A framework for fuzzy knowledge based control

Two major problems appear during the design of a framework. The first is re lated to synthesizing generic elements for a family of applications and con necting them to an integrated control how The second lies in the design of a powerful, modular, reliable architecture that is easy to (re)use and unde rstand, The fact of including design patterns in the architecture of framew orks minimizes the second problem. Indeed, design patterns provide proven, flexible, well-engineered design solutions at a higher abstraction level th an classes. Their associated documentation records information from experie nced object-oriented designers about solutions to recurrent problems, about contexts in which the patterns are applicable, about forces involved and c onsequences related to their use. This paper presents a number of the benef its of integrating design patterns in the development of an object-oriented framework related to fuzzy logic control. It also reports on an object-ori ented design for Fuzzy Knowledge Based Control (FKBC) that includes design patterns to facilitate the development, maintenance and documentation of th e FKBC framework. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.