A purely object-oriented approach for rule-based paradigms

摘要

In this paper, I describe an approach for rule-based systems exploiting a purely object-oriented approach. The innovative idea is to consider a new kind of relation between knowledge objects which are believed to model implication relations of production rules. A knowledge base consisting of such objects can be conveniently represented as a Marker Propagating Graph (MPG), which provides rule-based-like representation features. The inference is seen as a marking propagation through the graph. This approach preserves the best of both the object orientation features and expert system functionality. This experimental study concerns the design and the implementation of a medical system for automatic interpretation of biological tests in Preventive Medicine Centers. Because the use of such a system is planned for many years, the possibilities for its future extensions are seriously considered. This would not be possible without a good appreciation of object orientation features.