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cbcl.abs[f83,jmc]	Abstract for CBCL talk in Terry's seminar

A COMMON BUSINESS COMMUNICATION LANGUAGE (CBCL)

	The problem is to construct a standard language for computers
belonging to different businesses to exchange business communications.
For example, a program for preparing bids for made-to-order
personal computer systems might do a parts explosion and
then communicate with the sales programs of parts suppliers.
A typical message might inquire about the price and delivery
of 10,000 of a certain integrated circuit.  Answers to such
inquiries and orders and confirmations should be expressable
in the same language.  In a military version, a headquarters
program might inquire how many airplanes of a certain kind
were in operating condition.

	It might seem that constructing such a language is merely
a grubby problem in standardization suitable for a committee of
businessmen.  However, it turns out that the problem actually
involves formalizing a substantial fragment of natural language.
What is wanted is the semantics of natural language, not the
syntax.

	The lecture will cover the CBCL problem, examples of
what should be expressable, ideas for doing it and connections
of the problem to the semantics of natural language, mathematical
logic and non-monotonic reasoning.