Whatever you input, regardless of style, will be translated by AutoMathic into one or more of the following categories:
If you answer "no" to AutoMathic's "Anything else?" prompt and there are any unanswered questions, it may search its library of mathematical knowledge to find any information that would be useful in getting answers. By default, AutoMathic will utilize its library without asking unless the "b_auto_consult" kernel option is set to "0".
If you anwser "no" and there are no unanswered questions, the program will ask if you want to quit.
A Request for Calculation could be as simple as "1+1" or as complicated as "Convert Mach 5 into units meters per second". The common feature of requests is that they get translated into mathematical "expressions". A mathematical expression NEVER contains an equals (=) sign. In general, requests for calculation can be:
AutoMathic keeps track of requests and responds to them as soon as it has enough information to do so. If no additional information is needed, it will answer immediately. If the request has any outstanding unknowns, it will be stored and (hopefully) answered later.
A question is really just a request for calculation that is written to sound like a normal, English question, usually using a form of the verb "to be". Questions may also get translated into mathematical expressions, and be handled just like a Request for Calculation:
However, AutoMathic does NOT handle "yes or no" questions, so it cannot answer about the truth or falsity of a logical statement. (e.g. "Is the mass 5 unit kilograms?", "Is the width less than half of the length?")
Statements of fact are translated into mathematical equations, and can be recognized by the presence of an equals (=) sign. Most statements of fact will come from using a verb phrase based on the verb "to be" such as "is", "are", "was", "would usually have been", etc.:
Non-trivial questions can also produce mathematical equations (themselves "statements-of-fact").
If a statement of fact becomes an equation with no variable values (e.g. "1+1=3"), it will be ignored since it can never contribute any new information (and might actually be false)! When this happens, the user is warned that the equation was ignored.
If a statement of fact involves a single variable, it forms an equation that is immediately solved for that variable to assign (or re-assign) its value.
If a statement of fact forms an equation with more than one variable, then any unknown variables will be derived as soon as enough information is available.
If a statement of fact involving more than one variable contradicts AutoMathic's current working knowledge, the statement may be accepted, but the user will be warned that the resulting equation is "Overdetermined, and the system is Inconsistent". After that message, any answers given or questions posed should be considered suspect until the inconsistency is resolved!
Kernel commands are any of the commands accepted by AutoMathic's "Command Mode". From "Converse Mode", kernel commands may be entered when the first character of your input is the "kernel escape" character, usually "!". The kernel escape character can be changed using the kernel "set" command for the "c_kernel_esc" option (e.g. "!set c_kernel_esc=#").