To aid in converting existing source files to the new syntax, we have created a utility that reads the older syntax and produces new Intent Language Version 3.0 files. This process is called up-translation. The utility is designed to be used in a “batch” process, but can also be used on one file at a time. The resulting output includes the source of the input as a comment for reference. While this approximately doubles the size of each file, it aids greatly in inspection and correction of the results.
The translation of Intent sources cannot be 100% automatic. In particular, users frequently use language-building rules, which necessarily use older syntax. The translator cannot know what is language source and what is not, and does not inspect or alter string contents. This is only the most obvious restriction to automatic translation. There are other more subtle issues that are covered in Translation Issues later in this document.
Because translation cannot be 100% guaranteed, it is necessary to inspect, and possibly edit, the output of IntentUp. Under no circumstances should automatically translated sources be placed in production without inspection. Machine translation often results in less-than-ideal style and readability, even when the result might be precisely correct.
IntentUp.exe is a command-line application, and should be run from its installed location. When invoked, it initializes Intent’s kernel to parse source files (IKS, IKP, and IKM) in the older syntax. Once Intent is initialized, IntentUp can translate hundreds of files in a matter of seconds. Because of the startup time, it is much more efficient to batch-process entire folders rather than one file at a time.
IntentUp can be used to learn how the new language syntax is used to express standard Intentor idioms, however, its output should not be considered to be correct “style”.