EP0439343A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method of operating an expert system and computer systems therefor
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1991-01-23
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2011-01-23
Abstract
Abstract A rule-based expert system allows a user to set breakpoints defined by selected conditions and events which can occur during execution of the expert system. An inference engine used to execute the expert system executes a procedure call to the debugger whenever selected inferencing activities are performed. The debugger determines whether the inference engine should be halted by comparing current conditions within the expert system with predefined breakpoints. When a breakpoint is reached, a user is allowed to examine and change various aspects of the expert system and its course of execution. Control is then returned to the inference engine for further execution.
Inventors
- 👤 Raymond R. Hayes
- 👤 Lo Hsieh
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 03:54
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F11/00; G06F11/36; G06F11/3698; G06F11/362; G06N; G06N5/00; G06N5/04
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
124 words
A method of operating a rule-based expert system in which a computer system is configured to process a set of inference rules to develop a conclusion in response to a user-applied enquiry, characterised by the steps of presenting to the user prior to processing a representation of relationships between variables and rules in the expert system, responding to user input to set breakpoints for halting execution of the system upon occurrence of selected sets of conditions, halting processing during execution if a breakpoint if encountered, and presenting to the user an updated representation of the relationship between rules and variables in the system, so as to permit the user to undo selected portions of the system execution and reinitiate execution from an intermediate state.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 further characterised in that said updated representation includes a historical trace of selected portions of the execution process.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 further characterised by the step of responding to user input to change values of variables and rules when processing is halted at a breakpoint.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
41 words
A method as claimed in claim 3, further characterised by the step of analysing prior execution states of the system for consistency with any changed variable or rule and rolling the expert system back to a state consistent with any change.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
43 words
A method a claimed in any preceding claim, further characterised by the steps of halting processing in response to user input to request program interruption regardless of whether the program conditions meet the selected set of breakpoint conditions, and presenting said updated representation.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
51 words
A method as claimed in any preceding claim, further characterised in that said updated representation includes a list of optional actions for the user, including the further steps of accepting an input from the user indicating a selected action and performing an action corresponding to the action selected by the user.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the options presented to the user include resuming execution, and defining new breakpoints.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
27 words
A method as claimed in any preceding claim further characterised in that the relationships between rules and variables in the system are presented graphically to the user.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
96 words
A computer system of the type adapted to process, in an inference engine (12), a set of inference rules to develop, in response to a user-applied enquiry, an output representing a conclusion, said system being characterised by a user display (19, 84-108) adapted to present to the user a representation of the relationship between rules and variables in said system, and a debug handler (20) responsive to user input specifying relationships selected from said user display to establish breakpoints in the processing of said inference rules, and to halt processing when conditions satisfying such breakpoints occur.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
46 words
A system as claimed in claim 9, in which said debug handler includes a breakpoint processor (34) responsive to user input to cause said user display to present user requested information about the state of the inference engine when execution of said inference engine is halted.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
35 words
A system as claimed in claim 10 in which said inference engine is responsive to user input to change selected rules and variable values when the processing of rules is halted by said debug handles.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
47 words
A system as claimed in claim 10 or claim 11, including history registers (78, 80, 82) connected to record a history of all executed actions, and said breakpoint processor is further responsive to user input to cause said user display to present user-selected portions of such history.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
54 words
A system as claimed in claim 12 in which said debug handler is adapted to access said history registers in response to any change of variable following a halt in processing and to reset said inference engine to a state determined by the contents of said history registers to be consistent with such change.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
27 words
A system as claimed in any if claims 9 to 13 in which said inference engine is a state machine configured to operate in the forward-chaining mode.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
27 words
A system as claimed in any of claims 9 to 13 in which said inference engine is a state machine configured to operate in the backward-chaining mode.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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