Expert System Shells
An Expert system shell is a
software development
environment. It contains
the basic components of
expert
systems. A shell is
associated with a
prescribed method
for building applications by
configuring and
instantiating
these components.
Shell components and
description
The generic components of
a shell : the knowledge
acquisition, the knowledge
Base, the reasoning, the
explanation and the user
interface are shown below.
The
knowledge base and
reasoning engine are the
core
components
Expert System Shells
An Expert system shell is a
software development
environment. It contains
the basic components of
expert
systems. A shell is
associated with a
prescribed method
for building applications by
configuring and
instantiating
these components.
Shell components and
description
The generic components of
a shell : the knowledge
acquisition, the knowledge
Base, the reasoning, the
explanation and the user
interface are shown below.
The
knowledge base and
reasoning engine are the
core
componentsExpert System Shells
An Expert system shell is a software development environment. It contains the basic components of
expert systems. A shell is associated with a prescribed method for building applications by configuring
and instantiating these components.
Typically, an Expert System is composed of two major parts:
1. the Knowledge-base, and
2. the Expert System Shell.
The diagram below shows the typical Expert System shell Architecture:
Shell components and description
The generic components of a shell :
1. The knowledge acquisition Subsystem,
2. The knowledge Base,
3. The reasoning Engine,
4. The explanation Subsystem and
5. The user interface
The knowledge base and reasoning engine are the core components:
Knowledge Acquisition subsystem
A subsystem to help experts in build knowledge bases. However, collecting knowledge, needed to solve
problems and build the knowledge base, is the biggest bottleneck in building expert systems.
Knowledge Base
A store of factual and
heuristic knowledge.
Expert system
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 form a
line of reasoning in
solving a problem. The
inference
Knowledge Base
A store of factual and
heuristic knowledge.
Expert system
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 form a
line of reasoning in
solving a problem. The
inference
Knowledge Base
A store of factual and heuristic knowledge. Expert system 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 or Inference Engine
Inference mechanisms for manipulating the symbolic information and knowledge in the knowledge base
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.
Explanation subsystem.
A subsystem that explains the system's actions by trying to give reasons why a certain cause of action or
a certain conclusion was chosen by an Expert System. The explanation can range from how the final or
intermediate solutions were arrived at justifying the need for additional data.
User Interface.
A means of communication with the user. The user interface is generally not a part of the expert system
technology. It was not given much attention in the past. However, the user interface can make a critical
difference in the perceived utility of an Expert system. The user enters a request in Natural Language,
and the Expert System processes the Request to provide a result by using an Inference rule(s) to select
the appropriate solution from a Knowledge Base.