Coupling Expert Systems with Database Management Systems

Abstract

The combined use of Database Management Systems (DBMS)and Artificial Intelligence-based Expert Systems (ES) ispotentially very valuable for modern business applications.The large body of facts usually required in business informationsystems can be made available to an ES through anexisting commercial DBMS. Furthermore, the DBMS itself canbe used more intelligently and operated more efficiently ifenhanced with ES features. However, the implementation ofa DBMS-ES cooperation is very difficult.We explore practical benefits of the cooperative use ofDBMS and ES, as well as the research challenges it presents.Strategies for providing data from a DBMS to an ES are given;complementary strategies for providing intelligence from anES to a DBMS are also presented. Finally, we discuss architechural issues such as degree of coupling, and combinationwith quantitative methods.As an illustration, a research effort at New York University to integrate a logic-based business ES with a relationalDBMS is described.