Using dialog-controlled rule systems in a maintenance module for knowledge bases

Dialog-controlled rule systems were introduced as a tool to describe the way in which theWimdas system for knowledge-based analysis of marketing data manages its dialog with the user. In this paper we shall discuss how dialog-controlled rule systems can be used to specify a formal language aiding a knowledge engineer in maintaining a system's knowledge base. Although this language is finite, it must be defined generically, being too extensive to be enumerated. In contrast to the well-known traditional methods for defining formal languages — using finite automata, regular expressions or grammars — our method can be applied by a user who need not be an expert in theoretical computer science.Research for this paper was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.