These are my internal design essays at the outset of the Markle project. By following them, you can see how the design of the software proceeded. I'm sure you will be surprised at how much the design changed during the course of the project. Certainly the nomenclature changed dramatically. For example, I initially called this program the Verb Network Editor, and you'll see many references to "VNE" throughout. Just replace it with "Erasmatron". Also, the original design was more hard-coded around my Arthurian game; over the years I slowly purged the Arthurian elements.
Language Specifications, Draft 2 (Aug 12 95)
Basic Screen Layout (Aug 20 95)
Roles Screen Layout (Aug 20 95)
Function Screen Layout (Aug 20 95)
How to build an expression (Aug 20 95)
Verb Classifications (Aug 27 95)
Sample Verb S-Code Use (Aug 31 95)
The Network Navigator (Sep 18 95)
More Thoughts on Editing (Nov 8 95)
Verb Creation Issues (Dec 5 95)
Verb Deletion Issues (Dec 6 95)
Line Length Problems (Dec 7 95)
More Line Length Ideas (Dec 8 95)
Intermediate Variables (Dec 8 95)
More Substitution Issues (Dec 11 95)
Processing the Selection Equation (Dec 13 95)
Back to Replacement Stuff (Dec 17 95)