed of", or "is started by". This
method, with a variety of different shaped boxes, and different
coloured arrows, is useful, clear, and commonly used. The ENQUIRE
system allows a more complicated system to be described than would fit
on a piece of paper. It than allows an interactive user to explore
the system in search of the information he requires, seeing only the
parts which are of interest.
ENQUIRE divides both the modules (circles) and relationships
(arrows) into broad categories. This makes it easier to analyse the
structure you end up with. For instance the realtionships "is part
of" and "includes" show the division of a module into smaller modules.
Also, when altering one part of the system, it is useful to know by
which other parts it is used. These are generalised reletionships,
just as Document, Program, Machine are generalised types of module.
The modules may be all sorts of things. They are referred to below
as "nodes", because of the role they take in the network of
interrelationships within the system.
- 3 -
4. Objectives
4.1. Documentation
The primary objective of ENQUIRE is to store and retreive
information about the structure of a system. This is done with the
aid of the interactive ENQUIRE-WITHIN program. As a side-effect to
this, those people defining the structure of a system using ENQUIRE
may find themselves thinking about it, and with luck a proliferation
of interdependancies may be avoided.
4.2. Analysis
As a second stage, the data produced may be interesting to
investigate. This may show
(a) whether the eventual structure of the system matches its
design goals;
(b) when changes are required, what sort of changes would make
the system cleaner and more manageable, rather than less
so.
Whether this form of analysis is useful is yet to be determined.
4.3. Control
When a system is expanding rapidly, some control is normally
required over the way it is allowed to expand. If rules are made,
it may be that ENQUIRE provides a way of checking that these rules
are adhered to, and that aspects of the structure have not been
introduced which will degrade the system in the long term. (The
topic of project control for complex systems is a large one, and is
not discussed here).
4.4 Reminder
It must be emphasised that the ENQUIRE system is not intended to
replace other forms of documentation, and is designed to work
alongside other indexing systems and retrieval systems.
- 4 -
5. Using ENQUIRE-WITHIN
The following is an outline of the facilities available from the
interactive editor. Note that the program assumes a VDU with a speed
of at least 1200 baud which accepts the backspace character.
5.1. Implementation under SINTRAN III
The ENQUIRE program is currently stored on file
(GUEST)ENQUIRE-WITHIN:PROG on the PRDEV computer on the CERN PS
control system. Log in to any of the interactive VDU terminals. At
SINTRAN III command level, type
@(GUEST)ENQUIRE <params>
and the system should respond
Enquire V x.x
Hello!
The only <param> which is acceptable at present (Oct 80) is the
keyword EDIT. If this is present, you will be allowed to alter
those files to which you have write access under the operating
system.
The database is stored on various "continuous" files called
xxxxxxxxxxxx-V1:ENQR. The 12 characters xxxxxxxxxxxx include the
user name under which the file is stored, and part of the filename.
Seperate files are used for storing information about different
parts of systems, but an object in one file may freely refer to
objects in other files.
- 5 -
@ENQUIRE
Enquire V 1.1
Hello!
Opening file (PSK-PCP)VAC-V1:ENQR...
PSB Vacuum Control System (concept) < O>
--- ------ ------- ------
[ 1] described-by: Enquiry System
An experimental system fo which this is a test.
[ 2] includes: Vacuum History System
Records and displays slow changes in pressure.
[ 3] includes: Vacuum equipment modules
Perform all the hardware interface
[ 4] includes: Control and status applications programs
Provide operator interaction from the consoles.
[ 5] described-by: Controle du System a Vide du Booster 11-2-80
Operational specification of the software
[ 6] includes: PSB Pump Surveillance System PCP 228
Allows rapid monitoring of pressure changes
[number ]
Fig.1 (above) The PSB Vacuum Control node in the file
(PSK-PCP)VAC-V1:ENQR. The [prompt] is shown on
the last line.
Fig.2 (below) shows a "circle and arrow" representation
of the same information.
- 6 -
5.2. Display Format
On entry into ENQUIRE, and at various points during its use, the
user is presented with a page much like fig 1. This gives
information about one of the "nodes", and the relationship between
it and other nodes. The corresponding circle and arrow diagram is
shown in fig.2.
Information displayed is as follows:
For each node,
1. Name: Name of the node, filename if it represents a file
2. Sort: Category into which the thing described is placed
3. Comment Any further text considered relevant by the
last editor.
For each related node,
1. Number: Allows one of the nodes refered to to be selected.
2. Name: The name of the related node.
3. Relationship: Generalised relationship between the two
nodes.
4. Comment: A description of the node refered to. This
text describes the way it is relevant to the
node being listed.
The following "sorts" of node are currently (Oct80) chosen from
the following set:
hardware - a piece of equipment
text-file - readable ASCII information stored on computer.
report-file - text information accessable by computer, best read
after being processed by the REPORT program.
code-file - information stored on computer, nto human-readable.
paper-docum. - a human readable document not stored on computer.
concept - an abstract idea, anything without a physical form.
person - those strange unreliable beings on which all systems
eventually depend.
The type of relationship is currently one of the following set:
uses } Complementary. Reflect that one node relies on the
used-by } existence of the other.
includes } Complementary. One module is a sub-module to the
part-of } other.
made } Complementary. One module, program or person,
made-by } was responsible for the other.
describes } Complementary. Useful for linking documentation.
- 7 -
described-by } to that to which it is relevant.
background } Link different documents together
detail }
similar-to } If none of the specific relationships above hold,
other } one of these is chosen.
5.3. Commands
On entry, the user is in the outer command level of ENQUIRE. He
is prompted by two brackets, and may insert a command word between
them. The following commands are available at this level to allow
interrogation of the data. Commands marked * also allow alteration
of the data.
1,2,3 etc. Select one of the nodes refered to by this one. Move
on to that node, and display its relevant data.
Retrace Return to a previous node. The user is prompted with
a list of nodes previously encountered. He selects
one of them, by number.
Mark "Remember this node". The user marks nodes which
interest him. A list of up to 16 such marked nodes
is maintained. This list is displayed after each
"mark" command.
Unmark The last node marked as interesting is removed from
the list.
List List all the references and comment about this node.
Quit Leave the ENQUIRE program.
Create * Make a new enquiry data file. The file must already
exist under SINTRAN III as a continuous file of
suitable size.
Extend * Add another node to this file.
Edit * Go into EDIT MODE, to alter information about this
mode.
French Load new vocabulary (See Section 5.6)
Note: The commands marked * are only available if
the user has write access to the file, and gave the
EDIT parameter when originally invoking the ENQUIRE
program. (See Sect 5.1)
- 8 -
5.4. Edit Mode
Edit Mode allows the user to alter the details about the current
node. He is prompted for an edit mode sub-command by a different,
distinctive prompt:
>> edit object [ ]
or >> edit reference [ ] , etc.
The prompt shows what part of the data he is dealing with. The set
of actions possible in EDIT mode differ from those possible at the
outer command level (Section 5.3). Some of these have the same
keywords as those at the outer command level, but should not be
confused with them.
create Create a new reference, from this node to one of the
ones marked as interesting. The user is prompted
with a list of such nodes, and selects one. He then
supplies a few details about the node selected, from
the particular point of view of the node he is
editing.
list List the bit of data I am currently dealing with.
edit Edit the bit of data I am currently dealing with.
extend Add a new bit of comment immediately after this bit
of data. If there is already some comment tagged on,
more may only be added to the end of last line.
The following sub-commands affct which bit of data
is to be dealt with next:
object Deal with the name of the node and its sort.
reference Deal with the next reference.
comment Deal with the next line of comment.
quit Leave edit mode, return to the outer command level of
ENQUIRE.
5.5. User Input
After giving a command or sub-command, the user may be prompted
for further imput. The prompts should be self-explanatory. When
entering any information, the following control characters may be
used.
Control/D means "accept the line as it is currently displayed"
Return means "accept the line to the left of the cursor",
unless the cursor is under the first character of the
- 9 -
line, in which case the meaning is the same as for
Control/D.
Answering Return to a question immediately,
therefore, will give the default answer if one
exists. Also,
Backspace moves back (left) one character (also Control/H)
Delete means "delete last character" (also Control/A)
Control/S means "delete next character"
Control/Q means "delete line" (Also Control/U)
Control/Y means "move to begining of line"
Control/B means "move to end of line"
When a keyword is required,
a) a default keyword is always available, if Control.D is
typed
b) entering garbage will produce a list of keywords which are
valid in context;
c) UPPER and lower case letters are treated identically.
d) Any abbreviation may be used which is unique in context.
Commands, sorts of node, types of relationship are examples of
keywords.
5.6. Languages
The vocabulary used by ENQUIRE, and the keywords it accepts as
input, are loaded from a special file on disk. It is therefore
possible to alter the language the program uses, or the mood it
communicates in. This is only of limited effect, as the program
cannot, unfortunately, translate the entire database into a
different language.
To use a different vocabulary, use one of the allowed langauge
names as a command at the outer level of ENQUIRE.
Example:
[French ]
Bonjour!
[Anglais ]
Hello!
(User input is between [brackets] )
- 10 -
5.7. Possible extensions
The following are extensions which could be provided to the
system:
Sophisticated key searches of node names
Automatic generation of index files from ENQUIRE data
Automatic tracing of all dependant modules, component modules, or
required modules for any node;
Various forms of hard-copy printout
A file tidying and garbage collecting facility for shortening
files;
Global editing facilities for making many related changes to a
file or set of files.
Originals:-
ENQUIRE was a kind of wiki-like personal linked database written in Pascal for the Norsk Data NORD-10. It was the first program that TimBL wrote that had any Web like qualities. It was one of the main inspirations behind the WWW. You can find out more about ENQUIRE from TimBLs book, Weaving The Web.
The name "ENQUIRE" comes from a book "Enquire Within Upon Everything" that TimBL read in his childhood. There is an etext of "Enquire Within Upon Everything" now available on the WWW (ironically).
Any mistakes I made are my own. I tried as much as possible to maintain the formatting of the original, especially given that the typesetting program used (called "REPORT") was written by Robert Cailliau, who later worked with TimBL on the WWW. Cailliau had been working under Brian Carpenter, to whom the ENQUIRE disc was given after TimBL finished working on it. Carpenter suspects that the disc was reused for other purposes since nobody was available to do further work on ENQUIRE.
It may be worth noting that the new Tabulator, written by TimBL in Javascript as a Semantic Web user agent, bears many similarities to the original ENQUIRE design and may even be considered ENQUIRE 2.0.
The manual was written by and is © Copyright Tim Berners-Lee, 1980. Reproduced here with permission. Painstakingly converted into HyperText by Sean B. Palmer.
