Extending the infomation theory approach to converting limited-entry decision tables to computer programs

Authors:
Keith Shwayder
Affiliations:
Univ. of Chicago, Chicago, IL, and Samsonite Corp., Denver, CO
Venue:
Communications of the ACM
Year:
1974

Citing 6
Cited 8

Comments on the algorithms of Verhelst for the conversion of limited-entry decision tables to flowcharts

Communications of the ACM
The conversion of limited-entry decision tables to optimal and near-optimal flowcharts: two new algorithms

Communications of the ACM
Information theory applied to the conversion of decision tables to computer programs

Communications of the ACM
Conversion of limited-entry decision tables to computer programs—a proposed modification to Pollack's algorithm

Communications of the ACM
Parsing of decision tables

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Conversion of limited-entry decision tables to computer programs

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Comments on 'Algorithmic State Machine Design and Automatic Theorem Proving: Dual Approaches to the Same Activity'

IEEE Transactions on Computers
Decision Trees and Diagrams

ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR)
The Activity of a Variable and Its Relation to Decision Trees

ACM Transactions on Programming Languages and Systems (TOPLAS)
Optimal conversion of extended-entry decision tables with general cost criteria

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The synthetic approach to decision table conversion

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Sequential Decision Models for Expert System Optimization

IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering
Knowledge Management in Expert System Creator

AIMSA '02 Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence: Methodology, Systems, and Applications
Application of Information Theory to Sequential Fault Diagnosis

IEEE Transactions on Computers

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Abstract

This paper modifies an earlier algorithm for converting decision tables into flowcharts which minimize subsequent execution time when compiled into a computer program.The algorithms considered in this paper perform limited search and, accordingly, do not necessarily result in globally optimal solutions. However, the greater search effort needed to obtain a globally optimal solution for complex decision tables is usually not justified by sufficient savings in execution time.There is an analogy between the problem of converting decision tables into efficient flowcharts and the well-understood problem in information theory of noiseless coding. The results of the noiseless coding literature are used to explore the limitations of algorithms used to solve the decision table problem.The analogy between the two problems is also used to develop improvements to the information algorithm in extending the depth of search under certain conditions and in proposing additional conditions to be added to the decision table.Finally, the information algorithm is compared with an algorithm proposed in a recent paper by Verhelst.