A Paradigm for Interpreting Tractable Shape Grammars

Shape grammars are, in general, intractable. Even amongst tractable shape grammars, their characteristics vary significantly. This paper describes a paradigm for practical general shape grammar interpreters, which aim to address computational difficulties posed by parameterization. The paradigm is expressed in terms of frameworks each comprising an underlying data structure, manipulation algorithms, and a metalanguage. The approach is illustrated through three exemplar frameworks.