Craig.Howard@CIVE.RI.CMU.EDU (07/21/86)
FINAL PUBLIC ORAL EXAMINATION
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Candidate: H. Craig Howard
Title of Dissertation: Interfacing Databases and Knowledge-Based Systems
for Structural Engineering Applications
Department: Civil Engineering
Time: 1:00 pm Tuesday, July 22, 1986
Place: Adamson Wing - Baker Hall
Database management systems and expert systems will be important components
of integrated computer-aided design systems. A powerful, adaptable
interface between these components is necessary to build an integrated
structural engineering computing environment. The thesis examines the basic
issues involved in interfacing expert systems with database management
systems and describes the architecture of a prototype system, KADBASE.
KADBASE is a flexible, knowledge-based interface in which multiple expert
systems and multiple databases can communicate as independent,
self-descriptive components within an integrated, distributed engineering
computing system. The thesis presents examples from three knowledge-based
systems to demonstrate the use of KADBASE in typical engineering design
applications.