MIRRORS/II: Connectionist simulation software

[Roni.Rosenfeld@B.GP.CS.CMU.EDU]

The following is being posted on behalf of James Reggia.

(please Please PLEASE do not reply to me or to "connectionists") 

Roni Rosenfeld
connectionists-request at cs.cmu.edu

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             MIRRORS/II Connectionist Simulator Available


          MIRRORS/II is a general-purpose connectionist simulator
     which  can  be used to implement a broad spectrum of connec-
     tionist  (neural  network)  models.   MIRRORS/II   is   dis-
     tinguished  by  its support of an extensible high-level non-
     procedural language, an indexed library of networks, spread-
     ing  activation methods, learning methods, event parsers and
     handlers, and a generalized event-handling mechanism.

          The MIRRORS/II language allows relatively inexperienced
     computer  users  to  express the structure of a network that
     they would like to study and the parameters which will  con-
     trol their particular connectionist model simulation.  Users
     can select an existing spreading activation/learning  method
     and  other  system  components  from the library to complete
     their connectionist model; no programming  is  required.  On
     the  other hand, more advanced users with programming skills
     who are interested in research  involving  new  methods  for
     spreading  activation  or  learning  can  still derive major
     benefits from using MIRRORS/II.  The advanced user need only
     write functions for the desired procedural components (e.g.,
     spreading activation method, control strategy, etc.).  Based
     on language primitives specified by the user MIRRORS/II will
     incorporate the user-written components into the connection-
     ist  model;  no  changes to the MIRRORS/II system itself are
     required.

          Connectionist models developed using MIRRORS/II are not
     limited  to  a  particular  processing  paradigm.  Spreading
     activation methods, and Hebbian learning, competitive learn-
     ing,  and  error  back-propogation  are  among the resources
     found in the MIRRORS/II library.  MIRRORS/II  provides  both
     synchronous  and asynchronous control strategies that deter-
     mine which nodes should have their activation values updated
     during  an iteration.  Users can also provide their own con-
     trol strategies and have control over a  simulation  through
     the generalized event handling mechanism.

          Simulations  produced  by  MIRRORS/II  have  an  event-
     handling  mechanism  which  provides a general framework for
     scheduling certain actions to  occur  during  a  simulation.
     MIRRORS/II  supports  system-defined events (constant/cyclic
     input, constant/cyclic output,  clamp,  learn,  display  and
     show)  and user-defined events.  An event command (e.g., the
     input-command) indicates which event is to occur, when it is
     to  occur,  and  which  part of the network it is to affect.
     Simultaneously occurring events are prioritized according to
     user  specification.   At  run  time,  the appropriate event
     handler performs  the  desired  action  for  the  currently-
     occurring event.  User-defined events can redefine the work-
     ings of system-defined  events  or  can  create  new  events
     needed for a particular application.

          MIRRORS/II is implemented in Franz Lisp  and  will  run
     under  Opuses  38, 42, and 43 of Franz Lisp on UNIX systems.
     It is currently running on a MicroVAX, VAX and  SUN  3.   If
     you  are  interested  in obtaining more detailed information
     about the MIRRORS/II system see D'Autrechy, C.  L.  et  al.,
     1988, "A General-Purpose Simulation Environment for Develop-
     ing  Connectionist  Models,"   Simulation,  51,  5-19.   The
     MIRRORS/II  software  and reference manual are available for
     no charge via tape or ftp.  If you are interested in obtain-
     ing a copy of the software send e-mail to

                     mirrors at mimsy.umd.edu
                                 or
                     ...!uunet!mimsy!mirrors


     or send mail to

                  Lynne D'Autrechy
                  University of Maryland
                  Department of Computer Science
                  College Park, MD  20742



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