Answer 2_11_9

A help section of a generic software package has a natural language interface.

(a)    Explain with examples two advantages of using a natural language interface

(b)   Explain one limitation of the natural language interface. 

(a) Advantages:

• No need to have to put the question into a special form, for example Structured Query Language to query the help database.  All you have to do is to type in the question you want, in the way that comes naturally to you;
• This gives confidence to the user to ask some quite difficult questions.

Disadvantages:

• The interface often gives a list of options, which may not match with the the user's needs;
• It does not help the user to refine their query;
• It can credit the computer in some people's eyes with intelligence.

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