GC: n
CT: EXPERT SYSTEMS BUILDING TOOLS: DEFINITIONS
An expert system tool, or shell, is a software development environment containing the basic components of expert systems. Associated with a shell is a prescribed method for building applications by configuring and instantiating these components. Some of the generic components of a shell are shown in Figure 3.1 and described below. The core components of expert systems are the knowledge base and the reasoning engine.
- Knowledge base: A store of factual and heuristic knowledge. An ES tool provides one or more knowledge representation schemes for expressing knowledge about the application domain. Some tools use both frames (objects) and IF-THEN rules. In PROLOG the knowledge is represented as logical statements.
- Reasoning engine: Inference mechanisms for manipulating the symbolic information and knowledge in the knowledge base to form a line of reasoning in solving a problem. The inference mechanism can range from simple modus ponens backward chaining of IF-THEN rules to case-based reasoning.
- Knowledge acquisition subsystem: A subsystem to help experts build knowledge bases. Collecting knowledge needed to solve problems and build the knowledge base continues to be the biggest bottleneck in building expert systems.
- Explanation subsystem: A subsystem that explains the system’s actions. The explanation can range from how the final or intermediate solutions were arrived at to justifying the need for additional data.
- User interface: The means of communication with the user. The user interface is generally not a part of the ES technology, and was not given much attention in the past. However, it is now widely accepted that the user interface can make a critical difference in the perceived utility of a system regardless of the system’s performance.
S: http://www.wtec.org/loyola/kb/c3_s2.htm (last access: 28 December 2014)
N: The explanation subsystem is a service utility which explains the system’s actions upon the request of the user.
S: ICS – http://goo.gl/1CboUQ (last acces: 20 December 2014); Natalie C. Ranger – Translation Bureau (Canada).
SYN: explanatory facility
S: TERMIUMPLUS
CR: artificial intelligence, computer science, expert system.
