| 摘要 |
<p>A rules base (34) according to the invention comprises multiple entries (36A-36I) encoded in a storage medium. Each entry is encoded to include an objective and a circumstance. Each entry is also marked to reflect its respective status. These statuses include,'valid', reflecting that information encoded in the entry corresponds to a rule for corresponding objective/circumstance; 'inheritance', reflecting that the rule for the corresponding objective/circumstance is to be sought elsewhere, e.g., in another entry in the rules base; and 'invalid', reflecting that the corresponding combination of objective and circumstance is invalid. The rules base also includes 'inheritance' structure. A method for determining a rule for a designated objective and circumstance responds to identification of a valid entry that is associated with the designated objective/circumstance. The method also responds to an entry that is marked for inheritance and is associated with that objective/circumstance. The method constructs a rule from data elements collected from valid entries or ancestor entries.</p> |
