try-the-ui.md

Start it

First install Stack.

Clone the repo. Within that folder, run stack ghci. Now you're in GHCI, the REPL for Haskell.

Run ui empty. Now you're in the ui, starting with an empty graph.

Add data to the graph

In the data entry (upper) window, try typing:

I #like turtles ##because turtles #have shells
turtles #are safe ##because turtles #have shells
I #like pizza ##because of course

Enter that data by pressing M-Enter (Alt-Enter). Now those statements, and every object and relationship they involve, are in the graph. (The number of hash marks indicates the precedence of the relationships. For more detail, see The Hash Language.)

Press Tab to go to the query (lower) window. Type /a and press M-Enter. Now you see all (/a stands for "all") things in the graph.

Query the graph

Simple queries

Type turtle into the query window and press M-Enter. Below should appear every expression that matches the word "turtle". (There's only one.)

Queries can be about relationships, and can include variables. For instance, type /any #have shells and press M-Enter. Below should appear the expression "turtles #have shells".

You can query for nested relationships, too -- for instance, /any ##because turtles #have shells.

Recursive queries -- If plants need dirt and dirt needs worms, then plants need worms

Try adding (in the data-entry window) a few more statements:

turtles #are lizards lizards #are animals mammals #are animals squirrels #are mammals

Now ask (in the query window) for /b (/from #are /to) turtles. The UI should return "lizards" and "animals". (The /b stands for "branch"; it indicates recursive search, in the direction specified by "from" and "to".)

Boolean operators on queries

Try querying for (/b (/from #are /to) turtles) & (/b (/from #are /to) squirrels). The result should be every category that includes both turtles and squirrels.

a & b produces the intersection of the queries a and b. Similarly, a | b produces their union.