Time and Production Systems

The utility of rule based production systems seems to be in the ability to model domains consisting of independent states and actions, in which process interaction is minimal. This methodology is suitable for domains outside of the realm of human information processing, in particular, in representing domains of continuous processes. We apply it to the design of a world modeling system, where objects and relationships are observed over time. We consider the effects of embedding time into a rule based system, where individual productions represent instantaneous events which are grouped together to form processes. We illustrate by discussing a particular implementation, the language CONCUR.