Semantic interpretation associates semantic output with each interpreted path through the grammar. In particular, the service evaluates the sequence of statements in the tag elements traversed by the interpretation to compute the final output.
A statement may be an assignment of a literal or a variable to another variable. It may also assign the output of a function with 0 or more parameters to a variable. Each function parameter may be specified using a literal or a variable. If the function does not return any output, the assignment is omitted.
<tag>x = 1; y = x;</tag>
<tag>q = All(); q = And(q, q2);</tag>
<tag>AssertEquals(x, 1);</tag>A variable is specified using a name identifier that starts with a letter and consists only of letters (A-Z), numbers (0-9), and the underscore (_). Its type is implicitly inferred from the literal or function output value assigned to it.
Below is a list of currently supported data types:
| Type | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| String | Sequence of 0 or more characters | "Hello World!" "" |
| Bool | Boolean value | true false |
| Int32 | 32-bit signed integer. -2.1e9 to 2.1e9 | 123 -321 |
| Int64 | 64-bit signed integer. -9.2e18 and 9.2e18 | 9876543210 |
| Double | Double precision floating-point. 1.7e+/-308 (15 digits) | 123.456789 1.23456789e2 |
| Guid | Globally unique identifier | "602DD052-CC47-4B23-A16A-26B52D30C05B" |
| Query | Query expression that specifies a subset of data objects in the index | All() And(q1, q2) |
There is a built-in set of semantic functions. They allow the construction of sophisticated queries, and provide context sensitive control over grammar interpretations.
query = And(query1, query2);
Returns a query composed from the intersection of two input queries.
query = Or(query1, query2);
Returns a query composed from the union of two input queries.
query = All();
Returns a query that includes all data objects.
In the following example, we use the All() function to iteratively build up a query based on the intersection of 1 or more keywords.
<tag>query = All();</tag>
<item repeat="1-">
<attrref uri="academic#Keyword" name="keyword">
<tag>query = And(query, keyword);</tag>
</item>
query = None();
Returns a query that includes no data objects.
In the following example, we use the None() function to iteratively build up a query based on the union of 1 or more keywords.
<tag>query = None();</tag>
<item repeat="1-">
<attrref uri="academic#Keyword" name="keyword">
<tag>query = Or(query, keyword);</tag>
</item>
query = Query(attrName, value)
query = Query(attrName, value, op)
Returns a query that includes only data objects whose attribute attrName matches value value according to the specified operation op, which defaults to "eq". Typically, use an attrref element to create a query based on the matched input query string. If a value is given or obtained through other means, the Query() function can be used to create a query matching this value.
In the following example, we use the Query() function to implement support for specifying academic publications from a particular decade.
written in the 90s
<tag>
beginYear = Query("academic#Year", 1990, "ge");
endYear = Query("academic#Year", 2000, "lt");
year = And(beginYear, endYear);
</tag>query = Composite(innerQuery);
Returns a query that encapsulates an innerQuery composed of matches against sub-attributes of a common composite attribute attr. The encapsulation requires the composite attribute attr of any matching data object to have at least one value that individually satisfies the innerQuery. Note that a query on sub-attributes of a composite attribute has to be encapsulated using the Composite() function before it can be combined with other queries.
For example, the following query returns academic publications by "harry shum" while he was at "microsoft":
Composite(And(Query("academic#Author.Name", "harry shum"),
Query("academic#Author.Affiliation", "microsoft")));
On the other hand, the following query returns academic publications where one of the authors is "harry shum" and one of the affiliations is "microsoft":
And(Composite(Query("academic#Author.Name", "harry shum"),
Composite(Query("academic#Author.Affiliation", "microsoft")));
value = GetVariable(name, scope);
Returns the value of variable name defined under the specified scope. name is an identifier that starts with a letter and consists only of letters (A-Z), numbers (0-9), and the underscore (_). scope can be set to "request" or "system". Note that variables defined under different scopes are distinct from each other, including ones defined via the output of semantic functions.
Request scope variables are shared across all interpretations within the current interpret request. They can be used to control the search for interpretations over the grammar.
System variables are predefined by the service and can be used to retrieve various statistics about the current state of the system. Below is the set of currently supported system variables:
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| IsAtEndOfQuery | Bool | true if the current interpretation has matched all input query text |
| IsBeyondEndOfQuery | Bool | true if the current interpretation has suggested completions beyond the input query text |
SetVariable(name, value, scope);
Assigns value to variable name under the specified scope. name is an identifier that starts with a letter and consists only of letters (A-Z), numbers (0-9), and the underscore (_). Currently, the only valid value for scope is "request". There are no settable system variables.
Request scope variables are shared across all interpretations within the current interpret request. They can be used to control the search for interpretations over the grammar.
AssertEquals(value1, value2);
If value1 and value2 are equivalent, the function succeeds and has no side effects. Otherwise, the function fails and rejects the interpretation.
AssertNotEquals(value1, value2);
If value1 and value2 are not equivalent, the function succeeds and has no side effects. Otherwise, the function fails and rejects the interpretation.