Expert system with three classes of rules

• US 4,884,217 A
• Filed: 09/30/1987
• Issued: 11/28/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pavilion Technologies Incorporated (Rockwell Automation, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (Corteva, Inc.)
• Inventors: DeCaria, Frank O., Skeirik, Richard D.
• Primary Examiner(s): RUGGIERO, JOSEPH F
• Application Number:
  US07/102,832
• Time in Patent Office: 790 Days
• Field of Search: 364/513, 364/300, 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File, 382/14, 382/15
• US Class Current: 706/56
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/028 using expert systems only
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/04 Inference or reasoning models
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 706/906 Process plant
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 706/914 Process plant

Abstract

An expert system wherein the rules are of three classes: (1) retrieval rules, which each associate one of several attributes to an object in accordance with the values of inputs; (2) analysis rules, which selectively associate an attribute with an object, and which are somewhat analogous to the natural-language inference rules which would be used in communications between domain experts; and (3) action rules, which selectively carry out the output and control actuation options, based on the attributes associated with objects by the other rules.

Preferably only the action rules can enable execution of an external command procedure. Preferably each of each of the action rules requires no logical operations other than a test for association between an attribute and an object. Preferably none of the action rules can associate an attribute with an object. Preferably only the retrieval rules include numeric operations.

Claims

1. An expert system, comprising:

a collection of inference rules, consisting of

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values; and

non-retrieval rules, respective ones thereof each performing a function selected from the group consisting of;

associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with object/attribute associations made by ones of said rules, and/or;

selectively executing an external command in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules;

a processor connected to receive inputs from an input channel, to execute said collection of inference rules on said inputs, and to provide outputs on an output channel accordingly,

wherein said processor is not programmed to perform any purely arithmetic test while executing said non-retrieval rules.

42. The system of claim 1, wherein said outputs on said output channel include synthetic speech.

43. The system of claim 1, wherein said outputs on said output channel include electronic mail.

44. The system of claim 1, wherein said outputs on said output channel include telephone calls.

45. The system of claim 1, wherein said outputs on said output channel include transmission of data to a historical database of process data.

60. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve values substantially corresponding to a current value of a sensor input.

64. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve values substantially corresponding to the most recent value of a laboratory measurement of samples taken from a process which is running substantially continuously.

66. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve averages over time of a process variable as an input.

68. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve time-weighted averages over time of a process variable as an input.

69. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve time-weighted averages over time of a process variable as an input.

70. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve and classify a process goal previously programmed into an underlying process control system.

71. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve and classify defined constraint values on a process variable.

72. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules receive a signal showing the deviation of a process parameter from its locally desired control value as input.

73. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some ones of said retrieval rules classify at least some parameters which have continuously variable values into a small number of discrete classifications.

90. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules provide status values indicating a limit value.

91. The system of claim 1, wherein some ones of said retrieval rules classify inputs which can assume only a limited number of discrete values.

92. The system of claim 1, wherein some ones of said retrieval rules classify inputs which are the results of laboratory analysis of process samples.

93. The system of claim 1, wherein each said attribute assigned by a respective one of said retrieval rules has a data type selected from the group consisting of:

string, list, and logical data types.

94. The system of claim 1, wherein each said attribute assigned by a respective one of said retrieval rules has a data type selected from the group consisting of:

string and list data types.

95. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor is not programmed to perform any purely arithmetic test while executing said non-retrieval rules.

96. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor is not programmed to perform any purely arithmetic test while executing said non-retrieval rules, and wherein every one of said retrieval rules is executed each time said collection of rules is executed, but said nonretrieval rules are not all necessarily executed each time said collection of rules is executed.

97. The system of claim 1, wherein said input values comprise numeric input values.

98. The system of claim 1, wherein said input values predominantly comprise numeric input values.

140. The system of claim 1, wherein said expert system is configured as a computer running one or more programs, including a cycling process which repeatedly samples a plurality of signals corresponding to inputs, forms inferences from said inputs according to a stored knowledge base, and provides outputs in accordance with said inferences, and then goes into a dormant state having a predetermined duration;

wherein said duration of said dormant state is sufficiently large that said process does not on average occupy more than 50% of the available CPU time of the computer;

and wherein said duration of said dormant state is selected to be sufficiently short that process fluctuations cannot diverge to an out-of-control situation during the periods when said process is dormant.

2. An expert system, comprising:

a collection of inference rules, consisting of

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values; and

non-retrieval rules, respective ones thereof each performing a function selected from the group consisting of;

associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with one or more other attributes associated with objects by ones of said rules, and/or;

executing an external command selectively in accordance with one or more other attributes associated with objects by ones of said rules;

a processor connected to receive inputs from an input channel, to execute said collection of inference rules on said inputs, and to provide outputs on an output channel accordingly,

wherein said processor is not programmed to perform any purely arithmetic test while executing said non-retrieval rules;

and wherein every one of said retrieval rules is executed each time said collection of rules is executed, but said other rules are not all necessarily executed each time said collection of rules is executed.

61. The system of claim 2, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve values substantially corresponding to a current value of a sensor input.

3. An expert system, comprising:

a collection of inference rules, consisting of

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values,

analysis rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with one or more other attributes associated with objects by others of said rules, and

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for executing an external command selectively in accordance with one or more other attributes associated with objects by others of said rules;

a processor connected to receive inputs from an input channel, to execute said collection of inference rules on said inputs, and to provide outputs on an output channel accordingly,

wherein said processor is not connected to perform any purely arithmetic test while executing said analysis rules nor while executing said action rules;

and wherein said processor is not connected to evaluate any logical expression having three or more input terms while executing said action rules.

22. The system of claim 3, wherein said analysis rules embody essentially natural-language inference rules.

30. The system of claim 3, wherein each of said analysis rules essentially embodies a respective inference rule whose predicate and conclusion are each a substantially natural-language statement of a condition.

33. The system of claim 3, wherein, under different respective conditions, two or more of said analysis rules can each assign a respective attribute to a common object.

37. The system of claim 3, wherein, under different respective conditions, two or more of said analysis rules can each assign the same attribute to a common object.

53. The system of claim 3, wherein at least some of said action rules enable execution of an output which alerts an operator.

54. The system of claim 3, wherein at least some of said action rules enable execution of an output which provides a speech output.

55. The system of claim 3, wherein at least some of said action rules enable execution of an output which initiates a communication link to a location which is remote from the process from which said expert system receives inputs.

56. The system of claim 3, wherein at least some of said action rules enable execution of an output which initiates a telephone link to a location which is remote from the process from which said expert system receives inputs.

57. The system of claim 3, wherein at least some of said action rules enable execution of an output which

initiates a telephone call to a location which is remote from the process from which said expert system receives inputs, and

provides a menu of control options to the recipient of said telephone call.

58. The system of claim 3, wherein at least some of said action rules provide an output which activates an alarm.

62. The system of claim 3, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve values substantially corresponding to a current value of a sensor input.

67. The system of claim 3, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve averages over time of a process variable as an input.

130. The system of claim 3, wherein none of said retrieval and analysis rules can enable execution of an external command, wherein none of said action rules can associate an attribute with an object, wherein each of said action rules requires no logical operations other than a test for association between an attribute and an object, and wherein said analysis rules embody essentially natural-language inference rules.

4. An expert system, comprising:

a collection of inference rules, consisting of

non-action rules, respective ones thereof each providing criteria for performing a function selected from the group consisting of;

associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values,

associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with object/attribute associations made by ones of said rules; and

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for selectively executing an external command in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules; and

a processor connected to receive inputs from an input channel, to execute said collection of inference rules on said inputs, and to provide outputs on an output channel accordingly;

wherein none of said non-action rules can enable execution of external command means;

and wherein none of said action rules can associate an attribute with an object.

124. The system of claim 4, wherein at least some ones of said action rules point to at least one respective program command which is to be executed if one of said action rules has a logical value which indicates that execution should be performed.

126. The system of claim 4, wherein each said action rule enables execution of said respective command contingent on only one said object/attribute association.

129. The system of claim 4, wherein none of said nonaction rules can enable execution of an external command;

and wherein each of said action rules requires no logical operations other than a test for association between an attribute and an object.

5. An expert system, comprising:

a collection of inference rules, consisting of

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values,

analysis rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with object/attribute associations made by ones of said rules;

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for selectively executing an external command in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules; and

a processor connected to receive inputs from an input channel, to execute said collection of inference rules on said inputs, and to provide outputs on an output channel accordingly;

wherein none of said retrieval and analysis rules can enable execution of external command means;

wherein none of said action rules ca associate an attribute with an object;

wherein each of said action rules requires no logical operations other than a test for association between an attribute and an object;

and wherein said analysis rules embody essentially natural-language inference rules.

34. The system of claim 5, wherein, under different respective conditions, two or more of said analysis rules can each assign a respective attribute to a common object.

38. The system of claim 5, wherein, under different respective conditions, two or more of said analysis rules can each assign the same attribute to a common object.

63. The system of claim 5, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve values substantially corresponding to a current value of a sensor input.

65. The system of claim 5, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve values substantially corresponding to the most recent value of a laboratory measurement of samples taken from a process which is running substantially continuously.

131. The system of claim 5, wherein said processor is not connected to perform any purely arithmetic test while executing said analysis rules nor while executing said action rules, and wherein said processor is not connected to evaluate any logical expression having three or more input terms while executing said action rules.

6. An expert system, comprising:

a collection of inference rules, consisting of

non-action rules, respective ones thereof each providing criteria for performing a function selected from the group consisting of;

associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values,

associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with object/attribute associations made by ones of said rules, and

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for selectively executing an external command in accordance with object/attribute associations made by ones of said rules; and

a processor connected to receive inputs from an input channel, to execute said collection of inference rules on said inputs, and to provide outputs on an output channel accordingly;

wherein none of said non-action rules can enable execution of external command means;

and wherein each of said action rules requires no logical operations other than a test for association between an attribute and an object.

125. The system of claim 6, wherein at least some ones of said action rules point to at least one respective program command which is to be executed if one of said action rules has a logical value which indicates that execution should be performed.

127. The system of claim 6, wherein each said action rule enables execution of said respective command contingent on only one said object/attribute association.

128. The system of claim 6, wherein none of said nonaction rules can enable execution of external command means and wherein none of said action rules can associate an attribute with an object.

7. An expert system, comprising:

a collection of inference rules, consisting of

analysis rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules, and

non-analysis rules, respective ones thereof each performing a function selected from the group consisting of;

associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values, and/or

selectively executing an external command in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules,

a processor connected to receive inputs from an input channel, to execute said collection of inference rules on said inputs, and to provide outputs on an output channel accordingly;

wherein none of said analysis rules can enable execution of external command means;

wherein none of said analysis rules can enable associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with an input value;

and wherein said analysis rules embody essentially natural-language inference rules.

35. The system of claim 7, wherein, under different respective conditions, two or more of said analysis rules can each assign a respective attribute to a common object.

39. The system of claim 7, wherein, under different respective conditions, two or more of said analysis rules can each assign the same attribute to a common object.

116. The system of claim 7, wherein at least some ones of said analysis rules translate logical combinations of classifications defined by said retrieval rules into respective action conditions.

117. The system of claim 7, wherein at least some ones of said analysis rules comprise logic which uses, as at least one input thereof, one or more status values defined by other ones of said analysis rules.

118. The system of claim 7, wherein at least some of said analysis rules selectively associate attributes from a group including at least one normative statement.

8. A computer-based method for processing data according to expert knowledge, comprising the steps of:

providing inputs, including numeric inputs, from one or more sources to a processor;

executing in said processor a collection of executable inference rules on said inputs; and

providing outputs on one or more output channels in accordance with inputs received on said input channels and in accordance with said inference rules;

wherein said collection of inference rules consists of

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values; and

non-retrieval rules, respective ones thereof each performing a function selected from the group consisting of;

associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules, and/or

selectively executing an external command in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules,

and wherein said processor is not programmed to perform any purely arithmetic test while executing said non-retrieval rules.

74. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve values substantially corresponding to a current value of a sensor input.

75. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve values substantially corresponding to the most recent value of a laboratory measurement of samples taken from a process which is running substantially continuously.

76. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve averages over time of a process variable as an input.

77. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve time-weighted averages over time of a process variable as an input.

78. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve time-weighted averages over time of a process variable as an input.

79. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve and classify a process goal previously programmed into an underlying process control method.

80. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve and classify defined constraint values on a process variable.

81. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules receive a signal showing the deviation of a process parameter from its locally desired control value as input.

82. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some ones of said retrieval rules classify at least some parameters which have continuously variable values into a small number of discrete classifications.

83. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some ones of said retrieval rules classify at least some parameters which have continuously variable values into a small number of discrete classifications.

99. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve values substantially corresponding to a current value of a sensor input.

100. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve values substantially corresponding to the most recent value of a laboratory measurement of samples taken from a process which is running substantially continuously.

101. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve averages over time of a process variable as an input.

102. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve time-weighted averages over time of a process variable as an input.

103. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve time-weighted averages over time of a process variable as an input.

104. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve and classify a process goal previously programmed into an underlying process control method.

105. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules retrieve and classify defined constraint values on a process variable.

106. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules receive a signal showing the deviation of a process parameter from its locally desired control value as input.

107. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some ones of said retrieval rules classify at least some parameters which have continuously variable values into a small number of discrete classifications.

108. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some ones of said retrieval rules classify at least some parameters which have continuously variable values into a small number of discrete classifications.

110. The method of claim 8, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules provide status values indicating a limit value.

112. The method of claim 8, wherein some ones of said retrieval rules classify inputs which can assume only a limited number of discrete values.

113. The method of claim 8, wherein some ones of said retrieval rules classify inputs which are the results of laboratory analysis of process samples.

114. The method of claim 8, wherein each said attribute assigned by a respective one of said retrieval rules has a data type selected from the group consisting of:

string, list, and logical data types.

115. The method of claim 8, wherein each said attribute assigned by a respective one of said retrieval rules has a data type selected from the group consisting of:

string and list data types.

9. A computer-based method for processing data according to expert knowledge, comprising the steps of:

providing inputs, including numeric inputs, from one or more sources to a processor;

executing in said processor, a collection of executable inference rules on said inputs; and

providing outputs on one or more output channels in accordance with inputs received on said input channels and in accordance with said inference rules;

wherein said collection of inference rules consists of

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating one of a predetermined set of attributes with an object selectively in accordance with input values; and

non-retrieval rules, respective ones thereof each performing a function selected from the group consisting of;

associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules, and/or

selectively executing an external command in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rule,

where-in none of said non-retrieval rules requires any purely arithmetic test;

and wherein every one of said retrieval rules is executed each time said collection of rules is executed, but said other rules are not all necessarily executed each time said collection of rules is executed.

10. A computer-based method for processing data according to expert knowledge, comprising the steps of:

providing inputs, including numeric inputs, from one or more sources to a processor;

executing in said processor a collection of executable inference rules on said inputs; and

providing outputs on one or more output channels in accordance with inputs received on said input channels and in accordance with said inference rules;

wherein said collection of inference rules consists of

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values,

analysis rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules, and

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for selectively executing an external command in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules;

wherein none of said analysis rules nor of said action rules require any purely arithmetic test;

and wherein none of said action rules requires evaluation of any logical expression having three or more input terms.

23. The method of claim 10, wherein said analysis rules embody essentially natural-language inference rules.

31. The method of claim 10, wherein each of said analysis rules essentially embodies a respective inference rule whose predicate and conclusion are each a substantially natural-language statement of a condition.

36. The method of claim 10, wherein, under different respective conditions, two or more of said analysis rules can each assign a respective attribute to a common object.

40. The method of claim 10, wherein, under different respective conditions, two or more of said analysis rules can each assign the same attribute to a common object.

11. A computer-based method for processing data according to expert knowledge, comprising the steps of:

providing inputs, including numeric inputs, from one or more sources to a processor;

executing in said processor a collection of executable inference rules on said inputs; and

providing outputs on one or more output channels in accordance with inputs received on said input channels and in accordance with said inference rules;

wherein said collection of inference rules consists of

non-action rules, respective ones thereof each providing criteria for performing a function selected from the group consisting of;

associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values,

associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules, and

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for selectively executing an external command in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules;

wherein none of said non-action rules can enable execution of an external command procedure;

and wherein none of said action rules can associate an attribute with an object.

132. The method of claim 11, wherein at least some ones of said action rules point to at least one respective program command which is to be executed if one of said action status items has a logical value which indicates that execution should be performed.

133. The method of claim 11, wherein each said action rule enables execution of said respective command contingent on only one said object/attribute association.

135. The method of claim 11, wherein none of said nonaction rules can enable execution of an external command;

and wherein each of said action rules requires no logical operations other than a test for association between an attribute and an object.

12. A computer-based method for processing data according to expert knowledge, comprising the steps of:

providing inputs, including numeric inputs, from one or more sources to a processor;

executing in said processor a collection of executable inference rules on said inputs; and

providing outputs on one or more output channels in accordance with inputs received on said input channels and in accordance with said inference rules;

wherein said collection of inference rules consists of

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values,

analysis rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules, and

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for selectively executing an external command in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules

wherein none of said retrieval and analysis rules can enable execution of an external command;

wherein none of said action rules can associate an attribute with an object;

wherein each of said action rules requires no logical operations other than a test for association between an attribute and an object;

and wherein said analysis rules embody essentially natural-language inference rules.

136. The method of claim 12, wherein none of said retrieval and analysis rules can enable execution of an external command, wherein none of said action rules can associate an attribute with an object, wherein each of said action rules requires no logical operations other than a test for association between an attribute and an object, and wherein said analysis rules embody essentially natural-language inference rules.

13. A computer-based method for processing data according to expert knowledge, comprising the steps of:

providing inputs, including numeric inputs, from one or more sources to a processor;

executing in said processor a collection of executable inference rules on said inputs; and

providing outputs on one or more output channels in accordance with inputs received on said input channels and in accordance with said inference rules;

wherein said collection of inference rules consists of

non-action rules, respective ones thereof each providing criteria for performing a function selected from the group consisting of;

associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values,

associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules, and

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for selectively executing an external command in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules;

wherein none of said non-action rules can enable execution of an external command procedure;

and wherein each of said action rules requires no logical operations other than a test for equality between an attribute and an object.

134. The method of claim 13, Wherein each said action rule enables execution of said respective command contingent on only one said object/attribute association.

14. A computer-based method for processing data according to expert knowledge, comprising the steps of:

providing inputs, including numeric inputs, from one or more sources to a processor;

executing in said processor a collection of executable inference rules on said inputs; and

providing outputs on one or more output channels in accordance with inputs received on said input channels and in accordance with said inference rules;

wherein said collection of inference rules consists of

analysis rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules, and

non-analysis rules, respective ones thereof each performing a function selected from the group consisting of;

associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values, and/or

selectively executing an external command in accordance with attribute/object associations made by ones of said rules,

wherein none of said analysis rules can enable execution of an external command;

wherein none of said analysis rules can enable associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with an input value;

and wherein said analysis rules embody essentially natural-language inference rules.

41. The method of claim 14, wherein, under different respective conditions, two or more of said analysis rules can each assign the same attribute to a common object.

121. The method of claim 14, wherein at least some ones of said analysis rules translate logical combinations of classifications defined by said retrieval rules into respective action conditions.

122. The method of claim 14, wherein at least some ones of said analysis rules comprise logic which uses, as at least one input thereof, one or more status values defined by other ones of said analysis rules.

123. The method of claim 14, wherein at least some of said analysis rules selectively associate attributes from a group including at least one normative statement.

141. The method of claim 14, wherein said function of associating an attribute with an object comprises mapping a descriptor onto a name.

142. The method of claim 14, wherein said function of associating an attribute with an object comprises defining a variable generally corresponding to said object to have a value corresponding generally to said attribute.

143. The method of claim 14, wherein said function of associating an attribute with an object consists essentially of mapping a descriptor onto a name.

15. A computer-based method for building an expert system, comprising the step of:

translating user inputs in accordance with predetermined functional structures into an executable set of rules which defines an expert system;

wherein said functional structures provide for only three different rule types, consisting of;

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values,

analysis rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with attribute/object associations defined by other ones of said rules, and

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for selectively executing an external command in accordance with object/attribute associations made by other ones of said rule types.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein said analysis rules embody essentially natural-language inference rules.

109. The method of claim 15, wherein said retrieval rule functional structures include a maximum number of ranges, which is not readily alterable by an operator who is unskilled in computer programming.

111. The method of claim 15, wherein at least some of said retrieval rules provide status values indicating a limit value.

16. A computer-based method for building an expert system, comprising the steps of:

providing to a user functional structures corresponding to at least three different rule types, consisting of;

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values;

analysis rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with other attribute/object associations; and

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for selectively executing an external command in accordance with other object/attribute associations;

wherein said functional structures for all of said rules are presented in a format which is readily understandable by a user who is not necessarily competent in any computer language, and which is not user-alterable except in restricted portions thereof; and

translating user inputs in accordance with said functional structures into an executable set of rules which defines an expert system.

25. The method of claim 16, wherein said analysis rules embody essentially natural-language inference rules.

28. The method of claim 16, wherein respective ones of said analysis rules comprise logic for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with object/attribute associations made by other ones of said rule types.

29. The method of claim 16, wherein respective ones of said action rules comprise logic for executing an external command selectively in accordance with object/attribute associations made by ones of said rule types.

138. The method of claim 16, wherein said respective rules are presented to the user as functional structures which have a format which is readily understandable by a user who is technically skilled in a predetermined art, but is not necessarily competent in any computer language.

139. The method of claim 16, wherein said respective rules are presented to the user as functional structures which have a substantially natural language format.

144. The method of claim 16, wherein said step of providing to a user functional structures includes presenting standardized data interface definitions such that the user can specify data having one of plural pre-defined temporal characteristics.

145. The method of claim 16, wherein said step of providing to a user functional structures includes presenting standardize definitions such that the user can specify data having one of plural pre-defined temporal characteristics, and said pre-defined temporal characteristics include both current values and also time-averaged values.

146. The method of claim 16, wherein said step of providing to a user functional structures includes presenting standardized data interface definitions such that the user can specify data from any one of several different types of control systems having different respective data standards.

17. A computer-based method for building an expert system, comprising the steps of:

providing a user with functional structures for rules according to a limited set of predetermined types, consisting of;

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values;

analysis rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with attributes previously assigned; and

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for selectively executing an external command in accordance with attributes previously assigned;

wherein said functional structures for all of said rules are provided in a format which is readily understandable by a user who is not necessarily competent in any computer language, and which is not readily user-alterable except in restricted portions thereof;

translating user inputs in accordance with said templates into an executable set of rules which defines an expert system; and

storing said user inputs, apart from said executable set of rules, in a format such that said user inputs can subsequently be redisplayed to a user for modification, and subsequent user modifications to said inputs can be retranslated to redefine said executable set of rules and thereby redefine said expert system.

26. The method of claim 17, wherein said analysis rules embody essentially natural-language inference rules.

32. The method of claim 17, wherein each of said analysis rules essentially embodies a respective inference rule whose predicate and conclusion are each a substantially natural-language statement of a condition.

18. A computer-based method for building an expert system, comprising the steps of:

providing to a user functional structures, for rules according to a limited set of predetermined types, in a format

which is readily understandable by a user who is not necessarily competent in any computer language,

and which is not readily user-alterable except in restricted portions thereof,

and which includes standardized data interface definitions such that the user can reference data from any one of a plurality of data collection and/or process control systems without having to explicitly define any custom data interfacing procedures;

translating user inputs in accordance with predetermined functional structures into an executable set of rules which defines an expert system;

wherein said functional structures provide for only three different rule types, consisting of;

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with numeric input values,

analysis rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with attribute/object an associations defined by other ones of said rules, and

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for selectively executing an external command in accordance with attributes assigned by other ones of said rule types.

27. The method of claim 18, wherein said analysis rules embody essentially natural-language inference rules.

46. The method of claim 18, wherein rule generation logic selectably:

presents said functional structures for new rules;

or, on command of an authorized user, presents functional structures corresponding to the user input from which a current version of an expert system was generated.

19. A computer-based system for building an expert system, comprising:

rule generation logic, which, when activated, provides to a user, via an interactive interface, templates for at least three different rule types, including;

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values;

analysis rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with other object/attribute associations; and

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for executing an external command selectively in accordance with other object/attribute associations;

wherein said respective rules are presented to the user as templates which have a format which is readily understandable by a user who is not necessarily competent in any computer language;

wherein only restricted portions of said templates are user-alterable;

and wherein said rule generation logic translates user inputs in accordance with said templates into an executable set of rules which defines an expert system.

47. The system of claim 19, wherein said respective rules are presented to the user as functional structures which have a substantially natural language format which is readily understandable by a user who is technically skilled in a predetermined art but who is not necessarily competent in any computer language.

48. The system of claim 19, wherein only restricted portions of said templates are user-alterable.

51. The system of claim 19, wherein said user-alterable portions of said templates appear differently to said user than do other portions of said templates.

52. The system of claim 19, wherein said set of rules defines a substantially real-time expert control system.

59. The system of claim 19, wherein said rule generation logic verifies that each input value referred to by said respective retrieval rules is well-defined.

20. A computer-based system for building an expert system, comprising:

rule generation logic, which, when activated, translates user inputs in accordance with predetermined functional structures into an executable set of rules which defines an expert system;

wherein said functional structures provide for only three different rule types, consisting of;

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with input values,

analysis rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with object/attribute associations made by other ones of said rules, and

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for selectively executing an external command in accordance with object/attribute associations made by other ones of said rule types.

49. The system of claim 20, wherein said rule generation logic translates said functional structure, as modified by user inputs, into an executable set of rules which defines an expert system.

50. The system of claim 20, wherein user-alterable portions of said functional structures appear differently to said user than do other portions of said functional structures.

84. The system of claim 20, wherein said rule-generation logic provides functional structures for retrieval rules which include a plurality of options for fetching (at the time the rule is fired) the variable being executed from one of the respective plurality of sources.

85. The system of claim 20, wherein said rule-generation logic system provides functional structures for retrieval rules which include two mandatory open-ended range statements for high and low values of the continuously variable process value.

86. The system of claim 20, wherein said rule-generation logic provides functional structures for retrieval rules which include age limits on parameters.

87. The system of claim 20, wherein said rule-generation logic provides functional structures for retrieval rules which include closed-end range statements.

88. The system of claim 20, wherein said rule-generation logic does not check to ensure that the stated ranges for process variables for each said retrieval rule are comprehensive.

89. The system of claim 20, wherein said retrieval rule functional structures include a maximum number of ranges, which is not readily alterable by an operator who is unskilled in computer programming.

119. The system of claim 20, wherein said expert system provides functional structures for said analysis rules which include a logical combination of the results of a maximum number of logical test operations, wherein said maximum number is not readily alterable by a user who is unskilled in computer programming.

120. The system of claim 20, wherein each said analysis rule functional structure permits only an ANDed combination of only a maximum number of items (wherein the maximum number is not easily changeable by a user who is not skilled in computer programming), and wherein the user can enter, for each of the items thus ANDed, only an object and an attribute to be tested for association.

21. A computer-based system for building an expert system, comprising:

rule generation logic, which, when activated, provides to a user functional structures for no more than three different rule types, consisting of;

retrieval rules, respective ones thereof including standards for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with numeric input values;

analysis rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for associating an attribute with an object selectively in accordance with other object/attribute associations; and

action rules, respective ones thereof comprising logic for selectively executing an external command in accordance with object/attribute associations made by other ones of said rule types;

wherein said rule generation logic presents said functional structures for all of said rules in a format which is readily understandable by a user who is not necessarily competent in any computer language, and which is not user-alterable except in restricted portions thereof;

and wherein said rule generation logic translates user inputs in accordance with said functional structures into an executable set of rules which defines an expert system.

137. The system of claim 21, wherein said rule-generation logic does not check user inputs in response to said functional structures to ascertain whether the user inputs have defined an expert system which is coherent.