From: IN%"mkant+ai-faq@cs.cmu.edu" 13-AUG-1993 07:30:02.91 To: IN%"news-answers@cs.utexas.edu" CC: Subj: FAQ: Expert System Shells 6/6 [Monthly posting] Archive-name: ai-faq/part6 Last-Modified: Tue Jul 20 21:16:51 1993 by Mark Kantrowitz Version: 1.9 ;;; **************************************************************** ;;; Expert System Shells ******************************************* ;;; **************************************************************** ;;; Written by Mark Kantrowitz ;;; ai-faq-6.text -- 28616 bytes This post contains Part 6 of the AI FAQ. It is cross-posted to the newsgroup comp.ai.shells because it contains material of interest to readers of that newsgroup. The other parts of the AI FAQ are posted only to the newsgroups comp.ai and news.answers. CONTRIBUTIONS to this summary should be sent to mkant+ai-faq@cs.cmu.edu. Companies wishing to expand their entries should send product summaries no longer than the RTworks or CLIPs entries, and should focus on features and facts. Hype and vague generalizations will be removed. Part 6 (Expert System Shells): [6-1] Introduction and Acknowledgements [6-2] Other Sources of Information [6-3] Free/Cheap Expert System Shells [6-4] Commercial Expert System Shells Search for [#] to get to question number # quickly. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: [6-1] Introduction and Acknowledgements This is a list of commercial expert system shells and companies originally based on posts by Jason Trenouth , George Betzos , and Foxvog Douglas , as well as parts of the commercial products section of the AI FAQ. Thanks also to Arnold Bloemer , Hans Voss, Stephan Weber, Tom Laffey, ljs@zycor.lgc.com, Hal Waters, Philip Vanneste, Daniel Corkill, Bruce Chih-Lung Lin, Willem Van Dyk, Kan-Lee Liou, Les Degroff, Alex Kean, Bob Orchard, Steve Witt, Cameron Laird, Thomas A. Russ, Peter Pavek, Ingemar Hulthage, Jerry Franke, Julian Smart, Andrew Verden, Remi Lissajoux, Patrick Albert, Patrick Suel, Liz Allen. Thanks to Richard Fozzard for information about MIKE and ES. Many "real-time" expert systems are 'soft' real-time systems, in that they claim to be fast. A 'hard' real-time system would have features that guarantee a response within a fixed amount of real-time (e.g., bounded computation, not just a fast match-recognize-act cycle). Systems like G2 use event-driven processing (restricting certain rules to execute only when specific WM elements change in a particular way) as a method of limiting forward chaining. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: [6-2] Other Sources of Information In addition to the free expert system shells listed below, the Prolog Resource Guide lists a variety of Prolog implementations and products. In addition to being backward-chaining systems, many prolog implementations provide support for forward-chaining rules and other expert systems requirements. For example, Amziod sells Dennis Merritt's book, "Building Expert Systems in Prolog", Springer-Verlag, 1989, for $47 (with disk containing source code for $82). The July/August 1992 issue of PC AI magazine includes their annual product guide for expert systems and related tools. The December 1992 issue of AI Expert Magazine, pages 42-49, contains an Expert System Resource Guide. The February 1991 issue of IEEE Computer has an article about Expert System Tools. Another article of possible interest is "Selection Criteria for Expert System Shells: A Socio-Technical Framework", by Anthony C. Stylianou, Gregory R. Madey, and Robert D. Smith, CACM 35(10):30-48, October 1992. Part 3 of the AI FAQ lists several key references on expert systems. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: [6-3] Free/Cheap Expert System Shells FOCL -- ics.uci.edu:pub/SaranWrap/{README,KR-FOCL-ES.cpt.hqx} Contact: pazzani@ics.uci.edu Expert System Shell and Machine Learning Program; Extends Quinlan's FOIL. SOAR -- ftp.cs.cmu.edu: /afs/cs.cmu.edu/project/soar/public/Soar5/ -- Lisp Version /afs/cs.cmu.edu/project/soar/public/Soar6/ -- C Version Contact: soar-request@cs.cmu.edu Integrated Agent Architecture. Supports learning through chunking. OPS5 -- ftp.cs.cmu.edu:user/ai/software/expert-systems/ops5.tar.Z BABYLON-- gmdzi.gmd.de:gmd/ai-research/Software/ (129.26.8.90) (BinHexed stuffit archive of Babylon) Development environment for expert systems. CLIPS 6.0 is an OPS-like forward chaining production system written in ANSI C by NASA. The CLIPS inference engine includes truth maintenance, dynamic rule addition, and customizable conflict resolution strategies. CLIPS, including the runtime version, is easily embeddable in other applications. CLIPS now includes an object-oriented language called COOL. CLIPS runs on IBM PC compatibles (including Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS 386 versions), Macintosh, VAX 11/780, Sun 3/260, and HP9000/500. CLIPS is available from COSMIC at a nominal fee for unlimited copies with no royalties. (CLIPS is available free to NASA, USAF, and their contractors for use on NASA and USAF projects.) For more information, email service@cossack.cosmic.uga.edu, write COSMIC, University of Georgia, 382 East Broad Street, Athens, GA 30602, call 706-542-3265, or fax 706-542-4807. To subscribe to the CLIPS mailing list, send a message to the list server listserv@cossack.cosmic.uga.edu (128.192.14.4) with message body SUBSCRIBE CLIPS-LIST. An electronic bulletin board containing information regarding CLIPS can be reached 24 hours a day at 713-280-5375 or 713-280-7552. Communications information is 300, 1200, or 2400 baud, no parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit. The CLIPS help desk phone number is 713-280-8919 and email address is stbprod@krakatoa.jsc.nasa.gov. (The address is STB Products Help Desk, LinCom Corporation, 1020 Bay Area Boulevard, #200, Houston, TX 77058-2628.) The book "Expert Systems: Principles and Programming" by Joseph Girrantano and Garey Riley comes with an MS-DOS CLIPS 4.2 interpreter. MIKE and ES: The October/November 1990 issue of BYTE described two expert systems named MIKE and ES. MIKE is a frame-based system built in an included public domain Prolog for IBM-PCs. ES supports backward/forward chaining, fuzzy set relations, and explanation, and is a standalone executable for IBM-PCs. They are available by anonymous ftp from ftp.uu.net:/pub/ai/expert-sys/ [192.48.96.9] as mike/mike1.tar.Z, mike/mike2.tar.Z and summers.tar.Z. ftp.uu.net is mirrored on unix.hensa.ac.uk [129.12.21.7] under /pub/uunet/. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: [6-4] Commercial Expert System Shells The commercial products below are listed in alphabetical order. 1ST-CLASS, 1ST-CLASS FUSION, and 1ST-CLASS HT run on personal computers. For more information, write to 1st-Class Expert Systems, Inc., 526 Boston Post Road, Suite 150, Wayland, MA 01778 or call 800-872-8812 (508-358-7722). See PC Tech Journal 7(4):111, April, 1989 and PC Week 6(20):23, May 22, 1989. ACTIVATION FRAMEWORK runs on personal computers and costs $5000. This tool is not a tradition expert system shell, rather is a tool for building real-time data interpretation applications. The vendor claims the tool competes with Gensym's G2 in terms of application domains. However, G2 is not a tool for end users, but rather for C and/or Ada software developers. For more information, write to The Real-Time Intelligent Systems Corporation, 26 Worthen Street, Chelmsford, MA 01824, or call 508-250-4633. Aion Development System (ADS) runs on numerous platforms, including DOS, OS/2, SunOS, Microsoft Windows, and VMS. It includes an object oriented knowledge representation, forward, backward, bidirectional, and pattern matching rules, graphics, calls to/from other languages (C, Pascal, ...), and the Choreographer graphical user interface. For more information, write to Aion Corporation, 101 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301, call 800-845-2466 (415-328-9595), or fax 415-321-7728. For Europe, write to Software Generation, Kontichsesteenweg 40, B 2630 Aartselaar, Belgium, call 32-(0)3-877.12.93, or fax 32-(0)3-877.13.55 ART-IM and CBR Express run on personal computers (ART-IM $8,000, CBR Express $10,000), workstations (CBR Express $12,500), and IBM mainframes (CBR Express $150,000). Although ART-IM can be purchased as a separate product, it is part of CBR Express. ART-IM does forward-chaining, has object-oriented contructs, and a good C interface. It will also do backward chaining but you have to program that into the rules yourself (easy enough to do). For more information, write to Inference Corporation, 550 North Continental Boulevard, El Segundo, CA 90245, call 213-322-0200, or fax 213-322-3242. BABYLON. For more information, write to VW-GEDAS GmbH, Pascalstrasse 11, W-1000 Berlin 10, call +49 30-39-970-0, or fax +49 30-39-970-999. CLIPS is an OPS-like forward chaining production system written in ANSI C by NASA. The CLIPS inference engine includes truth maintenance, dynamic rule addition, and customizable conflict resolution strategies. CLIPS, including the runtime version, is easily embeddable in other applications. CLIPS runs on IBM PC compatibles, Macintosh, VAX 11/780, Sun 3/260, and HP9000/500. CLIPS is available from COSMIC at a nominal fee for unlimited copies with no royalties. CLIPS includes the Common Object-Oriented Language (COOL) for real object-oriented programming. For more information, email service@cossack.cosmic.uga.edu, write COSMIC, University of Georgia, 382 East Broad Street, Athens, GA 30602, call 404-542-3265, or fax 404-542-4807. To subscribe to the CLIPS mailing list, send a message to the list server listserv@cossack.cosmic.uga.edu (128.192.14.4) with message body SUBSCRIBE CLIPS-LIST. An electronic bulletin board containing information regarding CLIPS can be reached 24 hours a day at 713-280-3896 or 713-280-3892. Communications information is 300, 1200, or 2400 baud, no parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit. The CLIPS help desk phone number is 713-286-8919 and email address is stbprod@krakatoa.jsc.nasa.gov. The book "Expert Systems: Principles and Programming" by Joseph Girrantano and Garey Riley comes with an MS-DOS CLIPS interpreter, but is geared toward an older version of CLIPS. COGNATE runs on the Apple Macintosh and costs $250. For more information, write to Peridom, PO Box 1812, Bowie, MD 20716, or call 301-390-9570. See also MacUser 4(12):134, December, 1988. COGSYS. For more information, write to COGSYS Ltd., Enterprise House, Unit 37, Salford University Business Park, Salford M6 6AJ, England, or call 061-745-7604. CRYSTAL runs on personal computers and is available from Intelligent Environemnts. See PC Magazine 8(2), January 31, 1989. ECLIPSE runs on personal computers (DOS, Windows). System V Unix and POSIX versions are also available. The syntax is derived from Inference Corporations' ART and is compatible with NASA's CLIPS. Features include data-driven pattern matching, forward and backward chaining, truth maintenance, support for multiple goals, relational and object-oriented representations, and integration with dBase. For more information, write to The Haley Enterprise, Inc., 413 Orchard Street, Sewickley, PA 15143, call 412-741-6420, or fax 412-741-6457. See also IEEE Computer, February 1991, pages 19-31. Cost is $999 for Windows, $1,999 for Unix, $799 for DOS 386, and $1,499 for OS/2. EXPERT-EASE runs on personal computers and is available from Expertech, Ltd. See PC User (103):94, March 29, 1989. Exper-OPS5-Plus runs on the Apple Macintosh and costs $495. For more information, write to ExperTelligence, 5638 Hollister, Suite 302, Goleta, CA 93117, call 800-828-0113 (except CA), 800-826-6144 (CA only), or 805-967-1797. See MacUser 4(12):134, December, 1988. EXSYS runs under MS-DOS, MS-Windows, Apple Macintosh, Sun Open Look, Unix and Vax and is available from Exsys, Inc., 1720 Louisiana Boulevard, NE, Suite 312, Albuquerque, NM 87110, call 800-676-8356 (505-256-8356), or fax 505-256-8359. See also PC Tech Journal 7(1):115, January, 1989. A demo version for MS-Windows or Macintosh is available for $40. [6/93] FLEX is a hybrid expert system toolkit available across a wide range of different hardware platforms which offers frames, procedures and rules integrated within a logic programming environment. FLEX supports interleaved forward and backward chaining, multiple inheritance, procedural attachment, an automatic question and answer system. Rules, frames and questions are described in a English-like Knowledge Specification Language (KSL) which enables the development of easy-to-read and easy-to-maintain knowledge bases. FLEX is implemented in, and has access to, Prolog. FLEX is available from LPA (who originally developed flex on the PC), and also from most major Prolog vendors under license, including Quintus, BIM, Interface, and ISL. FLEX has been used in numerous commercial expert systems, and prices on a PC running Windows or on a Macintosh start at around $1,000. [A review of Quintus-flex is expected in an upcoming issue of PC-AI. --mk] For more information contact: Logic Programming Associates Ltd, Studio 4, R.V.P.B., Trinity Road, London, SW18 3SX. Tel: +44 81 871 2016; Fax: +44 81 874 0449. Email: lpa@cix.compulink.co.uk G2 is a real-time expert system shell that runs on workstations and personal computers. It has real-time temporal reasoning, with rules, procedures, and functions built around an object-oriented paradigm. One can interface, both locally and over a network (TCP/IP and DECnet), to other programs (C and ADA), control systems, and databases. G2 provides distributed computing and a multi-user client/server architecture. For more information, write to Gensym Corporation, 125 Cambridge Park Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140, call 617-547-2500/9606, or fax 617-547-1962. GBB, generic blackboard framework: provides: -- A high-performance blackboard database compiler and runtime library, which support pattern-based, multidimensional range-searching algorithms for efficient proximity-based retrieval of blackboard objects -- KS representation languages -- Generic control shells and agenda-management utilities -- Interactive, graphic displays for monitoring and examining blackboard and control components These components provide the infrastructure needed to build blackboard-based applications. GBB is available for DOS/Windows, Mac, Unix workstations (Sun, HP/Apollo, IBM, DEC, Silicon Graphics), Symbolics and TI Explorer Lisp machines. (GBB is a significantly enhanced, commercial version of the UMass GBB research framework, available via FTP from dime.cs.umass.edu:/gbb/.) NetGBB, distributed extension to GBB, provides to GBB the communication and coordination facilities needed to build heterogenous distributed blackboard applications. For more information write to Blackboard Technology Group, Inc., 401 Main Street, Amherst, MA 01002, call 413-256-8990, or fax 413-256-3179. To be added to the mailing lists, send mail to gbb-user-request@bn.cs.umass.edu. There are two mailing lists, gbb-user (moderated) and gbb-users (unmoderated). GEST (Generic Expert System Tool) is a blackboard system internationally licensed by Georgia Tech for expert system applications. Available on Symbolics and SUN systems, GEST incorporates a number of knowledge representation techniques and inference engine gearing mechanisms to provide users a repertoire of knowledge structures to draw upon in developing application systems. A tutorial demonstration expert system is included with the GEST software and is included as a chapter in the documentation. The Symbolics version of GEST will be available at no cost via FTP on July 1, 1993. The SUN version license is $9,500 and includes all source code. For licensing information, please contact Susan Coryell at susan.coryell@gtri.gatech.edu, 404-894-5241 (office), 404-894-9081 (fax), or write to Susan Coryell, GTRI-CSITL, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA 30332. GOLDWORKS II. For more information, write to Gold Hill Computers, Inc., 26 Landsdowne Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, call 800-242-5477 (617-621-3300), or fax 617-621-0656. GURU is a real-time expert system that runs on personal computers. For more information, write to Micro Data Base Systems, Inc. (MDBS), PO Box 6089, Lafayette, IN 47903-6089 call 800-344-5832 (317-463-2581), or fax 317-448-6428. HyperX runs on the Apple Macintosh. For more information, write to Millenium Software, 1970 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, CA 92651, or call 714-497-7439. See also MacWeek 3(5):6, January 31, 1989. ILOG RULES is a high performance embeddable rule-based inference engine. It is a forward chaining tool, written in C++ (hence it is object-oriented and supports inheritance mechanisms) and is also provided as a C++ library. It runs virtually on any Unix platform (e.g., HP97X0, Sun4, RS/6000, DecStations) as well as on PCs running DOS (with or without MS/Windows) or OS/2. It extends OPS/5 with nested premises (objects as values), rule packets (logical grouping of rules), a full Truth Maintenance System (TMS) for efficient non-monotonic reasoning, compilation of rules into C/C++ code, and an object oriented data-model in C++. ILOG RULES work directly on user objects, so interfacing is straightforward. C/C++ code may be included in rule conditions and actions. ILOG RULES is based on the fast XRETE implementation of the RETE algorithm developed by Thomson-CSF. For more information, contact ILOG, Inc., 2073 Landings Drive, Mountain View, CA 94043, tel 415-390-9000, fax 415-390-0946, e-mail info@ilog.com. European customers should contact ILOG SA, 2, av. Gallieni, BP 85, 94253 Gentilly CEDEX, France, tel +33 (1) 46-63-66-66, fax +33 (1) 46-63-15-82, e-mail info@ilog.fr. INTELLIGENT DEVELOPER runs on the Apple Macintosh and costs $395. For more information, write to Hyperpress Publishing, PO Box 8243, Foster City, CA 94404, or call 415-345-4620. See also MacUser 4(12):134, December, 1988. INTELLIGENCE COMPILER. For more information, write to Intelligence Ware 9800 S. Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90045-5228 call 213-417-8896, or fax 213-417-8897. Instant-Expert Plus runs on the Apple Macintosh and costs $498. For more information, write to Human Intellect Systems, 1670 South Amphlett Blvd, Suite 326, San Mateo, CA 94402, or call 800-522-5939 (415-571-5939). See also MacUser 4(12):134, December, 1988. KBMS runs on personal computers. For more information, write to AICorp, 138 Technology Drive, Waltham, MA 02254-9748, or call 617-891-6500. PC Week 6(35):63, September 4, 1989. KEE, ProKappa, and Kappa run on personal computers, workstations, and Lisp machines. For more information, write to IntelliCorp, Inc., 1975 El Camino Real West, Mountain View, CA 94040-2216, call 415-956-5660/5500 or fax 415-965-5647. See also Communications of the ACM 31(4):382-401, April, 1988. KES and SNAP run on personal computers (KES $4,000), workstations (KES $10,000, SNAP $40,000 on most platforms), minicomputers (KES $25,000), IBM mainframes (KES $60,000). Although KES can be purchased separately, it is part of SNAP. For more information write to Software Architecture and Engineering, Inc., 1600 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 500, Arlington, VA 22209, call 703-276-7910, or fax 703-284-3821. Write to Template Software, 13100 Worldgate Drive, Suite 340, Herndon, Virginia 22070, call 703-318-1000, or fax 703-318-7378. Knowledge Craft runs on minicomputers and Lisp machines. For more information, write to Carnegie Group, 5 PPG Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, call 800-284-3424 (412-642-6900), or fax 412-642-6906. KnowledgeWorks runs on workstations (Sun3, Sparc, DEC (MIPS), HP 400,700, IBM RS6000, Intergraph, MIPS). It includes a CLOS-based object system, OPS compatible forward chainer (2500 firings/sec on a Sparc2), Prolog compatible backward chainer (40 KLIPS), graphical programming environment, user-defined conflict resolution, MetaRule Protocol for extending execution model, and a SQL interface for relational databases. For more information write to Harlequin Inc., One Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA, call 1-800-works-for-you (1-800-967-5749) or 617-252-0052, or fax 617-252-6505. European customers should write to Harlequin Ltd., Barrington Hall, Barrington, Cambridge CB2 5RG, UK, call 0223-872522, or fax 0223-872519. E-mail: knowledgeworks-request@harlqn.co.uk or works@harlequin.com. They also sell LispWorks (a Common Lisp and Prolog programming environment) -- see part 4 of the Lisp FAQ, MLWorks (an ML programming environment), and Watson (an intelligence analysis tool). Laser. For more information, write to Bell Atlantic Knowledge Systems, Inc., P.O. Box 3528, Princeton, NJ 08543-3528, or call 800-552-2257 (609-275-8393). Level5 and Level5/Macintosh runs on personal computers and the Apple Macintosh ($695). For more information, write to Information Builders, 1250 Broadway, New York, NY 10001, or call 800-444-4303 (212-736-4433). See also MacUser 4(12):134, December, 1988, AI Expert 4(5):71, May, 1989, and MacUser 6(2):88, February, 1990. M.4 runs on personal computers (DOS, Windows) and sells for $995 (special pricing is currently in effect, selling for $495). A version for Sun workstations and the Apple Macintosh is under development. It features a modular Kernel Library for linking into C-language applications, backward and forward chaining, pattern matching, certainty factors, procedural control, and an object-oriented programming system. M.4 is embeddable, configurable, and extendable. For more information, write to Cimflex Teknowledge Corporation, 1810 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303, or call 800-285-0500 (415-424-0500), fax 415-493-2645. MacSMARTS, MacSMARTS - Professional, and HyperSMARTS run on the Apple Macintosh (all versions less than $500). For more information, write to Directory Cognition Technology, 55 Wheeler Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, or call 617-492-0246. See also MacUser 4(12):134, December, 1988. MERCURY KBE. For more information, write to Artificial Intelligence Technologies, Inc., 40 Saw Mill River Road, Hawthorne, NY 10532, call 800-333-1406 (914-347-6860), or fax 914-347-3182. MUSE. For more information, write to Cambridge Consultants, Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 4DW, England, or call 0223-420024 Cambridge. NEXPERT OBJECT runs on over 30 platforms supported including personal computers ($5000), Macintosh ($5000), workstations ($12,000), minicomputers, and mainframes. Nexpert Object is written in C, and includes a graphical user interface, knowledge acquisition tools, and forms system. For more information, write to Neuron Data, 156 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301, call 800-876-4900 (415-321-4488), or fax 415-321-3728. Other office include New York, 212-832-8900; Philadelphia, 215-941-2981; Washington, DC, 703-821-8800; Los Angeles, 714-851-4621; Chicago, 708-955-3688; Houston, 713-739-9020; United Kingdom, 44-71-408-2333, fax 44-71-495-6274; France, 33-1-40-70-04-21, fax 33-1-47-23-71-43; and Japan, 81-3-3746-4371, fax 81-3-3746-4374. See also IEEE Software 5(5):98, September, 1988, PC Tech Journal 6(11):112, November, 1988, MacUser 4(12):134, December, 1988, MacUser 4(9):136, September, 1989, Computer Language 6(12):123, December, 1989, PC Week 7(26):43, July 2, 1990, MacWeek 4(25):10, July 10, 1990, and IEEE Expert December, 1991, page 72. Personal Consultant Plus. For more information, write to Texas Instruments PO Box 2909, MS/2240, Austin, TX 78769, or call 800-527-3500. RAL (Rule-extended Algorithmic Language) is a C-based RETE (OPS83) implementation that allows one to seamlessly add rules and objects to C programs. It runs on Apollo, Sony News, AT&T 3B series, Aviion, DecStation, HP9000, RS/6000, Sun3, Sparc, Pyramid, Stratus, Unix System V 386 machines, VAX, microVAX (VMS) and DOS. Production Systems Technologies was founded by Charles Forgy, the original inventor of the RETE algorithm. For further information, write to Production Systems Technologies, Inc., 5001 Baum Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, call 412-683-4000 or fax 412-683-6347. [6/93] RTworks is a family of independent software modules developed for intelligent real-time data acquisition and monitoring, data analysis, message/data distribution, and message/data display. RTworks offers a number of sophisticated problem-solving strategies including knowledge-based systems, a point-and-click graphical user interface, temporal and statistical reasoning, and the ability to distribute an application over a heterogeneous network. Included with RTworks is a high-speed inference engine (RTie) which is used to analyze the data using objects, classes, procedures, and rules. The IE can perform trending, prediction and temporal reasoning of rapidly changing data. Displays can be built by non-programmers using a user-friendly DRAW program. More than 60 different formats are provided for displaying input data including strip charts, bar charts, control charts, dials, pie charts, and high-low graphs. Graphical objects can be tied to variables which dynamically control attributes such as color, scale, rotation, motion, animation, and more. RTworks runs in a client-server architecture in which the RTserver process intelligently distributes the application's messages and data to only the client prcoesses which need them. User-defined client processes can connect to the RTserver and send and receive messages with other processes in the application. Possible applications include process control, network monitoring, financial trading, and command and control. RTworks is available on a variety of Unix and VMS platforms under a floating license in which you pay only for the number of simultaneous users, and the software is not node-locked to a particular machine. Current RTworks customers include Lockheed, NASA, Dow Chemical, PG&E (Pacific, Gas, and Electric), SWIFT, Mazda, and NTT. For further information, write to Talarian Corporation, 444 Castro Street, Suite 140, Moutain View, CA 94041, call 415-965-8050, fax 415-965-9077, or send E-mail to don@talarian.com or tom@talarian.com. SMECI is an expert system shell based on Lisp. For more information, contact ILOG, Inc., 2073 Landings Drive, Mountain View, CA 94043, tel 415-390-9000, fax 415-390-0946, email info@ilog.com. European customers should write to ILOG, 2, av. Gallieni, BP 85, 94253 Gentilly Cedex, France, tel +33 (1) 46-63-66-66, fax +33 (1) 46-63-15-82, email info@ilog.fr. TestBench, Shell is available from the Carnegie Group, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The development environment runs on the SUN workstations and the production environment on a number of platforms including PCs and NeXT machines. VP-EXPERT runs on the Apple Macintosh. For more information, write to Paperback Software, 2830 Ninth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710, or call 415-644-2116. See also MacUser 4(12):134, December, 1988. YAPS is a tool for building expert systems and other programs that use a rule-based knowledge representation in Lisp. The YAPS library provides a CLOS class and appropriate methods which the programmer may mix into his/her own classes or use directly. Rules and facts about an instance are associated with the instance. Instead of one large knowledgebase with many rules which are hard to debug and maintain, the programmer creates smaller knowledge-bases which are modular and more efficient. The YAPS knowledge-bases can interact with and be controlled by the programmer's other modules, making hybrid systems straightforward. Introduced by Liz Allen at AAAI-83, YAPS is now available on Apple Macintosh, Sun3 and Sun4 (SPARC), DEC VAX under VMS and Ultrix, and 88Open platforms. On workstations, a single license costs $3995 and on the Macintosh (under Macintoch Common Lisp), it is $445. YAPS runs in most commercial Common Lisps including Allegro CL, Harlequin Lispworks, Lucid CL, IBUKI CL, and Macintosh Common Lisp. YAPS is also available for the TI Explorer and Symbolic Lisp Machines, and a Flavors version is available for Sun3 in Franz Lisp. Other ports are underway -- for price and availability contact College Park Software at 461 W. Loma Alta Dr., Altadena, CA 91001-3841, USA; or by email at info@cps.altadena.ca.us, or call 818-791-9153 (voice) or 818-791-1755 (FAX). ---------------------------------------------------------------- ;;; *EOF* Return-path: Received: from ccsun.unicamp.br by ccvax.unicamp.br (PMDF #2801 ) id <01H1OPKAIHYO8WWDV1@ccvax.unicamp.br>; Fri, 13 Aug 1993 05:51:44 BSC (-0300 C) Received: from dcc.unicamp.br by ccsun.unicamp.br (4.1/SMI-4.0) id AA07058; Fri, 13 Aug 93 05:47:44 BSC Received: from dcc.unicamp.br by dcc.unicamp.br (4.1/SMI-4.1) id AA04707; Fri, 13 Aug 93 05:43:11 EST Date: 13 Aug 1993 07:12:29 +0000 (GMT) From: mkant+@cs.cmu.edu (Mark Kantrowitz) Subject: FAQ: Expert System Shells 6/6 [Monthly posting] Sender: news@cs.cmu.edu (Usenet News System) To: news-answers@cs.utexas.edu Reply-to: mkant+ai-faq@cs.cmu.edu Message-id: Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University X-Envelope-to: sabbatini Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Xref: dcc.unicamp.br comp.ai:8710 comp.ai.shells:782 news.answers:5220 Newsgroups: comp.ai,comp.ai.shells,news.answers,comp.answers Path: dcc.unicamp.br!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!noc.near.net!das-news.harvard.edu!cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!crabapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu!mkant Followup-To: poster Supersedes: Nntp-Posting-Host: a.gp.cs.cmu.edu Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Expires: Fri, 24 Sep 1993 07:11:32 GMT Lines: 515 Keywords: Expert Systems, RETE, OPS