Hypermedia for knowledge engineering

Discusses the implications for knowledge engineering of hypermedia systems. The author particularly focuses on the use of hypermedia for knowledge acquisition (KA) in all phases of KBS construction and maintenance. The acquisition of knowledge remains the critical phase of expert system development. A number of software support tools have appeared that provide for the analysis, refinement and integration of knowledge from diverse sources; texts, manuals, verbal transcripts, cases, and the experts themselves. Consideration of these systems reveals three classes of support tools. One class provides support for acquisition in specific domains. A second consists of computer implementations of particular knowledge acquisition (KA) techniques and are as such domain independent, the third class are loosely integrated systems. He also discusses how hypermedia technology is being used to facilitate various of these knowledge acquisition support tools