PCDEC, an interactive decision table system for personal computers (abstract only)

• Authors: Begonia Bi-Hsia Tai;Leonard H. Weiner
• Venue: CSC '87 Proceedings of the 15th annual conference on Computer Science
• Year: 1987

To date, most of the effort in computer creation of decision tables (DTs) has been directed toward automatic conversion of tables into program source code, which is then compiled and executed in batch mode. This preprocessor approach to processing decision tables is usually implemented on a mainframe computer and needs programmers to prepare the input for the proprocessor. As a result, using the computer to create decision tables is difficult for those without a good programming background.We have developed a different approach: online creation and interpretation of decision tables. Our DT system, the Personal Computer DECision table system (PCDEC), is implemented on personal computers and the users need not be programmers. It enables managers, knowledgeable in an application area, to create and use rule-based, knowledge bases (decision tables), interactively.PCDEC is a set of software tools; it consists of two major subsystems: the Development Engine (DE) and the Inference Engine (IE). An expert in the field, the Decision Table Designer (DTD), uses the DE to create, compile, test and modify the knowledge base. The end-user uses the IE to interact with the resulting Decision Table, and thus to make better, more informed decisions.Figure 1 shows a diagram of the design of PCDEC system, its two subsystems and how the DTD and the end-user interact with them.The DE contains two main modules: the User Interface (UI) and the Parser and Logic Tester (PALT). The UI provides an interactive environment in which the DTD can communicate with the DE. Decision tables are created by the DTD through the use of three different techniques employed by the User Interface: screen-splitting, in which the four sections of the DT under construction are displayed on the screen simultaneously (each window can be scrolled separately); keystroke-oriented selection in which each of the PC function keys provides standard operations with a single keystroke; and a menu-driven facility, which supports ease-of-use and ease-of-learning.PALT performs three functions: parsing the conditions and actions in the DT under construction; finding and pointing out syntax and logic errors; and constructing the tables and decision trees used by the IE.The Inference Engine communicates with the end-user interactively, asking questions, requesting data and inferring conclusions. The dialogue between the IE and the end-user is carried on in a natural language.To summarize, the main features of PCDEC are: (i) PCDE computerize the decision-making process for non-programmers through the use of decision tables; (ii) PCDEC is an interactive, user-friendly system for DTDs and their clients; and (iii) PCDEC produces consolidated, error-free decision tables, which are reusable and easily modifiable.For future applications, PCDEC could be adapted to a real-time control application. A good example is the on-line intelligent control of a real-time system. The collected data could be directed into the Inference Engine of PCDEC and the results from the Inference Engine could then be used to control a real-time process.