SOLVING VT BY REUSE

This paper describes how the Domain-Independent Design System (DIDS) w as used to solve the VT Sisyphus task. DIDS enables knowledge engineer s to rapidly build knowledge systems by providing libraries of reusabl e problem-solving procedures, called mechanisms, and reusable knowledg e-acquisition procedures, called mechanisms for knowledge acquisition (MeKAs). Instead of writing code, engineers build systems by selecting and combining elements from these libraries. Therefore, DIDS-develope d systems are easy to build and are not brittle, i.e. they can be easi ly modified by replacing mechanisms and MeKAs. To demonstrate these id eas, DIDS was used to solve the VT task by starting with the DIDS solu tion to the Sisyphus room-assignment problem. A problem solver and kno wledge-acquisition tool for the VT task were created by replacing a fe w of the mechanisms and MeKAs used for the room-assignment task with t hose better suited to the VT task. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited