The Rhetorical Knowledge Representation System Reference Manual (for Rhet Version 17.9).
Abstract
Rhetorical (Rhet) is a programming / knowledge representation system that offers a set of tools for building automated reasoning systems. It's emphasis is on flexibility of representation, allowing the user to decide if the system will basically operate as a theorem prover, a frame-like system, or an associative network. Rhet may be used as the back-end to a user's programming system and handle the knowledge representation chores, or it may be used as a full-blown programming language. Rhet offers two major modes of inference: a horn clause theorem prover (backwards chaining mechanism), and a forward chaining mechanism. Both modes use a common representation of facts, namely horn clauses with universally quantified, potentially type restricted, variables, and use the unification algorithm. Additionally, they both share the following additional specialized reasoning capabilities: 1. variables may be typed with a fairly general type theory, that allows a limited calculus of types including intersection and subtraction; 2. full reasoning about equality between ground terms; 3. reasoning within a context space, with access to axioms and terms in parent contexts; 4. escapes into Lisp for use as necessary.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA249141
Entities
People
- Bradford W. Miller
Organizations
- University of Rochester