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Date: Fri, 11 Sep 92 15:54:00 PDT
From: BUSHMAN@mitecmail.ccscnet.af.mil
Subject: Re: Ai and Ada (Was: Mult. Inheritance)
Message-ID: <2AB123CB@ncgate.ccscnet.af.mil>
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

In article <1992Sep10.161051.23671@sei.cmu.edu>, J. L. Diaz-Herrera writes:
 
    |>  There have been several Ada-based expert systems tool implemented some
    |>  of which are commercially available such as ART-Ada, CHRONOS, and
    |>  Clips/Ada.
 
Having just finished a study of the usefullness of expert system
implemenation software for the organization where I am assigned, I thought
that it was my responsibility to put in a note here.  I was tasked to examine
AI/Expert system tools specifically written in Ada, for implementation with
other systems that are maintained, or to be developed here, that are written
in, or will be converted to Ada.  One of the main tools that I was
specifically tasked to examine was Clips/Ada.
 
Clips/Ada was developed by the Software Technology Branch (STB) by NASA at the
Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas.  Clips was originally written in C, and
then converted to Ada. Clips/Ada  being maintained and updated for about one
year.  This software is free to government employee's. (All others, about
$500 for the complete package.)  All you need to do is ask for it on your
official letterhead, and provide the disks. They will send you complete
documentation and the software in about two weeks.
 
Here though, is the reason for this writing.  The latest Ada version, DOES NOT
WORK!  (You will probably get both, the C version and the Ada version.)  When
I first started this project, I started with Clips/Ada (version 4.3). This
version was ok, rather limited in its interfaces, and functionality, but it
compiled and worked without too much trouble.  I then received the updated
version (4.4) and started compiling it. Well, to make a long story short, it
required, using the Alsys 386 compiler (version 5.1), a minimum of 10 MB of
extended memory (13-16 would have been better) due to the algorithms (the
Rete algorithm is use in the inference engine) and data sturctures used. It
also took about a week, working full time, to get it compiled without errors.
 
Once I got it compiled, linked, and ready to run, it didn't work.  I looked at
the source code, could find no real problems, so I called the STB.  They
informed me that the conversion of the C version to the Ada version of Clips
was contracted out, that the contract had expired, and that the last version,
4.4, was done rather quickly, without much testing before the contract had
expired.  They weren't surprised that it didn't work and could only advise me
to use the much more primitive version, 4.3.  They also told me that no plans
were being made to correct the problems, nor were there any plans to continue
with new releases of Clips/Ada.
 
Although the C version is reportedly working without fault, be forewarned of
the Ada version.  Also note that the equivalent C version to Clips/Ada 4.4 is
Clips 5.1.  Because the STB contracted the conversion to Ada, the version
numbers do not coincide.
 
 
Regards,
Kevin (Gonzo) Bushman                | The opinions contained herein are not
bushman@mitecmail.ccscnet.af.mil     | necessarily those of the USAF.