Loom(ID:3991/loo007)


Knowledge Representation Language with Frames, Objects, Constraints and PRS

Raymond Bates and Robert MacGregor USC/ISI 1987


Related languages
NIKL => Loom   Evolution of

References:
  • MacGregor, R., and Bates, R. "The Loom Knowledge Representation Language" Technical Report, ISI/RS-87-188, USC/Information Sciences Institute, Marina del Rey, Calif. 1987. view details Abstract: The lengthening lifetimes of intelligent systems, and the desire to share or re-use knowledge bases, has created within the AI community the need for application-independent knowledge representation systems. The Loom system being developed at ISI represents the latest in a series of "classification-based" knowledge representation systems developed to meet this need. In Loom, the traditional single-classifier architecture is replaced by one containing a collection of classifiers which exhibit increasingly powerful inference capabilities. This paper describes the knowledge representation language developed for the Loom system.
  • Bernd Owsnicki-Klewe and Alfred Kobsa "Term Subsumption Languages in Knowledge Representation" view details Abstract: Term subsumption languages are
    knowledge representation formalisms
    that employ a formal language with a
    formal semantics for the definition of
    terms (more commonly referred to as
    concepts or classes) and that deduce
    whether one term subsumes (is more
    general than) another. These formalisms
    generally descend from the
    ideas presented in KL-One (Brachman
    and Schmolze 1985). TSLs are a generalization
    of both semantic networks
    and frames. One result of the workshop
    was to standardize use of the
    term terminological logics to describe
    these formalisms; term subsumption
    languages was chosen as a neutral
    term for describing the workshop.
    In the last few years, many knowledge
    representation systems have
    been built using TSLs, including
    Krypton (Brachman et al. 1985), KLTwo
    (Vilain 1984), NIKL (Robbins
    1986; Kaczmarek, Bates, and Robbins
    1986), Back (Peltason et al. 1989;
    Nebel and vonLuck 1988), Meson
    (Edelmann and Owsnicki 1986), SBOne
    (Kobsa 1990), Loom (MacGregor
    and Bates 1987), Quirk (Bergmann
    and Gerlach 1987), and Classic
    (Borgida et al. 1989). These systems
    go beyond a bare TSL in various
    ways: Almost all of them incorporate
    assertional languages that enable the
    systems to reason about instances of
    terms, some of them allow for retraction
    of told facts, and so on. The
    workshop not only concerned TSLs
    but also TSL-based knowledge representation
    systems and their use in
    larger AI systems.
    Outline of the Workshop
    The workshop was designed to encourage
    discussion. To aid this approach,
    no formal talks were presented, and
    no proceedings is being produced.
    For a large portion of the workshop,
    the attendees were divided into
    working groups of 7 to 15 participants.
    Each working group was devoted to
    in-depth discussion of particular
    topics. Moderators were chosen to
    keep the discussions flowing and on
    track and were assisted by preselected
    discussants who presented short position
    statements. Ample time was left
    for intensive discussion, although
    several of the discussions could not
    be completed within their allotted
    time and had to be continued in
    the evening. Moderators reported
    the results of the working groups in
    plenary sessions that also allowed
    for further discussion of the topics
    covered.
          in AI Magazine Summer 1990 view details
  • [ISX] LOOM Users Guide, version 1-4, ISX Corporation August 1991 view details
          in AI Magazine Summer 1990 view details
  • MacGregor, R. "The evolving technology of classification-based knowledge representation systems" 1991 view details
          in John Sowa, ed., Principles of Semantic Networks: Explorations in the representation of knowledge , Morgan-Kaufmann: San Mateo, California, 1991 view details
  • MacGregor, Robert M. "Inside the LOOM description classifier" pp88-92 view details DOI
          in ACM SIGART Bulletin 2(3) June 1991 Special issue on implemented knowledge representation and reasoning systems view details
  • Robert Mac Gregor and John Yen "LOOM: Integrating Multiple AI Programming Paradigms" Submitted to the Eleventh Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence. view details Abstract: A number of distinct programming paradigms have been developed within the AI community, each of which facilitates the construction of intelligent/expert systems. The LOOM language makes it possible for multiple paradigms to be used ëvithin a single application program?specifically, die language brings together 'he object-oriented, data-driven, problem-solving, and constraint-based paradigms. Underlying the language is a logic-based knowledge representation system that provides the paradigms with a common representational framework. This papers describes the language, and discusses how each of these paradigms was adapted to integrate with the other paradigms and with the underlying representational framework. Extract: Introduction
    Introduction
    In its inception, the LOOM system [MacGregor 88j was designed as a self-contained, logic-based knowledge representation (KR) system. From observing early applications based on LOOM we concluded that this "black box" approach to building a KR system was wrong?a great deal of programming effort was expended in developing useful programming interfaces to the KR system. Our response was ro look for programming paradigms which couid be directly hooked into the KR system. We extended the scope of the language to incorporate several of these paradigms, so that now instead of being an inscrutable oracle. LOOM represents an environment within which application programs can be written.
    The present LOOM language is designed to capture the best features among the following paradigms:
    1)  Object-oriented programming (message passing)
    2) Data-driven programming (production systems)
    3)  Problem solving
    4)  Constraint programming
    Our intent was to design a language such that the several paradigms blend together and complement one another. This paper describes the approach taken and some of the motivations behind that approach.  
          in ACM SIGART Bulletin 2(3) June 1991 Special issue on implemented knowledge representation and reasoning systems view details
  • Yen, J. ; H.L. Juang, and R. MacGregor. Using polymorphism to improve expert system maintainability. IEEE Expert, 6(1) pp48-55, April 1991 view details
          in ACM SIGART Bulletin 2(3) June 1991 Special issue on implemented knowledge representation and reasoning systems view details