INTERLEAVING TIME AND STRUCTURE

A model for knowledge representation that incorporates structure and t ime is presented. The model is the domain of structured histories, whi ch is based on the interleaving of these features in a nested, structu red, manner. A rich temporal representation language is provided. The interleaving of structure and time is shown to be fundamental to the r epresentation of a variety of temporal domains, including planning, kn owledge bases, and design. Applications in the areas of databases and music processing that are based on the structured histories ontology a re summarized. The novelty of the approach presented in this paper is in the design of a general, domain independent, representation scheme for capturing the aspects of structure and time. As a result, both asp ects can be declaratively specified in a single logical design, thereb y providing a basis for well founded processing of structured temporal domains.