Programming a Diagnostic Expert System with Object-Oriented PROLOG

Object oriented programming is a system-building paradigm oriented towards reusability of the software development process. Logic programming is another system-building approach which makes use of the formalisms and the inference mechanisms of mathematical logic. In this paper I report about an experiment using a hybrid tool for the purpose of expert systems development. The criteria for suitability of the tool were: code adequacy, prototyping speed, and code readability. A hybrid tool (ProWindows) integrating the useful features of both worlds allows one to write a shell for a diagnostic expert system with multiple windowing and mouse-driven user interface, and with backwards and forwards chaining mechanisms, and dynamic rule instantiation in a matter of couple of days.