How to use the Nokia phone application

The phone application


Disclaimer: the smart phone application is running (on the simulator, as shown above) but unavailable for download at this time.


The Instrumentation smart phone application can be used to send and receive glyphs as SMS or 'text messages'. In general, you select a function from the list at the bottom of the screen and then press the button to activate that function.

Pressing the button is required to reduce the problem of accidentally sending a random glyph to a random person by inadvertently selecting the 'Send Message' function. It won't absolutely prevent the problem, but it might slow you down.

Terms are broken up into 'basic vocabulary' at the top of the page and 'syntax' just below that. The 'basic vocabulary' contains the part of the term specified by the inner spokes and laths (the first and second layers of the glyph). The 'syntax' contains the part of the term specified by the outer spokes (the third layer of the glyph). The outer laths (the fourth layer of the glyph), are unimplemented as of yet.

You can change the glyph with a pointer (or your finger and a 'touch' screen) by clicking on the 'center' of an element. The 'RED DOTS' show the locations of the centers of the elements.  Right clicking near the glyph should bring up a 'virtual keyboard' so that you can enter text into the index field.

The specific functions of the application are explained below.

"Fortune - the (random) glyph knows all."

This creates a random glyph for mild amusement purposes only. If you want to consign your fate to the whims of a machine, I can't stop you, but life has a strict 'No Refunds' policy.

"Index - show glyph for (hex) number."

This will display the glyph and term that matches the hexadecimal number that you enter. A hexadecimal number is a 'base sixteen' number. The digits are 0 to 9 and A to F. The Application can translate the numbers 00000000 through FFFFFFFF, but any number above FFFFFF will not have any terms associated with it just yet. Smaller numbers may not have terms just yet either.     (try -FF881100 just for fun)

"Term - show glyph for selected terms."

This will display the glyph and index for the basic and syntax parts of a term. You must first select the basic and syntax parts of the term from the lists at the top of the page. This function does not require you to press the button. The glyph changes as soon as a new term is selected.

"Search - find terms for entered strings."

This will display the glyph and term that matches the string that you enter. The search function is very simple and considers multiple words to be a single string. When the search reaches the end of the list it will start back at the beginning. A new search will start with the term following the most recently found term. There is currently no way for you to change this.

When you understand how the Instrumentation Description laths (the second layer of the glyph) relate to the evolution of word stems (such as turning friend into friends or friendly), you will find that it is easiest to change the first found related term into the proper form by clicking on the elements of the glyph. Playing with the game and reading the tutorial can help you master this skill.

Leading and trailing blanks within the search string are ignored. If the search string is entirely blank (or nonexistent), the basic and syntax parts of the term will both be advanced to their next selections. Since this is documented, it is a feature, not a bug. (Seriously, you're searching for nothing. How would an error message help?)

If a string matches a unique term (such as "dogs") it will only be found every other time you press 'Search'. This is how you can tell that it is unique. If the string is not unique, no indication will be given when the search returns to the first found term.

"Build - create a one to ten glyph message."

This will replace the current glyph in the message and then advance the pointer to the next glyph. This lets you change existing glyphs and add new glyphs to the end of your message. There is no current way to insert a new glyph into the middle of an existing message. When you add or replace the tenth glyph the pointer will return to the first glyph (so be careful or you will overwrite the start of your message).

The glyph is saved, not the index. If you change the index number but fail to press the 'Index' button, the glyph will not be updated and your new number will not be saved.

There is currently no way to send the single words "false" or "no" as "-0". This is because the system can't tell the difference between positive and negative zero. The doctrinaire alternative would be "false or no apparently" (-20000), but there are many other options such as "false" (386) or even "most false" (6386). Be creative in your refusals!

See 'Review' below for details on using Build and Review together.

"Review - check message before sending."

This will advance the pointer to the next glyph and then display it. Notice that this is backwards from the way that Build works.

Build and Review share the same pointer, so the glyph you see with Review is the glyph that you will be replacing with Build. If you are Reviewing the last glyph in a message you will need to press 'Build' once (without changing the displayed glyph) to advance the pointer past the end of the message so that you can add more glyphs to the end.

It is easiest to Build the full message before you Review even if you know that you have made a mistake (or start over with 'Delete' below).

"Delete - remove *ALL* message glyphs."

This deletes the whole message and sets the pointer to the beginning of the (now empty) message buffer.

There is currently no way to delete a single glyph within a multi-glyph message. The 'Insert and Delete a single glyph' functions will be added eventually, but initially most messages will only be one or two glyphs long and I have a lot of other things I need to take care of first.

"Send - transmit a glyph 'text' message."

This will bring up a dialog that will display the indexes of the glyphs to be transmitted and let you pick a recipient. You can either send the message or cancel it. Once it is sent there is no current way to recall it. Instrumentation is not responsible for your poor life choices (see also 'Fortune' above).

If the message buffer is empty, you can send the single, currently displayed glyph by pressing 'Send Message'. Just be sure the buffer is actually empty. The single glyph will be found in the buffer after sending.

This means that you don't really need to 'Build' a message to send a single glyph. Since many terms are complete thoughts (such as "would you like to join me??"), this can be a handy feature (if you remember to Delete after Sending).

Pressing <ENTER> will send the glyphs. Pressing <ESCAPE> will cancel the message and return you to the main screen (or you can just click the labeled buttons).

"Read - receive a glyph 'text' message."

This will load an incoming message into the message buffer and reset the message pointer to the beginning so that you can read it with the 'Review' function. There is only one message buffer which means:

  1. You can change the message and then forward or return it.
  2. The new message will replace any existing message
    (so always 'Send' before you 'Read').
Instrumentation uses SMS messages with a 'mime' type of 'text/glyph'. You may be able to set your system up to automatically start Instrumentation when a 'glyph-message' is received.

"Hint on / off - colors show near-by terms."

This can help you avoid glyphs which have no meaning when you are clicking on the elements of a glyph. The hint colors have the following meanings:

In other words, click on a yellow or blue element to see a nearby term.


The Instrumentation smart phone application is
Copyright © 2011 by Ralph L. DeCarli.  All rights reserved.

THE INSTRUMENTATION SMART PHONE APPLICATION IS PROVIDED `AS IS' WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR(S) OR CONTRIBUTOR(S) BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.




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