[lojban-beginners] Re: [lojban] Re: [llg-members] A challenge for computer science/programming geeks: The LLG wants to give you $500!

[Robin Lee Powell <rlpowell@digitalkingdom.org>]

On Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 10:20:12PM -0300, Jorge Llambías wrote:
> On Tue, Oct 28, 2008 at 9:59 PM, Robin Lee Powell
> <rlpowell@digitalkingdom.org> wrote:
> >
> > If the grammar is ambiguous, I think you've failed to make a
> > grammar for Lojban.
> 
> A CFG is a set of rules that generates each and only the valid
> strings of the language. Unambiguity is desirable for a parsing
> grammar (which we already have, the PEG), but a generating grammar
> that generates all the Lojban strings is also a grammar for
> Lojban, even if it has more than one way to generate the same
> valid string. 

I don't believe, but am not certain, that that is possible.  That
is, I believe that if there is more than one way to generate a
string, you've describe an ambiguous language, and that such a
description would not, in fact, describe Lojban.

> A machine that generated its output from such a grammar would
> generate valid Lojban. If you want an unambiguous CFG (which is
> obviously a somewhat harder problem) I think you need to specify
> it.

Then please, everyone, consider it so specified.  Apologies for
triple posting again, but if xorxes is right this is important.

-Robin

-- 
They say:  "The first AIs will be built by the military as weapons."
And I'm thinking:  "Does it even occur to you to try for something
other than the default outcome?" -- http://shorl.com/tydruhedufogre
http://www.digitalkingdom.org/~rlpowell/ *** http://www.lojban.org/