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The MD Shell and its use to develop Dust‐Expert
Author(s) -
Vadera Sunil,
Nechab Said
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
expert systems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.365
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1468-0394
pISSN - 0266-4720
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0394.1995.tb00112.x
Subject(s) - computer science , shell (structure) , scheme (mathematics) , ranking (information retrieval) , expert system , domain (mathematical analysis) , transparency (behavior) , subject matter expert , reliability (semiconductor) , development (topology) , extensibility , process (computing) , software engineering , artificial intelligence , computer security , programming language , mathematics , mathematical analysis , power (physics) , materials science , physics , quantum mechanics , composite material
In this paper we describe TheMD (The Methods Designer) shell and its use in the development of an expert system, known as Dust‐Expert, for the relief of dust explosions. We begin by providing the motivation for the development of TheMD Shell by evaluating a prototype implementation of Dust‐Expert using a conventional shell. This evaluation is carried out in terms of the transparency, reliability and extensibility of the system. The lessons learned from this evaluation have led to the development of TheMD Shell. We describe the main features of the shell which include more appropriate schemas, more complete explanation capabilities, a ranking scheme and equation‐solving capabilities. We illustrate the use of the schemas and the importance of the equation‐solving capabilities by examples from the domain of dust explosions. We also provide a formal specification of the ranking scheme that we adopt. We conclude by highlighting the benefits of our approach in comparison to the usual process of developing knowledge‐based systems.