Re: SUO Scope and Purpose: Call for discussions
At 18:07 2000-06-20 -0400, you wrote:
>
> SUO,
> Below is an updated strawman Scope & Purpose for the proposed SUO
> standard.
> I would now like to call for focused discussions on the Scope (what
> we are proposing to develop, including the technical boundaries) and the
> Purpose (why this standard needs to be developed and who will benefit).
> Please understand this version is just a strawman, so nothing is carved in
> stone. This is an open process, so all are welcome to actively participate.
I am supportive of the SUO Scope and Purpose that has been submitted. I
would like to proposed three more PARs *in addition* to the SUO PAR listed.
In summary, there are three additional PARs:
1. Finishing something KIF-like as a standard in whatever form is
necessary. I'm not saying that KIF should be standardized as is ... I'm
saying that we need a standard like KIF and KIF is a good starting point to
complete the work.
2. Standard for managing "buckets" of knowledge. Whatever we
consider knowledge representation, it should be possible to take "bucket" X
and "bucket" Y and "pour" them into an empty "bucket" Z. There might be
some type of reverse operation, if that is possible. This type of standard
would involve describing certain types of operations, which could be bound
in a variety of ways, such as APIs, programming language operators, queries,
commands, and so on. It is not clear whether or not the binding is
necessary for the standard.
3. Asking "questions" or "reflecting" on a "bucket" of knowledge.
It will be useful to ask questions ("is X true?", "what information do you
have on Y?") which might return responses "true", "false", or "unknown"; or
it might return a pointer (to some bucket). Again, the form of the standard
would be describing certain types of operations, which could be bound in a
variety of ways (just like #2 above).
I've included PAR wording below for each of these three topics.
Regarding the PARs,
- some people will want to participate in all activities (projects)
- some people will want to participate is some activities
- some people will want to participate in one activity
- some people will want to participate in no activities
Please send your comments for improving the PARs. I know that some of the
terms are lay terms, but I believe this kind of lay wording will help IEEE
NesCom (New Standards Committee) understand and approve the PARs (of course,
the standard won't be in lay terms). Please note that the KIF Scope and
Purpose wording were taken from the KIF document.
-FF
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Topic #1: Knowledge Interchange Format
Scope:
Knowledge Interchange Format (KIF) is a language designed for use in the
interchange of knowledge among disparate computer systems (created by
different programmers, at different times, in different languages, and so
forth).
KIF is not intended as a primary language for interaction with human users
(though it can be used for this purpose). Different computer systems can
interact with their users in whatever forms are most appropriate to their
applications (for example Prolog, conceptual graphs, natural language, and
so forth).
KIF is also not intended as an internal representation for knowledge within
computer systems or within closely related sets of computer systems (though
the language can be used for this purpose as well). Typically, when a
computer system reads a knowledge base in KIF, it converts the data into its
own internal form (specialized pointer structures, arrays, etc.). All
computation is done using these internal forms. When the computer system
needs to communicate with another computer system, it maps its internal data
structures into KIF.
Purpose:
The purpose of KIF is roughly analogous to that of Postscript. Postscript is
commonly used by text and graphics formatting systems in communicating
information about documents to printers. Although it is not as efficient as
a specialized representation for documents and not as perspicuous as a
specialized wysiwyg display, Postscript is a programmer-readable
representation that facilitates the independent development of formatting
programs and printers. While KIF is not as efficient as a specialized
representation for knowledge nor as perspicuous as a specialized display
(when printed in its list form), it too is a programmer-readable language
and thereby facilitates the independent development of
knowledge-manipulation programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Topic #2: Knowledge Pool Management Services
Scope:
To describe the functions, operations, and services of managing pools of
knowledge. These services would support the basic management services, such
as merging, splitting, tagging, and packaging of knowledge pools. A binding
shall be provided to at least two programming environments to demonstrate
language independence.
Purpose:
When knowledge is represented, it should be possible to take "bucket" X and
"bucket" Y and "pour" them into an empty "bucket" Z. There might be some
type of reverse operation, if that is possible. This type of standard would
involve describing certain types of operations, which could be bound in a
variety of ways, such as APIs, programming language operators, queries,
commands, and so on.
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Topic #3: Knowledge Pool Queries
Scope:
To describe the functions, operations, and services of querying pools of
knowledge. These services would permit applications or systems to pose
questions about certain pools of knowledge. These services would permit
applications or systems to inquire "what knowledge is available?" for
topics. A binding shall be provided to at least two programming
environments to demonstrate language independence.
Purpose:
It will be useful to ask questions ("is X true?", "what information do you
have on Y?") which might return responses "true", "false", or "unknown"; or
it might return a pointer (to some "bucket"). This type of standard would
involve describing certain types of operations, which could be bound in a
variety of ways, such as APIs, programming language operators, queries,
commands, and so on.
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Frank Farance, Farance Inc. T: +1 212 486 4700 F: +1 212 759 1605
mailto:frank@farance.com http://farance.com
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