Tween Frequently Asked Questions
--------------------------------

This document captures frequently asked questions or FAQs about The Tween
Project and the associated software. The document is organized into a table
of contents at the beginning and in the second section of the document each of
the questions is answered. The most current version of this document can be
found at: http://www.tweenproject.org/faq/. If you have a question that is not
listed in this document please send an email to: cooper@tweenproject.org.

                             TABLE OF CONTENTS
                             -----------------

GeneralInformation
------------------
1.  What is the Tween Project?
2.  Who is the original author of this project?
3.  Are there any papers planned about this project?
4.  The documentation is incomplete at this time when can I expect more and 
    better documentation?
5.  What is a &quot;Nogard-Class&quot; autonomous object?
6.  When did the Tween Project start?
7.  What does Tween mean?

Sources & Downloading
---------------------
8.  Are the sources for the autonomous object available?
9.  Where can I download the sources from?
10. Where can I download the binaries from?

Technical Information
---------------------
11. What language is the autonomous object written in?
12. What collaborative environments does the autonomous object run in?
13. What operating systems does the autonomous object run under?
14. What does Tween do out of the box?


Why Tween
---------
15. How is a Nogard-Class autonomous object different from a MAAS-Neotek robot?


Development & Contributions
---------------------------
16. Tween doesn't do something I want it to do, will you please include this 
    functionality?
17. Tween doesn't run in the collaborative environment I do, will you please 
    support this environment?
18. Are you taking contributions for more environments?
19. Are you taking contributions for more functionality?
20. I think I found a bug in the code, how do I report it?
21. I would like to get involved with the project what should I do?


Utilities
---------
22. Are there any tools to convert MAAS-Neotek MUD maps into Nogard-Class 
    autonomous object M* maps?
23. Are there any tools to convert MAAS-Neotek player maps into Nogard-Class 
    autonomous object player maps?
                   
                  
                                ANSWERS
                                -------

GeneralInformation
------------------
1.  What is the Tween Project?
       The Tween Project is a 100% Java open source development effort whose 
       mission is to create autonomous objects that operate in a variety of 
       MUD's, MOO's, MUSHes, and other collaborative environments with minimal 
       changes to the software base. The autonomous object is built around a 
       set of composable services and a flexible plug-in architecture.
       Together they allow programmers to easily add functionality to the 
       autonomous objects without having to rewrite code from scratch.  This 
       allows programmers and researchers to concentrate on the functionality 
       that they are interested in without having to worry about the low-leve 
       details inherent in constructing autonomous objects. 
       For more information see: 

          http://www.tweenproject.org/docs/buildingbetterbots/

2.  Who is the original author of this project?
       Thaddeus O. Cooper

3.  Are there any papers planned about this project?
       Yes. There are several papers in development and will be announced on 
       the What's New page (http://www.tweenproject.org/whatsnew/)  as they 
       become available.

4.  The documentation is incomplete at this time. When can I expect more and 
    better documentation?
       The Tween Project is committed to providing the Tween developer 
       community with high quality documentation. We are working on creation of 
       this documentation as quickly as possible. As documentation becomes 
       available it will be announced on the the What's New page 
      (http://www.tweenproject.org/whatsnew/).

5.  What is a "Nogard-Class" autonomous object?
       A Nogard-Class autonomous object is an autonomous object that is written 
       in 100% Java, is based on a component-based architecture using the Bot 
       Operating System, has a flexible plug-in deisng for easy customization, 
       and is fully open source.

6.  When did the Tween Project start?
       The Tween Project began in 1999, as a testbed for research of, and 
       experimentation into, highly service aware autonomous objects.

7.  What does Tween mean?
       Tween is a reference to animators who create the frames of animation 
       between the key frames. These people are known as Tweener's. Tween is 
       named after these people because he is always betwixt and between places 
       in the MUD.


Sources & Downloading
---------------------
8.  Are the sources for the autonomous object available?
       Yes. See below.

9.  Where can I download the sources from?
       Sources are available for download at:
          http://www.tweenproject.org/download/

10. Where can I download the binaries from?
       Binaries are available for download at:
          http://www.tweenproject.org/download/


Technical Information
---------------------
11. What language is the autonomous object written in?
       All of the software built for the Tween Project is written in 100% Java.

12. What collaborative environments does the autonomous object run in?
       At the present time the autonomous object runs in:
          * TinyMUD

13. What operating systems does the autonomous object run under?
       At the present time the autonomous object runs under any operating
       system that supports Java 1.2 including:
           * Windows 95/98
           * Solaris

14. What does Tween do out of the box?
       Tween is a mapping chatterbot that will map the collaborative 
       environment, players, and objects in the collaborative environment. 
       Tween can then answer questions about the location of objects in rooms, 
       players, and give directions about how to get to rooms in the 
       collaborative environment. Tween can also answer questions about the 
       current time and what's new by using online newspapers.


Why Tween
---------
15. How is a Nogard-Class autonomous object different from a MAAS-Neotek robot?
       MAAS-Neotek robots are written in the C programming language and are 
       based on a traditional monolithic code base. To extend them far beyond 
       their original intended functionality is both difficult and 
       time-consuming.

       Nogard-Class robots are written in Java and are based on an extensible 
       component architecture. This allows them to have new and/or different 
       functionality installed very easily. Moreover, the Nogard-Class robots 
       are specifically designed with multiple MUD, MOO, MUSH and other 
       collaborative envirionment support in mind. Adding a new collaborative
       environment is as easy as writing the plug-ins to support it.


Development & Contributions
---------------------------
16. Tween doesn't do something I want it to do, will you please include this 
    functionality?
       Please send email to developers@tweenproject.org to let us know what the 
       functionality is. At the present time we are developing new 
       functionality and we may already be developing what you need. As an 
       alternative you could volunteer to write the functionality and 
       contribute it to the Tween Project.

17. Tween doesn't run in the collaborative environment I do, will you please 
    support this environment?
       Please send email to developers@tweenproject.org to let us know what the 
       environment is. At the present time we are developing the necessary
       support for a number of environments, and we may already be developing 
       what you need. As an alternative you could volunteer to write the
       support and contribute it to the Tween Project.

18. Are you taking contributions for more environments?
       Yes. If you are interested in supporting a particular collaborative 
       environment, please send email to developers@tweenproject.org
       to let us know what environment you are interested in working on.

19. Are you taking contributions for more functionality?
       Yes. If you are interested in adding particular functionality, please 
       send email to developers@tweenproject.org to let us know what you are 
       interested in working on.

20. I think I found a bug in the code. How do I report it?
       Bugs should be reported to bugs@tweenproject.org. Please include the
       version of the software that the bug occurred in, the class file that
       caused the bug, a description of what circumstances might have caused 
       the bug, and any output that might be useful.

21. I would like to get involved with the project. What should I do?
       If you would like to become a developer please send an email to 
       developers@tweenproject.org. Include in the email some information about
       what parts of the project you might be interested in.


Utilities
---------
22. Are there any tools to convert MAAS-Neotek MUD maps into Nogard-Class
    autonomous object M* maps?
       Not at this time. This is a planned enhancement to the general 
       distribution.

23. Are there any tools to convert MAAS-Neotek player maps into Nogard-Class
    autonomous object player maps?
       Not at this time. This is a planned enhancement to the general 
       distribution.
