Put your JanusNode into text generation mode by flipping the mode-switch (see the section on the JanusNode environment) up, so that it points to the word 'Generate'.
In text generation mode, your JanusNode creates original texts. The structure of a JanusNode's productions are specified by an informationally-rich substance known as TextDNA, whose format is described in detail elsewhere in this documentation. In this section we provide the basic instructions you need in order to use the text-generation resources that came with your JanusNode.
There are two main control pop-up buttons used in text-generation: The 'textDNA' button (outlined in green above) and the 'Subject:' button (outlined in red above).
The 'textDNA' pop-up menu lists all the folders that are available in the 'textDNA' folder. That folder must reside inside the 'JanusNode Resources' folder at the same level as your JanusNode. The folders in the 'textDNA' folder contain files of textDNA. Each folder in the textDNA folder should consist of a set of textDNA that goes together for some reason: either because the textDNA revolves around a single topic or set of topics, or because it contains function calls to other files in the same folder, or just because it was created by the same person or in the same period of time. In the example shown above, the selected folder is 'StoryPlots'. That folder contains some textDNA to outline simple story plots. You can use the 'textDNA' popup to choose which set of textDNA you want your JanusNode to use when you ask it to generate text.
You can and are strongly encouraged to create your own textDNA files; they will automatically appear in the 'textDNA' menu if they are in a folder inside the 'textDNA' folder when your JanusNode starts up. If you do create new textDNA files, please respect your role as an evolutionary engineer by sharing your files with others through Janus's web site.
When you select a folder from the 'TextDNA:' pop-up menu that contains only a single accessible file, your JanusNode will automatically enter 'Single textDNA file mode', as described in the following section. If there is more than one accessible textDNA file, then your JanusNode will ask you to select which files in that folder you want to use for text generation. Your options after that depend on whether you select a single file or multiple files.
Single textDNA file mode
If you select a single file (or if there is only a single available file in the chosen textDNA folder, in which case your JanusNode will automatically choose it without asking you) then your JanusNode will enter into single file mode. In that mode, the 'Subject:' pop-up menu lists the available subjects in that file. (textDNA's subjects are specified by in the 'subject()' function at the beginning of each line of TextDNA- for more details, read the section on Managing TextDNA.) Your JanusNode automatically sets the default selection of the 'Subject:' pop-up menu to 'None', which means that your JanusNode will use all lines of textDNA in the selected textDNA file. You can use the 'Subject:' pop-up menu to select a particular subject instead. If you do, then your JanusNode will use only lines of textDNA classified under that subject.
Example: This example assumes that your JanusNode is in its default shipped state. Since anyone can change its rule-sets, this might not work as outlined here if your JanusNode has been tampered with.
Select the 'Standard' folder under the 'textDNA' pop-up menu. You will be offered two choices, corresponding to the two files in that folder: 'Paragraph.TextDNA' and 'OldMcPoet.textDNA'. Choose 'OldMcPoet.textDNA'. This is some ancient TextDNA that first appeared in one of JanusNode's primitive ancestors- indeed, it once wholly defined that ancient ancestor. Because this file has multiple subjects within it, the 'Subject:' pop-up menu defaults to 'None'. Pull down that menu and choose 'definitions' instead. The rules classified under this subject are simple and ancient rules that generate random definitions of words. Click on the 'Manufacture Text' button. Tell your JanusNode how many lines you want it to generate. It will now generate definitions. You can experiment with changing the subject in the 'Subject:' pop-up menu.
If you don't like what you see, don't despair. Your JanusNode is like a set of oil paints: just because someone untalented makes a bad painting with them doesn't mean that an artistic genius such as yourself can't make a beautiful one. Everything your JanusNode produces when it is in text-generation mode is specified in the particular textDNA file you are running. If you don't appreciate that one, try some others, or produce your own. There is much room for the expression of artistry and individual inspiration in the creation of TextDNA.
If the selected textDNA file contained only one subject, then your JanusNode is intelligent enough to automatically select that subject as the default selection of the 'Subject:' pop-up menu.
When writing complex narratives consisting of many lines of textDNA that have to go in a particular order, it is desirable to be sure that the user choose only the subject that defines the first line of the narrative. For example, you might want to have your JanusNode begin its productions by printing the title of a song or by giving values to the variables that will be used in the ensuing production. You can make both textDNA files 'invisible' by appending a '0' (zero) as the first character of their names. If all textDNA files in a given folder except one begin with '0', then your JanusNode will treat the folder as if it contained only the single textDNA file that has a non-zero first character. You can also make textDNA subjects within a file invisible, but in that case you need to append the '0' to the end of the subject name (Inconsistent, you say! Very well then- it's inconsistent. You have entered the Twlight Zone of computer programming, my friend.) If all subject names in a selected textDNA file except one end with '0', then your JanusNode will treat the file as if it contained only that single subject, and it will therefore select that subject as the default value of the 'Subject:' pop-up menu. This makes it very simple for ordinary users to use highly complex rule sets without having to understand, or even be aware of, their complex structure. You, of course, are not such an ordinary user. You are going to revel in creating fiendishly complex and ingenius textDNA files for less intelligent, less creative users to use. We are overjoyed to have someone as intelligent and creative as yourself reading this document.
Example: This example again assumes that your JanusNode is in its default shipped state. Since anyone can change its textDNA, this might not work as outlined here if your JanusNode resources have been tampered with.
Select the 'RobertJohnson' folder under the 'TextDNA:' pop-up menu. This folder contains a fairly complex work-in-progress: a set of textDNA designed to write blues lyrics in the style of Robert Johnson. Although there are many textDNA files in the RobertJohnson folder, your JanusNode will act as if there is only one, and default to that file without asking you to select which file(s) of TextDNA you want to use. Although that single default file contains many lines of textDNA, your JanusNode will act as if that file contained only a single subject: 'RobotJohnson'. It will therefore automatically set the 'Subject:' pop-up menu to 'RobotJohnson'. You yourself need do nothing more than to click on the 'Manufacture Text' button. Tell your JanusNode how many lines you want it to generate. It will now attempt to generate blues lyrics, complete with titles and choruses. In doing so it is automatically selecting between and loading multiple textDNA files, as you will notice if you read its feedback.
Multiple textDNA file mode
If you select more than one file from the dialog box that is offered to you after you make a selection from the 'TextDNA:' pop-up menu, then your JanusNode will automatically enter into multiple TextDNA files mode. The choice on the 'Subject:' pop-up menu will default to 'Multiple TextDNA files'. No subjects will appear on that menu. If you are using multiple rule files, you cannot choose your subject from that menu. In this mode, your JanusNode randomly chooses lines of textDNA from all the files you have selected. It does so by weighting the files probabilistically according to the number of lines of TextDNA they contain. For example, if you selected three files of TextDNA, one of which contains 90 lines of TextDNA and the other two of which contain 5 lines each, then TextDNA will be selected from the first file 90% of the time, and from each of the other two files 5% of the time.
If, while in multiple files mode, your JanusNode encounters a function call which loads in a single file, it will revert to single file mode, as described above. Although it is possible to rely on this this automatic mode switching, doing so is not recommended as a deliberate strategy (Nothing is gained by doing so, since one can produce the same kind of random-to-ordered functionality entirely within single-file mode, using textDNA subjects.) The two modes are intended to be used separately. If you plan to use textDNA that loads specific textDNA files, it is best (because it is simplest) to run it in single textDNA file mode. This will minimize the chance of encountering errors in your textDNA.
You should by now have clearly understood that JanusNodes can dynamically load in textDNA files to their single textDNA field, either randomly (when in multiple textDNA files mode) or using function calls specified in their TextDNA. This dynamic swapping of textDNA resources means that there is never any guarantee that your JanusNode will be in the same state when you stop it (or when it stops itself) as it was when you first set it generating text. To avoid confusion, check the state of the pop-up menus before you click on 'Manufacture Text', or simply reset the state each time you wish to generate text, by re-making appropriate selections from the 'TextDNA:' pop-up menu, and, if necessary, the 'Subject:' pop-up menus.
The 'Spell Poem' option
Another option on the 'Subject:' pop-up menu is the 'Spell Poem' option. A spell poem is simply a poem in which the first letters of each line spell a word. Your JanusNode's version is rudimentary, like the ones I read in a newspaper which inspired the feature: JanusNode simply chooses an appropriately-matched but random word for each letter in the target word. If the 'Spell Poem' option is selected on the 'Subject:' pop-up menu, then your JanusNode will prompt you for word and write a spell poem around that word for you.
Example: If you entered 'Janus' as the subject of your spell-poem when prompted, one possible result might be the following spell poem:
Joyful
Alchemist
Natural language philosophy
Understate
Symbolic