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An authoring system is a collection of programming tools that describe the ideal (default) behavior of objects in a simulated universe. All of this means that the IF author only needs to specify unusual behavior. While a good authoring system can help you get started, even the simplest IF will require you to write your own code if you want any kind of personalized meaningful interaction with the user.
An authoring system typically comprises a parser, a library module, and a compiler. The end result is a story file, which must be loaded into an interpreter.