Knowledge base management system with dependency information for procedural tests

• US 5,720,008 A
• Filed: 02/27/1997
• Issued: 02/17/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: McGuinness, Deborah L., Resnick, Lori Alperin, Patel-Schneider, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Downs, Robert W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shah, Sanjiv
• Application Number:
  US08/807,189
• Time in Patent Office: 355 Days
• Field of Search: 395/62, 395/75, 395/759, 395/183.02, 395/353, 395/617, 395/604, 395/51, 395/76, 395/61, 395/445, 395/619
• US Class Current: 706/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/022 Knowledge engineering; Knowledge acquisition
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/04 Inference or reasoning models

Abstract

A knowledge representation system which allows a user to generate, maintain and access information in a knowledge base using a description language is disclosed. The knowledge representation system maintains the dependency relationships between the different objects that are stored in the knowledge base so that pieces of information that are related to or dependent upon added or updated information may be properly classified at all times. The knowledge representation system includes a mechanism for processing dependency information that is returned from user-defined test functions in order to accurately maintain the dependency information implicated upon execution of the user-defined procedural test functions. A subsumption function determines if a particular individual in the knowledge base satisfies a concept. The subsumption function evaluates each component of a concept description and maintains the dependency information implicated by the concept component. A test restriction evaluation subroutine determines whether test restriction components of the concept are satisfied and processes the dependency information that is returned from the user-defined procedural test functions.

Claims

1. In a knowledge base system of the type having a description language, having means for maintaining a classification hierarchy based upon stored dependency information which relates pieces of information stored in said knowledge base, the improvement comprising;

means for specifying a procedural test by allowing a user to program in a language other than the description language a desired restriction not expressible in the description language;

means in the procedural test for returning dependency information implicated upon execution of the procedural test; and

means in the classification means responsive to the returned dependency information for updating said stored dependency information as required by the returned dependency information.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said returned dependency information returned from said procedural test consists of minimal dependency lists.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said dependency information returned from said procedural test consists of positive and negative dependency lists.

4. A method for use in a knowledge base system for maintaining dependency relationships between pieces of information stored in said knowledge base, said knowledge base system including a description language, said dependency maintenance method comprising the steps of:

specifying a procedural test by allowing a user to program in a language other than the description language a desired restriction not expressible in the description language;

receiving dependency information returned from said user-defined test function; and

processing said dependency information returned from said user defined test function in order to update said stored dependency relationships between said pieces of information stored in said knowledge base.

5. The dependency maintenance method of claim 4, wherein said returned dependency information returned from said user-defined test function consists of minimal dependency lists.

6. The dependency maintenance method of claim 4 wherein said dependency information returned from said user-defined test function consists of positive and negative dependency lists.

7. A method for use in a knowledge base system having a description language and a classification hierarchy for determining if an object in said knowledge base satisfies a concept in said knowledge base said method comprising the steps of:

defining a restriction having at least one component defined by a user-defined test function which allows a user to program a desired restriction that is not expressible in the description language;

determining if said at least one component of said restriction is satisfied by said object;

receiving dependency information returned upon execution of said user-defined test function; and

processing said dependency information returned from said user-defined test function in order to update said stored dependency relationships between said pieces of information stored in said knowledge base.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said returned dependency information returned from said user-defined test function consists of minimal dependency lists.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein said dependency information returned from said user-defined test function consists of positive and negative dependency lists.

10. A method for use in a knowledge base system for maintaining dependency relationships between pieces of information stored in said knowledge base for individual objects, said knowledge base system including a description language, said dependency maintenance method comprising the steps of:

generating a procedural test by allowing a user to program in a language other than the description language a desired restriction that is not expressible in the description language;

executing the user-defined procedural test;

maintaining a positive dependency list for each of said individual objects stored in said knowledge base, said positive dependency list indicating those other individual objects is said knowledge base which may have to be reclassified if information is added to said individual object associated with said positive dependency list;

receiving positive dependency information returned upon execution of said user-defined test function;

processing said positive dependency information returned from said user-defined procedural test in order to update said stored positive dependency lists; and

determining if said other individual objects indicated in said positive dependency list need to be reclassified if information is added to said individual object associated with said positive dependency list.

11. A method for use in a knowledge base system for maintaining dependency relationships between pieces of information stored in said knowledge base for individual objects, said knowledge base system including a description language, said dependency maintenance method comprising the steps of:

generating a procedural test by allowing a user to program in a language other than the description language a desired restriction that is not expressible in the description language;

executing the user-defined procedural test;

maintaining a negative dependency list for each of said individual objects stored in said knowledge base, said negative dependency list indicating those other individual objects in said knowledge base which may have to be reclassified if information is removed from said individual object associated with said negative dependency list;

receiving negative dependency information returned upon execution of said user-defined test function;

processing said negative dependency information returned from said user-defined procedural test in order to update said stored negative dependency lists; and

determining if said other individual objects indicated in said negative dependency list need to be reclassified if information is removed from said individual object associated with said negative dependency list.