Each itag has a specific upper case six character representation. The itag always begins in column 1-6 on the extreme left border of the file. The 1, 2, 3, and 4 columns of the screen contain the itag type code as a fixed collection of four characters. For each line that contains an itag, column 5 always contains a colon and column 6 always contains a space. Note that this use of the initial columns of a line does not prevent other text from appearing there.
Every line in a file is either in some controlled format by a single itag or is blank. Itags are not nested within one another. The itag code will define the format for interpreting all other characters aside from the itag itself which will appear afterwards. The format specified applies until a new itag code appears in column 1-6 later on in the file, at which point the format for the new itag takes effect.
The itag codes that are currently defined are:
FILE as a specification of the external filename and a one line
description of that file.
TITLE as a formal heading for text to follow.
DATE as the date and time of first writing.
MODI as the date and time of a modification.
INDX as a table of contents for the file.
ORIG a marker of authorship for a file or group within a file.
ITEM as the principal EGS expressive group.
TEXT as an indicator that conventional text is to follow.
MARK a generalized instruction for EGS processing software.
ENDI as an indicator that the end of an itag scope has been
reached. All following material is ignored.
ENDF as an indicator that the end of a file containing itag
codes.
TODO as a personal note to do something.
REFR as a note that something needs to be looked up.
DATD as a note that something needs to be done at a certain
time or place; notes of meetings, etc.
BOOK as a listing of a specific book title and author [along with
publication data if applicable]. Useful for reading lists
and bibliographies.
IDEA as some short random interesting thought or quote.
INFO as some random information or data that may be useful.
ADDR as a note of someone's address or phone number.
RECI as someone's E-mail that was received
MAIL as outgoing E-mail.
The FILE itag format:
This format is for a single line only and consists of two parts, (other than the itag itself), separated by spaces. The first part is the filename as it appears on the computer and the second is a short description of the file. This itag is used at the beginning of the EGS file and is always the first itag to appear. Its use is mandatory where strict EGS protocol is required for direct software management.The TITLE itag format:
This itag is used where there is some formal title for the text to follow. It occurs on a single line by itself and has at least one blank line before and after. It serves as an optional visual division or heading.The DATE itag format:
This itag is used as a marker of the time of first writing for the text in the file. It allows for a specification of the exact date of file creation. This tag also is used to define the date for all of the following text where more than one DATE itag is used. Its use is optional. This itag occurs on a single line by itself and has only a date and time specification.The format for the date and time is constructed as follows:
- starts with a left square bracket (in column 7).
- a two-digit number for the year.
- a single slash.
- a two-digit number for the month.
- a single slash.
- a two-digit number for the day.
- a single semicolon.
- a two-digit number for the hour in 24 hour format.
- a single colon.
- a two-digit number for the minutes.
- a single colon.
- a two-digit number for the hundredth of a second.
- a single right square bracketIn most cases the time of the day is not necessary and the semicolon above is replaced with a right square bracket and the remainder discarded.
An example:
DATE: [95/09/21;23:12:00]the MODI itag format:
This represents a time of modification. It is used only after a DATE itag appears and the time specification is constructed in the same manner. Multiple MODI itags can be used where there is a necessity of tracking the history of a document. Where multiples appear, they occur in a group with no intervening itags, and can include a short description separated by a space after the time. Its use is optional. Where the description of the modifications are lengthy a new ITEM itag is created for a description of the modifications and only the reference appears in the MODI itag line.the INDX itag format:
This itag is used as an optional table of contents for a file. Its construction is similar to the ITEM format below except that it has a list of references to all numbered ITEM and TEXT groups within the file. Its use is optional.the ORIG itag format:
This itag served a marker of authorship for all groups to follow. Multiple instances of this itag may appear where a file has multiple authors. This itag has the name of the author in a single immediately following the itag code itself.the ITEM itag format:
This itag labels a group of EGS statements. It is the principle EGS expressive group and is a multi-line construct. Most of the EGS standard is in reference to the contents of this specific itag.The line containing the itag itself is empty except for some unique alphanumeric constant with no internal spaces and using upper case letters. This constant serves to uniquely identify a particular ITEM group. Where the ITEM appears as part of a network, this uniqueness applies across all possible references to an ITEM within that network. Empty lines are used before the ITEM itag to provide visual separation of the group. The unique identification code always ends with a single comma.
The organization of the ITEM itag consists of two parts; the context descriptor lines and the statement hierarchy. The context descriptor always appears as a collection of single lines immediately following the line with the ITEM itag and the unique group identifier. Each context descriptor line begins with a single colon in column 1 and a space in column 2. At least one column descriptor line will appear in each ITEM group.
The context descriptor specifies key words that give the general context of the statements to follow. Usually these are single words or phrases that are directly related to the statement hierarchy that is to follow. These lines act as a statement of context starting with the most abstract and general and refining to the most particular context ideas and concepts for the statement hierarchy. Also the appearance of multiple context descriptors can be used to indicate that the statements to follow are about the relation of these ideas or concepts. The context descriptors use no internal periods. Only the last context descriptor line has a period to indicate the end of the context descriptor groups.
The statement hierarchy consists of single statements or statement fragments collected in a hierarchical form. The statement hierarchy format consists of two basic aspects: the protocol for writing a single EGS statement, and the protocol for organizing relationships between statements. These aspects are outlined under the sections "Context Specifications" and "Statement Specifications" below.
An example of a typical ITEM; note that usually no spaces appear to the left.
ITEM: 001
: Animals
: dogs
- dogs are fun to have around.
- except when they smell.
- dogs are one of man's best friends.
- R; $somegroup\* "what are friends".
the TEXT itag format:
This itag acts as an indicator that conventional text is to follow. It serves to identify some text and has a unique label constructed in the same manner as the ITEM itag above. There is no protocol for the text to follow aside from that traditionally used in the English language. The appearance of another itag signals the end of the conventional text area. Note that the unique identifier given must be unique with respect to all existing ITEM itags as well.the MARK itag format:
This itag is used as a generalized marker or instruction. It is generally used as a handle for computer processing of text and has a format defined by that software. It usually occurs on at least one line by itself.the ENDI itag format:
This itag specifies the end of the scope of a single itag code. It is used as an indication to EGS-specific software to disregard any material that appears following the itag until the next itag is encountered.the ENDF itag format:
This itag specifies the end of a file containing itag codes. It is used as an indication to EGS-specific software to disregard the remainder of the file. It is always the last itag to appear.The format for the note taking itag codes is defined by the software that is used. The advantage of having these itag codes is realized where the EGS format is used for day to day note taking, stream of consciousness writing, and real time experiences. Effectively the different codes allow for "time of writing" classification of information. Thus one single file can remain open on the computer. This removes the necessity of calling up separate software programs for each different type of data entry encountered in day to day activities. Once the day is complete, a "splitter" program can be used to separate the different types of data and add them to the databases of other software specifically devoted to each information type. Thus addresses can be entered with book references in the same file without having to start an address management program and a book listing program respectively. The time of writing classification is used by a periodic "batch" program which places the relevant data into the specific databases of each program.
From here, you can:
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