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<Paper uid="W96-0411">
  <Title>Output String N G I N E</Title>
  <Section position="7" start_page="108" end_page="109" type="concl">
    <SectionTitle>
6 Conclusion
</SectionTitle>
    <Paragraph position="0"> In this contribution, we have introduced TG/2, a production-rule based surface generator that can be parameterized to generate the best solutions first. The rules are encoded in TGL, a language that allows the definition of canned text items, templates, and context-free rules within the same formalism. TGL rules can, and should, be written with generation in mind, i.e. the goal of reversibility of grammars pursued with many constraint-based approaches has been sacrificed. This is justified because of the limited usefulness of large reversible grammars for generation.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="1"> TGL is particularly well suited for the description of limited sublanguages specific to the domains and the tasks at hand. Partial reuse of such descriptions depends on whether the grammar writer keeps general.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="2"> reusable definitions independent from the specific, non-reusable parts of the grammar. For  instance, time and date descriptions encoded for the COSMA domain can be reused in other TG/2 applications. On the other hand, TGL sublanguage grammars can be developed using existing resources. For instance, suitable fragments of context-free grammars translated into TGL could be augmented by the domain and task specific properties needed. Practical experience must show whether this approach saves effort.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="3"> The system is fully implemented in Allegro Common Lisp and runs on different platforms (SUN workstations, PC, Macintosh). Computing the first solution of average-length sentences (10-20 words) takes between one and three seconds on a SUN SS 20. TG/2 is being used in the domain of appointment scheduling within DFKI's COSMA system. In the near future, the system will be used within an NL-based information kiosk, where information about environmental data must be provided in both German and French language, including tabular presentations if measurements of several substances are involved.</Paragraph>
  </Section>
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