This is aconcept that is central to all the tools developed by the EDG. It allows the designer to have greater control over the tool than traditional EA tools would allow. As the name implies, this concept consits of three parts:
This is the easiest part and the idea is simply to allow the user to interrupt the tool at any time. Preferrably, the tool should provide a continual update of the screen. This allows the user to watch the progress of the tool and then stop the execution whenever an interesting design is displayed.
In GENR8, this concept is implemented using the Esc-key. If the user strikes the Esc-key during execution, the evolution will be interrupted. However, the interruption will not be instanteneous since, the current generation must be finished before the execution can stop. Also, since the designs showed on the screen may lag, you may end up with something different than what you saw when the run was interrupted.
When the run has been interrupted, the designer should be able to intervene at his/her discretion. It should be possible to inspect the result and modify any parameter.
Once the run has been interrupted in GENR8, the designer has full freedom to inspect and manually alter the designs. The surfaces are ordinary Maya-objects and can be manipulated as such. They can be saved, shaded, moved and just about anything you could do with an ordinary Maya-object. Also, the parameters for GENR8 can be changed before resuming the run.
Resumption allows the user to continue a run after it has been interrupted. Ideally the re-start should be completly seamless and the run should take off from the same point where it was stopped.
As stated above, a run can be re-started following an interruption. The re-start is seamless and the evolutionary run takes off from where it was stopped.
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