JPS62115533A - Intelligence processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the complicated operation to the intelligence in a storage device by expressing the intelligence in a frame form, storing the frame into an expanded relational data base (RDB) in the secondary storage device, and using the RDB command. CONSTITUTION:An expanded RDB layer 13 is located in the secondary storage device 6 and a frame in an object layer 12 is stored in a table in a double form. All versions are stored in an individual and a common XRDB and a history from the initial setting of a log XRDB til the storage to the individual XRDB is stored in the log XRDB. Only the common information is stored in the common XRDB and only the retrieval is allowed for a general user 1. When the version storage of the individual XRDB is designated by the frame operation of the user 1, the up-to-data information of the log XRDB is moved and stored in the individual XDRB. The required information is transferred from the common and individual XRDB to the log XRDB and the data operation is executed according to the frame operation of the user 1.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] Knowledge (data) such as information containing real-world meaning and intellectual data is transferred to the application layer, object layer, and extended R.
It is managed using a hierarchical knowledge base consisting of DB (relational database) layers. Further, individual knowledge is expressed as an object using a frame format. As a result, a large amount of knowledge can be stored in the extended RDB, objects can be managed directly in the frame, and by having an object layer and an application layer, searches, deletions, updates, etc. can be made more efficient, and knowledge can be stored more efficiently. Make it easier to maintain consistency.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a knowledge processing system for managing and processing a large amount of knowledge using a data processing device.

[Conventional technology]

One of the trends in recent information processing systems is to enable a single person to directly process a variety of information (knowledge) centered on semantic relationships used in the real world.

Since knowledge processing systems are always required to be more practical due to their purpose, the amount of knowledge they handle tends to become enormous. Therefore, a method for storing and managing large amounts of knowledge is required. Such processing systems are especially called knowledge processing systems or knowledge-based systems.

Furthermore, databases are required not only for routine work but also for non-routine work, and accordingly, intelligent access to data is required.

A knowledge base is a database that stores such real-world knowledge, and handles various knowledge search requests, insertions, deletions, and
This enables file processing such as updating.

In one conventional knowledge processing system, knowledge is managed in a knowledge base called a frame and expressed in the following format.

Frame slot 1 slot i facet il (direct il, ・
...slot n, that is, let n and m be arbitrary numbers greater than or equal to 1, and i
When l<i≦n, each frame is composed of n slots 1 to n, and each slot i is composed of m facets i1 to im and their impositions (multiple values are possible). be done.

Next, FIG. 11 shows the configuration of a conventional knowledge processing system using frames. In the figure, 110 is a knowledge processing device;
11 is a main storage device, 112 is a frame processing program,
113 is a processor, 114 is a secondary storage device, 115 is a set of frames, and 116 is a procedure written in the frames.

In this way, in the conventional knowledge processing system, all frames are transferred from the secondary storage device 114 to the main storage device 111 and processed.

Furthermore, conventional databases are suitable for routine work, but not for non-routine work. This was due to their low ability to express and manipulate knowledge of the target world. For this reason, conventionally, to solve this.

Data in the target world is expressed using a data model called a semantic data model, and it is expressed in a relational manner.
By storing data in the database RDB, we are able to handle large amounts of data and improve the interface with users.

FIG. 12 shows the configuration of a database using a conventional semantic data model. In the figure, 121 is a semantic data model, and 122 is a relational database. Namely.

The conventional relational database 122 is provided with an interface using a semantic data model.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In knowledge processing systems using traditional frames.

Large pieces of knowledge (frames) that cannot be handled by the capacities of main memory and virtual memory are stored in secondary storage. For this reason, there is a problem in that the I10 time during searches and other information operations becomes long.

Furthermore, conventional database systems do not allow users to freely change the data structure definition (schema), making them suitable for routine work but not suitable for non-routine work.

Even database systems using semantic data models have various limitations in terms of usage, making it difficult to achieve a level of performance that can be put to practical use.

Means for Solving Problem C] In order to solve the problems of the conventional knowledge processing system described above, the present invention represents knowledge in a frame format and stores it in an extended relational database (extended) in a secondary storage device. R.D.
B). Here, the extended RDB means an RDB that allows non-normal forms. This makes it possible to easily perform complex operations on knowledge (frames) in the secondary storage device by using extended relational database commands.

Further, the present invention employs an object-oriented model using frames as a data model. Objects are both static data and procedures. Therefore, by using a model with this structure, it becomes possible to express the knowledge structure of the real world, and it is also possible to simplify various data operations.

The present invention further includes a means for collectively managing knowledge in a specific application field, and allows the user to freely create and change the definition 2 of the data structure, thereby facilitating adaptation to the processing of non-routine tasks.

FIG. 1 shows the basic configuration of the knowledge processing system of the present invention in a simplified manner.

In the figure, 1 is a user, 2 is a terminal, 3 is a knowledge processing device, 4 is the tα device, 5 is a processor, 6 is a secondary storage device, 10 is a knowledge base, 11 is an application layer, and 12 is an object layer. , 13 is an extended RDB layer, and 14 is an individual application interface.

15 is an object interface, and 16 is an extended relational algebra interface.

As shown in the figure, the knowledge base 10 of the present invention has two application layers 11. It has a three-layer structure consisting of an object layer 12° and an extended RDB layer 13.

The application layer 11 and object layer 12 are mainly stored in the main storage device 4 (or virtual storage device), and the extended RDB layer 13 is stored in the secondary storage device 6.

In the application layer 11, knowledge in a specific field is accumulated and managed. For example, it includes a group of application programs, a graphic interface, an object editor, etc., and is activated by a user command.

In the object layer 12 of the present invention, real world knowledge (data) is expressed in an object structure (described later) using frames. Further, in the extended RDB layer 13, frames are expressed and managed as tuples (rows in a table). In this way, the knowledge (data) of the two real worlds is held and managed in the extended RDB layer 13.

User 1 calls knowledge processing device 3 via terminal 2 and uses 1 individual application interface 14. Object interface 15. Each layer can be accessed through the extended relational algebra interface 16.

The basic knowledge representation in the object layer 12 is
It is a frame. A frame takes the form described above and consists of one or more "slots." Slots also have multiple
It can have "facets".

Also the facet values. There are cases where there are not only unit prices but also multiple prices.

The objects to be managed and operated in the object layer 12 are "objects".

An object represents a real, abstracted entity such as a thing, action, or event in the real world. The object must represent three aspects of the entity's attributes:

(1) Properties of the entity (2) Relationship between the entity and other entities (3) Behavior of the entity Such an object is expressed by a frame. Make one object correspond to one frame.

The slots in the frame are the properties of the entities described above.

Express a relationship or behavior. A slot representing a property (for example, a person's name) is given an actual value representing the property (for example, Hanako) as a value.

In the case of a relationship, it has the name of another entity (ie, frame) as the value. And for behavior, set the value to the program (
or functions) are stored. (Specifically, program names and function names are stored as pointers).

[Effect]

In the configuration of the present invention shown in FIG.

The user 1 searches, inserts, deletes, updates, etc. knowledge (data) while using the knowledge of the application layer 11 via the 1 individual application interface 14.

The format of the knowledge output at this time is made suitable for each application field based on the knowledge of the application layer 11.

An instruction (or command) of the user 1 is converted into an instruction of the object layer 12, and the object layer 12 is accessed via the object interface 15.

In addition, if necessary, the converted instructions are converted to instructions of the extended RDB layer 13 and extended relational algebra interface 1.
6, the extended RDB layer 13 is accessed.

The result of the instruction to the extended RDB layer 13 is as follows.

It is passed to the object layer 12 via the extended relational algebra interface 16. Object layer 12
The results of the instructions are passed to the application layer 11 via the object interface 15.

Instructions for the application layer 11 are passed to the user 1 via nine individual application interfaces 14.

Also the knowledge base of the knowledge processing system according to the invention.

Knowledge of the target world is expressed using a data model called an object-oriented model and stored in a relational database RDB. The system of the present invention can also be said to have a common feature with conventional systems in that knowledge of the target world is stored in a database using a secondary storage device. However, the system of the present invention differs from the conventional system in the following three points.

First of all, in the knowledge processing system according to the present invention, an object-oriented model can be processed at high speed in main memory using frames, whereas in the above-mentioned semantic database, the data unit of the semantic data model is There is no way to directly process entities.

Second, version management and historical data management can be performed at high speed by using three extended RDBs that will be described later in the embodiment.

Thirdly, the object-oriented model of the present invention.

Compared to semantic data models, it has higher knowledge expression ability and operational ability. it is.

One reason for this is that the object-oriented model uses objects, which are a combination of data and procedures, as the unit of knowledge.

〔Example〕

Next, details of the present invention will be explained according to an embodiment of the knowledge processing system shown in FIG.

In the figure, 1 is a user, 2 is a terminal, 3 is a knowledge processing device, 4 is a main storage device, and 6 is a secondary storage device.

11 is an application layer, and 12 is an object layer.

13 is the extended RDB (or XRDB) layer, 13
1 is a log XRDB that temporarily stores relatively recent access information, and 132 is an individual XRDB that stores individual information.
'RDB, 133 is a shared XRDB that stores shared information;
31 is UQL management department, 32 is ○QL management department, 33 is XQ
This is the L management department.

Note that tJQL stands for user alignment language, OQL stands for object alignment language, and XQL stands for extended RDB alignment language.

Further, FIGS. 3 and 4 show the flow of layer processing in each of the ○QL management section 32 and the XQL management section 33. This will be explained below using FIGS. 2 to 4.

The user 1 inputs a command from the terminal 2 using a menu (or an icon, etc.) or directly inputs a command. Such user commands are
(User-made language).

User L issues a user command (UQ L
). User command submitted (UQL)
is input to the UQL management unit 31 of the knowledge processing device 3.

The UQL management unit 31 analyzes user commands and stores individual application programs and objects in the application layer 11.
Start an editor etc. In the individual application program, data (commands) are input in the form of human output, and desired processing is performed. At that time, the application program uses the knowledge of the individual application in the object layer.

It outputs data to the user, and sends OQL (object alignment language) commands to the OQL management unit 32 that manages the object layer based on input data from the user, knowledge of individual applications, and the like. As an example, 1 from 2 personnel information
The OQL command to search for the names of people born in 960 is shown below.

(-PEI?SON GET NAME BIR
TH1960) In the OQL management unit 32, the input OQ
Parse and execute the L command. When the operation target of the OQL command is in the object layer 12 and an operation result is obtained, it is sent to the application layer 11. If there is no operation target, convert the ○QL command to an XQL (Extended RDB Completion Language) command. This conversion uses a knowledge base.

Optimizations required when converting OQL to XQL are also performed. For example, change the execution order of commands that operate on the database so that the processing time is the shortest. The converted XQL command is sent to the XQL management section 33.

For example, the XQ corresponding to the above example of the ○QL command
L command is BIRT from table "PER30N"
It represents the command to select a tuple that matches H=1960 and extract the field "NAME" from it, and has the following form.

PROJECTION (NAME) (SELECT
(BIRTH=1960) (PERSON))XQ
The L management unit 33 analyzes the input XQL command, performs optimization, and executes it targeting the extended RDB layer 13. The execution result is notified to the UQL management unit 31 through the object layer 12, and output from there to the terminal 2. Note that if the operation target does not exist, the user 1 is notified of this fact. In addition, the operation results can be set by the user using an object editor or written in advance into two individual application programs.

Convert to the specified output format 2, for example, output in graph format.

User commands are provided graphically using applied knowledge and device information, and in a user-friendly format suitable for the application. For applied knowledge and device information,
It is expressed in an object structure using frames2 and is actually stored in an object layer or extended relational database (RDB).

Next, each layer in the knowledge base will be explained.

The application layer 11 stores one individual application program, an object editor, a graphic interface, etc.

Here, individual user commands are executed by one individual application program. Also, a graphic interface is used for the user interface. The object editor is provided so that the user can easily define, change, and manage objects (internally frames).

User commands include application programs, objects,
There are commands to start the editor, etc.

The user interface is a graphic inkface that also uses menus, icons, etc.

Commands can also be used.

FIG. 5 is an example of an object configuration graphed and displayed using the graphic interface of the application layer. This represents the data model for "PER30N".

FIG. 6 is an example of demographic statistics output as a graph using the graphic interface of the application layer, similar to 2.

Object I of the object layer 12 is.

Classified into three types: instances, classes, and metaclasses. An instance object is the smallest unit of data that represents something, and a class to which similar instance objects "belong" is called a class object. A class object has attributes that are common to instance objects belonging to the class and attributes that are related to itself. A class object itself also belongs to a class, and that class is called a metaclass.

The data model of PER30N shown in FIG. 5 mentioned above is these instances (rNsTANcE).

The relationship between a class (CLASS) and a metaclass (META) is illustrated.

In this way, "belonging relationship" is a relationship between objects.
can be made to last. From the standpoint of knowledge representation, this is called ``abstraction by classification.'' In addition, the object layer can perform "abstraction by generalization,""abstraction by aggregation,""abstraction by evolution," and has a high level of knowledge expression ability.

FIG. 7 is an example of a frame representing a class object, and FIG. 8 is an example of a frame representing an instance object.

The frame representing the class object in Figure 7 is P
ER30N, that is, represents the data relationship (or structure) regarding human information.

C1ass, S super, P in frame
property.

Name, Address, B 1rth, Ag
e is a slot, and each represents attributes such as a belonging class name, a management frame name, an attribute type, a name, an address, and a date of birth and 2 years. Also value, multiple
, mandate is a facet and value
e is the value r; multiple is whether it can have multiple values (Yes/No);
y represents whether it is an essential item that must always take a value (Yes/No).

The frame representing the instance object in FIG. 8 is information having attribute values of individual persons whose IDs are represented by PL and R2.

Pi and R2 in the frame are slots, and their respective Name+Address+B 1rth,
Age is a facet. The value of each facet is PI,
Give R2's name, address, date of birth and age of 2 years.

Next, the extended RDB layer 13 will be explained.

In the extended RDB layer 13, the object layer 12
Objects (i.e., frames) in are stored in a table in the form of tuples (rows of a table).

There are two methods for storing frames: a "standard storage method" and a "transposed storage method."

The general form of a relation in standard storage is:

It is expressed as follows.

META (FRAME, SFV (SLOT
.

FV (FA'CET, VALUE)) Also, the general form of the relation in the transposed storage method is expressed as quadratic.

C1ass i (1nstance-id, 5
lot il, -.

510t in) FIG. 9 is an example of a table in which the frame of FIG. 7 is stored using the standard storage method, and FIG. 10 is an example of a table in which the frame of FIG. 8 is stored using the transposed storage method. be.

In each table, frames become tuples, and processing such as searching is performed on a frame-by-frame basis.

In the extended RDB, a non-normal form is allowed, and a relation (table) can be set as a field value of the relation (table). Therefore, the hierarchical structure of knowledge can be expressed without redundancy.

It also has the advantage that the repeating structure of frames can be expressed concisely.

Next, the configuration, version management, etc. of the extended RDB layer 13 will be explained. The extended RDB layer 13 is composed of a log XRDB 131, two individual XRDBs 132, and a shared XRDB 133.

All versions are stored in the individual XRDB and the shared XRDB.

The log XRDB stores a history (log) from the initial setting of the log XRDB until it is stored in the individual XRDB.

Only shared information is stored in the shared XRDB.

General users are only allowed to search.

The individual XRDB stores all versions specified by the user. The user's object (frame) operations almost match the log XRDB data operations.2
When the version storage of the individual XRDB is specified, the latest information of the log XRDB is moved to the individual XRDB and stored.

Necessary information is transferred to the log XRDB from the shared XRDB and the individual XRDB, and data operations are performed according to the user's object operations.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, a large amount of knowledge (data) can be stored, searched,
Insertion, deletion, updating, and consistency maintenance can be easily performed. Furthermore, by adding media data storage devices such as text files, graphic files, image information storage devices, audio information storage devices, etc. under the extended RDB layer, multimedia database functions can be easily realized. This enables efficient and diverse information service systems.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the basic configuration of the knowledge processing system according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the system according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the processing of the OQL management unit in the embodiment system of FIG. , Figure 4 is a processing flow diagram of the same < The figure is an explanatory diagram of an example of a frame representing an instance object, Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a table using the standard storage method, Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a table using the transposed storage method, and Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a table using the conventional storage method. FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a knowledge processing system using a frame, and FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a database using a semantic data model. In FIG. 1, 3: knowledge processing device, 4: main memory device. 5: processor, 6: secondary storage device, 10: knowledge base, 11 application layer, 12 object layer, 13 extended RDB layer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] Application layer (11) including application program group, graphic interface, object editor, etc.
A three-layer structure consisting of an object layer (12) that holds frames that represent knowledge data models in object structures, and an extended RDB layer (13) that holds frames that represent individual knowledge as tuples of non-normal relations. It has a knowledge base of the above application layer (11) and object layer (
12) is managed on the main storage (4), but the extended RDB
A knowledge processing system characterized in that the layer (13) is stored and managed in a secondary storage device (6).