Commercial applications of large Prolog knowledge bases

This paper describes a number of the high quality application programs that have been delivered to customers around the world using different versions of Prolog. These include systems which create legal documents, assembly instructions for jet aircraft, and work schedules in hospitals; and systems which help service engineers with telephone faults, interpret chromosomal abnormalities, and diagnose faults in electronic circuits. Each combines various forms of knowledge base with the procedures to apply them in a particular area. Different approaches are used in order to achieve the necessary efficiency, but a common factor appears to be a marked increase in both productivity when creating the application and in the adaptability of the finished product.