Data processing: artificial intelligence – Knowledge processing system – Knowledge representation and reasoning technique
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-08
2001-04-17
Powell, Mark (Department: 2122)
Data processing: artificial intelligence
Knowledge processing system
Knowledge representation and reasoning technique
C706S045000, C706S046000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06219659
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to the creation of rules for computing systems in a computer environment. More particularly, the invention relates to the creation of rules describing the characteristics of a computing system in a computer environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Computing systems that make decisions using rules are typically difficult to maintain during product lifetimes as a product matures and changes. Release engineering has always been concerned with the ability to recreate prior releases of product code bases consistently and accurately.
Generally, the design engineer must create tables of rules by hand. These tables are placed in files. The tables are then modified manually each time a product changes or options are added. Problems commonly occur whenever a table is modified because mistakes are made when another design engineer is unfamiliar with all of the possible options in a product and makes the modifications. Systems crash in the field because of improper characteristics that were defined in a product and not discovered before shipping.
Languages such as C, C++, and Postscript are used to define the tables described above. The definitions are generally inconsistent and difficult to understand. Currently, these tables are verified by having the design engineer walk through the rules manually to discover any inconsistencies or to test the product by inputting a multitude of option combinations.
It would be advantageous to provide a configuration description language system that gives the user the ability to easily describe a computing system's characteristics and immediately verify the validity of the rules dictating those characteristics. It would further be advantageous to provide a configuration description language system that is can be applied to diverse products and is easily maintained through ease of use and development tool commonality.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a configuration description language system. The invention provides an intuitive, easily understood, and maintained configuration language that allows a user to define the characteristics of a computing system in a computer environment. A compiler is provided to verify the correctness of the computing system's characteristics and convert the rules into a compact, portable, and easy to search binary format. In addition, the invention provides a database manager that accepts desired characteristics as input and outputs characteristics that have been corrected according to the rules created by the user.
A preferred embodiment of the invention provides a mechanism to develop sets of rules intended to govern computing systems. A custom language is provided that the system designer uses to describe constraints and rules of target systems.
A rule describes how a certain set of parameters of a computing system are determined based on an input set of desired characteristics. The desired characteristics pertain to certain tasks that the user wants to apply to such a system. The parameters (or constraints) are based upon system limitations such as memory configuration, processor speed, model number, etc.
The system designer creates rule sets using the custom language and compiler. The language is well suited to be easily written and read by human beings which facilitates easy verification of the correctness of the rules describing the target system. The compiler ensures that the sets are complete and unambiguous. It converts the custom language into a binary format that is compact, portable, and suitable for efficient searches, thereby minimizing execution times.
A report tool is provided for the designer to verify the system's parameters. The report tool traverses all of the rule sets and creates a table of all possible combinations of options or characteristics of the target system. The resulting rule database is then read using a database manager.
The database manager applies the set of rules in the rule database to input jobs or choices that the user makes. Any desired characteristics that are not available or feasible in the target system are replaced with characteristics that do make sense with respect to the target system. The output from the database manager is a corrected or constrained set of choices. This allows the rule database and the database manager to be installed in a product internally or used as a front-end to a target system, thereby providing corrected input to the target system.
Users typically do not have a thorough understanding of what a target system can or cannot do. The invention corrects user input automatically. Any combination of input can be understood and converted once the constraints or rules are defined. The invention works with any computing system that can be described in a closed set or defined space.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description in combination with the accompanying drawings, illustrating, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
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Electronics For Imaging, Inc.
Glenn Michael A.
Khatri Anil
Powell Mark
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