Transformation of an EGT Grammar: New Grammar, New Designs

Grammars generate design options through the application of predefined rules that transform collections of symbols into more meaningful expressions. Research on the nature of grammars tells us that writing the rules is where the fundamental design activity occurs. Using the grammar rules allows us to explicitly articulate one design at a time. We can exploit the design power of grammars further by modifying a grammar to describe new languages of designs. Here we examine an existing grammar to demonstrate how modifying its rule base to relax an assumption can expand the space of solutions it generates significantly. We show that investing our design attention on the grammar itself can yield dramatic results.