Abstract
The challenges posed by designing expert systems for large and complex applications are discussed. An application is large if it requires, say, knowledge of more than 10∧5 application concepts and their interrelationships to operate effectively. It is complex if it is required to support multiple decision functions, possibly simultaneously. Examples of such applications include support for diagnosis, investigation and management decisions in medical general practice, and providing assistance during data interpretation and hypothesis formation in molecular biology. We have approached such problems using a combination of deductive database, symbolic decision making and metalevel reasoning techniques. These techniques are outlined and their contributions to meeting the requirements of large and complex applications are discussed. Questions are raised about currently favoured approaches to expert system development and it is suggested that the approach described here may offer ways in which such developments can be made less ad hoc.
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© 1990 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Fox, J., Glowinski, A., Gordon, C., O’Neil, M. (1990). Expert systems, databases and decision procedures. In: O’Moore, R., Bengtsson, S., Bryant, J.R., Bryden, J.S. (eds) Medical Informatics Europe ’90. Lecture Notes in Medical Informatics, vol 40. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-51659-7_46
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-51659-7_46
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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