Integration of Declarative and Procedural Knowledge in Engineering Applications

An object-oriented knowledge-based system developed on a new knowledge representation paradigm is presented. The high-level architecture includes a problem-solving engine, a user interface, and tools. The low-level architecture is described by more than fifty different kinds of objects that are implemented in the system as Smalltalk classes. A problem-solving engine implements a knowledge source and rule-based deduction with metaknowledge control. A procedural attachment mechanism, bidirectional data exchange between the inference engine and procedure calls with a broad interface to the Smalltalk environment are basic mechanisms used for integration of declarative and procedural knowledge bases. The emphasis is on the object-oriented integration of declarative and procedural knowledge bases in the context of engineering applications.