Software design patterns are used to identify simple ways of realizing relationships among software entities or components for solving a commonly occurring problem.Design patterns allow the final software system to support different realized, non-functional requirements.In this paper, we are interested in three popular design patterns in Micro-services architecture: Fan (distributed), Chain, and Balanced, and study the influence of different system parameters to system performance.The simulation mimics system behaviors under specified design requirements for assisting software developers to select appropriate design pattern in software development life cycle (SDLC).In order to enable multi-pattern code generation, we extended our previous research on an automated modularity enforcement framework [1] from design pattern analysis to pattern evaluation.

A computation model is proposed for senior citizen health self-care through adaptive multi-level computation cycles according to the principles of slow intelligence. An experimental system, called the TDR system, is being implemented on a smart phone to serve as the test bed for the proposed approach. In this paper, we describe the computation model, the basic concepts and the prototype experimental system. The main theoretical concept is centered on adaptive multi-level computation cycles, events and event icons. Further experimental as well as theoretical investigations of the proposed computation model are discussed.

The abstract-machine model was developed by Chang to formalize the decision cycles of slow intelligence systems. It turns out that the selection of software process can also be regarded as a slow intelligence system. In this paper, we formalize abstract-machine prototypes for different software process models (SPMs) such as waterfall model, incremental model, spiral model, extreme programming model and scrum model. A Software Process Generator (SPG) was implemented to generate SPMs based upon design considerations. Initial evaluation by undergraduate students using SPG to learn software processes suggests further improvements to make it a useful learning tool.

Machine Model was developed by Chang to formalize the decision cycles of slow intelligence systems.It turns out the selection of software process can also be regarded as a slow intelligence system.In this paper we formalize abstract-machine prototypes for different software process models such as waterfall model, incremental model, spiral model, extreme programming model and scrum model.A Software Process Generator SPG was implemented to generate software process models based upon design considerations.Initial evaluation by undergraduate students using SPG to learn software processes suggests further improvements to make it a useful learning tool.

Attributed graph is widely used for modeling a variety of information networks, such as the web, sensor networks, biological networks, economic graphs, and social networks. Given the high popularity of attributed graph, in this paper, we study one of the most fundamental graph query types for attributed graph - the reachability query with attribute constraints i.e. `Is there a path from source to destination such that all attributes on the path satisfy given attribute constraints?'. We first introduce a new approach which takes the advantage of a `perfect' hash function for compressing a multi-dimensional attribute into a unique hash value so as to bound the expected cost of secondary storage access (e.g. SDD I/O, remote data access). Then, we propose a synopsis based heuristic search technique to further reduce the CPU and secondary storage access cost. For both techniques, the index construction time and space are still linear to the topology size. An extensive experimental evaluation using real and synthetic graphs demonstrates the superiority of our proposed techniques.

This paper describes the design of an experimental multi-level slow intelligence system for health care, called the TDR system, consisting of interacting super-components each with different computation cycles specified by an abstract machine model.The TDR system has three major super-components: Tian (Heaven), Di (Earth) and Ren (Human), which are the essential ingredients of a human-centric psycho-physical system following the Chinese philosophy.Each super-component further consists of interacting components supported by an SIS server.This experimental TDR system provides a platform for exploring and integrating different applications in personal health care, emergency management and social networking.

This article presents the design of a smart pet care system based on the slow intelligence framework for providing pets with suitable living conditions that closely mirror their natural habitat.By integrating heterogeneous information from various sensing data, the smart environment-aware pet care system can adaptively adjust the setting of temperature and humidity that best fits for the pet through iterative slow intelligence computation.Simulations of two case studies were provided to illustrate the application of the proposed system for pets such as snakes and dogs.The simulation results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach to the design of smart pet care systems.

This paper introduces an Adaptive Context Aware Recommender system based on the Slow Intelligence approach.The system is made available to the user as an adaptive mobile application, which allows a high degree of customization in recommending services and resources according to his/her current position and global profile.A case study applied to the town of Pittsburgh has been analyzed considering various users (with different profiles as visitors, students, professors) and an experimental campaign has been conducted obtaining interesting results.

Average case time complexity is widely used to evaluate the efficiency of an algorithm [2].Given a blackbox function, if a tester wants to know the average case time complexity, he/she has to analyze the source code and make input assumption so as to know the average case of the function.Although that is feasible, it is time consuming and that makes the testing process no longer automatic.In this paper, we propose an approach for estimating the average case time complexity of a given black-box function without analyzing source codes.Experimental results show that our approach can accurately estimate the average case time complexity without reading the source code.

This article presents the design of a smart pet care system based on the slow intelligence framework for providing pets with suitable living conditions that closely mirror their natural habitat. By integrating heterogeneous information from various sensing data, the smart environment-aware pet care system can adaptively adjust the setting of temperature and humidity that best fits the pet through iterative slow intelligence computation. Simulations of two case studies were provided to illustrate the application of the proposed system for pets such as snakes and dogs. The simulation results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach to the design of smart pet care systems.

The slow intelligence system (SIS) technology is a novel technology for the design of a complex information system that is aware of the environment through multiple sensors and capable of improving its performance over time. In this paper we describe a practical slow intelligence system test bed where super-components can be specified to describe interactions among components. These super-components are automatically transformed into time controllers for components so they can be managed by the SIS test bed. We illustrate the application of this methodology to personal healthcare system design.

Identifying the hub nodes (the most influential users) in an information diffusion network is a central research topic in social influence analysis. In [2], we developed the Multi-task Sparse Linear Influence Model (MSLIM) to automatically select topic-sensitive influential nodes in an implicit network. Our method firstly needs to determine the active node set to model the global volume of the contagions of the entire network nodes. The active node set is chosen by a simple rule in [2]. However, different set leads to different model performance. Reference [4] proposed a new framework called Slow Intelligence System, which can continuously learn, search the appropriate method and propagate information according to the environment to improve the performance over time. In this paper, we develop a slow intelligence based active user definition system by utilizing user profile visualization to help interactively determine active node sets in MSLIM model. We apply our system on a set of 2.6 million tweets of 1000 users on twitter. We show that our system can efficiently utilize user's profile visualization techniques to facilitate determining the appropriate active node sets.

How to identify influential nodes is a central research topic in information diffusion analysis. Many existing methods rely on the assumption that the network structure is completely known by the model. However, in many applications, such a network is either unavailable or insufficient to explain the underlying information diffusion phenomena. To address this challenge, we develop a multi-task sparse linear influence model (MSLIM), which can simultaneously predict the volume for each contagion and automatically identify sets of the most influential nodes for different contagions. Our method is based on the linear influence model with two main advantages: 1) it does not require the network structure; 2) it can detect different sets of the most influential nodes for different contagions. To solve the corresponding convex optimization problem for learning the model, we adopt the accelerated gradient method (AGM) framework and show that there is an exact closed-form solution for the proximal mapping. Therefore, the optimization procedure achieves the optimal first-order convergence rate and can be scaled to very large datasets. The proposed model is validated on a set of 2.6 millions tweets from 1000 users of Twitter. We show that MSLIM can efficiently select the most influential users for specific contagions. We also present several interesting patterns of the selected influential users.

We present a mathematical model of multimedia data streams and a framework for multimedia functional dependency analysis. The dual objectives are to effectively design multimedia data streams schema and to efficiently process continuous queries on sensor-based multimedia data streams. To further improve query processing, we introduce the concept of ontological filtering. A software tool to add multimedia functional dependencies to ontology is developed. Based upon multimedia functional dependency analysis and ontological filtering, query processing algorithms, illustrative examples and experimental results for sensor-based multimedia data streams continuous querying are presented to demonstrate the practical applications of our approach.

Contrary to popular belief, not all intelligent systems have Quick Intelligence. There are a surprisingly large number of intelligent systems, quasi-intelligent systems and semi-intelligent systems that have Slow Intelligence. Such Slow Intelligence Systems are often neglected in mainstream research on intelligent systems, but they are really worthy of our attention and emulation. I will describe the characteristics of Slow Intelligence Systems and present a general framework for Slow Intelligence Systems. I will then discuss evolutionary query processing and mission control in emergency management systems as two examples of Artificial Slow Intelligence Systems. Researchers and practitioners are both invited to explore the applications of Slow Intelligence Systems in software engineering and knowledge engineering, and publish their findings in IJSEKE.

We describe IC card, which is a visual specification scheme for the rapid prototyping of time-critical applications. The software developer can use IC cards to describe the entities of an application and their interaction patterns to capture user's requirements. The IC card management system, which is a visual specification tool, supports the creation and editing of IC cards and the transformation of IC cards into an XML specification. The XML specification can be transformed into an IC system and compiled into codes, thus creating a working prototype. Application examples are described.

The Chronobot/Virtual Classroom (CVC) system is a novel time knowledge exchange platform where any pair of users can exchange their time and knowledge. User profile that contains user attributes, preferences, and learning patterns serves as a primary basis to identify exchange partners and determine exchange rates. In this paper, we described the methodology to acquire knowledge about users i.e. user profile from their activities. The association between user profile and user behaviors (e.g. online reading, chatting and time/knowledge exchanging) is identified by several feedback indicators extracted from browsing history, chatting session and exchange transaction. A linear learning model is constructed to fuse multiple feedback indicators to infer user preference. The methods utilizing user profile to identify the exchange partners and determine the exchange rate are also described in detail.

We present a normalization framework for the design of multimedia database schemas with reduced manipulation anomalies. To this end, we introduce new extended dependencies. Such dependencies are based on distance functions that are used for detecting semantic relationships between complex data types. Based upon these new dependencies, we have defined five multimedia normal forms. Finally, we have performed a simulation on a large image data set to analyze the impact of the proposed framework in the context of content-based retrieval applications and in e-learning applications.

Sensor data fusion imposes a number of novel requirements on query languages and query processing techniques. A spatial/temporal query language called /spl Sigma/QL has been proposed to support the retrieval and fusion of multimedia information from multiple sources and databases. In this paper we investigate fusion techniques, multimedia data transformations and /spl Sigma/QL query processing techniques for sensor data fusion. Fusion techniques including fusion by the merge operation, the detection of moving objects, and the incorporation of belief values, have been developed. An experimental prototype has been implemented and tested to demonstrate the feasibility of these techniques.

The recent advances in visual software engineering, UML, software patterns and component-based software engineering have once again posed challenges to software engineers and knowledge engineers to understand how to design better software based upon design knowledge, and how such knowledge is represented. In this keynote lecture, I will survey some of the recent approaches and attempt to clarify the concept of design knowledge and how the design knowledge is embedded in the software process. Finally I will illustrate how one can use generalized objects for knowledge representation in the software process.

Multimedia Software Engineering (MSE) is a new frontier for both Software Engineering (SE) and Visual Languages (VL). In fact multimedia software engineering can be considered as the discipline for systematic specification, design, substitution and verification of visual patterns. Visual Languages contribute to MSE such concepts as: Visual notation for software specification, design and verification flow charts, ER diagrams, Petri Nets, UML visualization, visual programming languages etc. Multimedia Software Engineering and Software Engineering are like two sides of the same coin. On the one hand we can apply software engineering principles to the design of multimedia systems. On the other hand we can apply multimedia technologies to the software engineering practice. In this paper we concentrate on the first of these possibilities. One of the promising application areas for Multimedia Software Engineering is Distance Learning. One aim of this paper is to demonstrate how it is possible to design and to implement complex multimedia software systems for Distance Learning using a Teleaction Object transformer based on XML technology applying a Component-Based Multimedia Software Engineering approach. The paper shows a complete process of dataflow transformation that represents TAO in different ways (text, TAOML, etc.) and at different levels of abstraction. A component-based tool architecture is also discussed.The use of an XML-based approach in the Distance Learning field has other advantages as well. It facilitates reuse of the teaching resources by using metadata. Standards for representing multimedia distance learning materials are currently evolving. Such standards are necessary in order to allow a representation which is independent of hardware and software platforms so that this material can be examined, for example, in a web browser or so that it may be reused.

Visual interaction processes are modeled in this paper as sequences of visual sentences in which for each visual sentence only a limited set of user actions is possible. We introduce the notion of "dynamic visual language" as a weakly ordered set of visual sentences characterized by the presence of common elements. We present a formal model of derivation of visual sentences in a dynamic visual language in which each visual sentence specifies the possible actions which can be performed on it and the possible transformations it can go through. In this way, we offer a formal setting in which the interaction process can be formally specified. A user interface can be derived from the formal specification, so that it embeds proper context elements which limit user disorientation. The concepts are illustrated by the user interaction with a prototype of a digital library developed at the University of Bari.

A new approach is described for the fusion of multimedia information based on the concept of active documents advertising on the Internet, whereby the metadata of a document travels in the network to seek out documents of interest to the parent document and, at the same time, advertises its parent document to other interested documents. This abstraction of metadata is called an adlet, which is the core of our approach. Two important features make this approach applicable to multimedia information fusion, information retrieval, data mining, geographic information systems, and medical information systems: 1) any document, including a Web page, database record, video file, audio file, image and even paper documents, can be enhanced by an adlet and become an active document; and 2) any node in a nonactive network can be enhanced by adlet-savvy software and the adlet-enhanced node can coexist with other nonenhanced nodes. An experimental prototype provides a testbed for feasibility studies in a hybrid active network.

The sentient map is a new paradigm for visual information retrieval. It enables the user to view data as maps, so that gestures, and more specifically c-gestures (command gestures, represented by mouse clicks and keystrokes), can be used for the interaction between the user and the multimedia information system. Different c-gestures are then dynamically transformed into spatial/temporal queries (/spl sigma/-queries) for multimedia information sources and databases. An electronic learning environment involving many academic institutions serves as a testbed to evaluate this approach.

Large distributed systems may contain millions of objects that have to be managed. This makes it impossible to specify management policies for individual objects. Instead it is necessary to specify policy for groups of objects. This paper describes a framework for the construction of the ADlets Distributed Migration Mechanism (ADDMM), which is used by the Adlet System for the management of adlets. The Adlet System is a new approach for multimedia information retrieval and fusion based on the concept of active document advertising, whereby an adlet (the metadata of a document) travels in the network to seek out documents of interest to the parent document, and at the same time advertises its parent document to other interested adlets. ADDMM provides the Adlet System with the facility of managing migrating adlets. ADDMM supports location-independent transparency and minimal interface by utilizing the ADDNS naming system that provides a mechanism for transparent naming and locating adlets, which in turn supports ADDMM transparency at the adlet access level. With the ADDMM migration mechanism, various adlet migration protocols can be constructed and deployed. A visual diagram is introduced to specify such protocols for adlets migration, which can also be employed to specify distributed object management policies.

Current distance learning is mostly based on Web technologies. However, course materials announced as Web documents do not have a normalized structure. It is difficult for students to realize where they are in a Web navigation graph. On the other hand, a text book has a fixed structure, such as the hierarchy of chapters and the index. A text book reader knows how to start searching for information with the common structure of books in his/her mind. If distance learning course materials are organized in one or two patterns, it would be easier for an individual student to follow. We investigate this approach, and propose a system for Web course designs with patterns. The system also serves as a front end module of a Web learning environment which provides automatic assessment of student performance.

Web based distance learning is a trend of instruction delivery. One of the most difficult challenges of such a learning mechanism is the assessment of students' learning criteria. It is hard to judge the behavior of a student since the instructor is separated spatially and temporally from the students. However, it is possible to rely on some Web based tools to keep track of a student's course attendance, as well as the navigation behavior of that student. In addition, the navigation behavior of an individual can be compared to those of others. Analysis can be conducted, and an interactive tutorial can be generated to assist the student with a poor score. The paper proposes such a mechanism, as well as its supporting system run on Windows browsers.

Multimedia systems incorporating hyperlinks and user interaction can be prototyped using TAOML, an extension of HTML. TAOML is used to define a Teleaction Object (TAO) which is a multimedia object with associated hypergraph structure and knowledge structure The hypergraph structure supports the effective presentation and efficient communication of multimedia information. In this paper, a formal specification methodology for TAOs using Symbol Relation (SR) grammars is described. An attributed SR grammar is then introduced in order to associate knowledge with the TAO. The limitations to achieve an efficient parser are given. The grammatical formalism allows for validation and verification of the system specification. This methodology provides a principled approach to specify, verify, validate and prototype multimedia applications.

The Internet revolution has made an enormous quantity of information available to a disparate variety of people. The amount of information, the typical access modality (that is, browsing), and the rapid growth of the Net, force the user, while searching for the information of interest, to dip into multiple sources, in a labyrinth of millions of links. Web-at-A-Glance (WAG) is a system allowing the user to query (instead of browsing) the Web. WAG performs this ambitious task by constructing a personalized database, pertinent to the user's interests. The system semi-automatically gleans the most relevant information from a Web site or several Web sites, stores them into a database cooperatively designed with the user, and allows her/him to query such a database through a visual interface equipped with a powerful multimedia query language. This paper presents the design philosophy, the architecture and the core of the WAG system. A prototype WAG is being implemented to test the feasibility of the proposed approach.

To support the retrieval, fusion and discovery of multimedia information, a spatial/temporal query language for multiple data sources is needed. In this paper we describe a spatial/temporal query language, the ∑QL, which is based upon the σ-operator sequence and in practice expressible in an SQL-like syntax. The general σ-operator and temporal σ-operator are explained, and applications of the σ-query language to vertical/horizontal reasoning and hypermapped virtual world are discussed.

To accomplish the retrieval, discovery and fusion of multimedia information from diverse sources, an active multimedia information system capable of retrieving, processing and filtering multimedia information, checking for consistency, and structuring the relevant information for distribution is needed. We describe a framework for the human- and system-directed retrieval, discovery and fusion of multimedia information, which is based upon the observation that a significant event often manifests itself in different media over time and space. Therefore if we can index such manifestations and dynamically link them, then we can check for consistency and discover important and relevant multimedia information. This dynamic indexing technique is based upon the theory of active index. For the discovery of significant events, a powerful newly developed artificial neural network is used to serve as the decision network subsystem of the proposed information system. An experimental system is implemented for further empirical research.

When specifying, designing and analyzing complex real-time systems, it is necessary to adopt a modular or compositional methodology. This methodology shall allow the designer the ability to verify local properties of individual modules or components in the system, and also shall allow the verification of the correct behavior of interacting components. The application of Petri nets for the modeling and verification of systems, at specification and design levels are well known. Despite the powerful structuring mechanisms available in the Petri nets theory for the construction of the model of complex systems, the designer is still likely to face the problem of state explosion, when analyzing and verifying large systems. In this work we introduce a modular analysis methodology for a kind of high level Petri nets named G-Nets.

Describes an approach for multiparadigmatic visual access integration of different interaction paradigms. The user is provided with an adaptive interface augmented by a user model, supporting different visual representations of both data and queries. The visual representations are characterized on the basis of the chosen visual formalisms, namely forms, diagrams and icons. To access different databases, a unified data model called the "graph model" is used as a common underlying formalism to which databases, expressed in the most popular data models, can be mapped. Graph model databases are queried through the adaptive interface. The semantics of the query operations is formally defined in terms of graphical primitives. Such a formal approach permits us to define the concept of an "atomic query", which is the minimal portion of a query that can be transferred from one interaction paradigm to another and processed by the system. Since certain interaction modalities and visual representations are more suitable for certain user classes, the system can suggest to the user the most appropriate interaction modality as well as the visual representation, according to the user model. Some results on user model construction are presented.

We present an approach of iconic language design for people with significant speech and multiple impairments (SSMI), based upon the theory of Icon Algebra and the theory of Conceptual Dependency (CD) to derive the meaning of iconic sentences. An interactive design environment based upon this methodology is described.

Although the application of code transformations is critical to exploit parallelism in program code, few guidelines or tools are provided to determine what transformations should be applied and where they should be applied. In this paper, we approach this problem by first providing a taxonomy of code transformations to assist the user in parallelizing programs. We then present an efficient technique to remove transformations from the code when it is determined that they are ineffective or prevent more beneficial transformations from being applied. The technique to remove transformations employs inverse primitive actions, making it transformation independent. The technique uses the program dependence graph as the intermediate representation, making it language independent.

A transformation applied to optimize or parallelize a program may be found to be ineffective, or may be made invalid by code changes. In this paper, we present a technique to remove such transformations. The order of undoing the transformations is independent of the application order. The technique uses post conditions of a transformation to determine whether the transformation can be immediately removed. Transformations that affect the immediate removal of a transformation must be identified and removed. Other transformations made invalid by the removal of a transformation must also be undone. The technique employs inverse primitive actions, making the technique transformation independent. The enabling and disabling interactions of transformations are used to drive the process, thereby reducing redundant analysis when undoing transformations.

This paper investigates the analysis of concurrent OO designs using a formal, executable specification technique called G-Net. After presenting an overview of the G-Net technique, we show how to use the G-Net notation to specify the concurrent OO systems. A formal transformation technique, which translates a G-Net specification to a semantically equivalent PrT-net, is presented. The resultant PrT-net can then be formally analyzed. The practical significance of this approach in fault-tolerant systems and distributed multimedia systems design is discussed.

A multidatabase system (MDBS) is a system that integrates several autonomous database systems and provides users with a uniform access to all the databases. In this paper we developed a two-level active metadata dictionary approach for semantic query processing. To capture the global view of data schemas of participating databases which may be heterogeneous, a Hornclause data model is used. The lower-level metadata dictionaries (LLMDs) keep metadata for each corresponding local database in MDBS. The higher-level metadata dictionary (HLMD) integrates the metadata about all LLMDs. The database integration strategy includes two phases: schema translation and schema integration. It is a bottom-up approach integrating schema from the underlying database schemas. The evaluation strategy is a top-down approach. It starts with a query as a global goal to be achieved, unifies and optimizes the query to decompose the goal into subgoals that can be evaluated against extensional database, then translates these subgoals into corresponding queries against underlying DBMSs. To solve the control problem, we employ a G-net model for procedure control and inference control. An experimental implementation in Prolog is described.

Spatial data models, in two and three dimensions, are especially important means for logical descriptions of images. Such models are necessary for both spatial reasoning and iconic indexing. A three dimensional hierarchical spatial data model designed for spatial reasoning is described in this paper. The model is built up from various types of building blocks of which the clusters are the most general. A significant feature is different views of the model which are means to support the reasoning process. Another feature supported by the model is the generation of 2D projections from the 3D structure. Methods for spatial reasoning by means of the model are discussed.>

A software environment for visualization when parallelizing programs is described. The system supports multiparadigm program visualization, automatic generation of optimizers from specifications, interactive and undo facilities for code transformations, and a multilevel browser. Textual and graphical forms of optimization specification languages are utilized in the specification of both traditional and parallelizing transformations. An undo facility is provided for the user to remove ineffective or inappropriate transformations. An extended form of the program dependence graph is developed that not only enables the exploitation of parallelism in sequential programs by applying transformations but also facilitates mappings for code visualization. The conceptual framework that allows multiparadigm program visualization is presented. A multilevel browser can be used to browse any block of statements in one program view, and the corresponding code of another program view is highlighted.>

Large software systems are often aimed to deal with problems of multi-application domains or disciplines, where each class of problems has its own defining features, difficulties and emphases. No existing computation model or design paradigm is appropriate for all varieties of problems faced in software design. A unification of existing computation paradigms is thus necessary to accommodate the diverse needs in system design. In this paper, the authors propose a framework based on the notions of logical entity abstraction and instantiation (LEAI), which enables a user to select appropriate computation paradigms to design various parts (or subsystems) of a software system, and to compose the parts into a integrated system. An example is given to illustrate the application of the framework.>

A conceptual framework for image information systems is presented. Current research topics are surveyed, and application examples are presented. The design issues for the next generation of active image systems are discussed. It is suggested that the next generation of active image information systems should be designed on the basis of notions of generalized icons and active indexes, resulting in smart images.>

The major issues in designing Distributed Information Systems (DIS) include localization of control and data, inherent concurrency, intensive interactions among computation agents, history sensitivity, dynamic configuration and continuous system change and evolution. We propose a framework, called the G-Net model, for the specification, modeling and prototyping of DIS. The G-Net model not only provides a flexible notation to represent the executable specification of DIS through G-Net instantiation, but also offers a novel style of decentralized concurrent computation, allowing flexible inter-agent communication and interaction. A prototype of the G-Net framework has been implemented on workstations connected by a local network.

The authors introduce the concept of personalized user profile for very large databases, as well as the VisualNet model as a representation for such a user profile. A user profile is a small and dynamic structure which contains the user's knowledge of the database, serves as a starting point for the user's access to the database, and supports intelligent database accesses. The basic idea is that a user usually accesses only a very small and stable region of a very large database, and therefore, the size of the user profile is much smaller than the whole database view. It is hoped that most of the user's database search can be conducted in the user profile. Techniques for automatic construction and maintenance of user profiles are discussed. A set of visual reasoning algorithms is presented to support intelligent and interactive user's queries to the database, as well as to coordinate the search between the user profile and the global database.>

The G-net model for G-type knowledge representation is introduced. It is capable of modeling both static semantic knowledge and dynamic control knowledge, combining them into a loosely coupled, mixed-type knowledge hierarchy. Four reasoning algorithms for the G-net model are proposed: inheritance reasoning and recognition reasoning for semantic knowledge, event-driven reasoning for dynamic knowledge, and control table reasoning for coordination and control in a mixed-type knowledge hierarchy. Based on the knowledge-table representation, the G-net model expresses the constraints and relationships among knowledge objects explicitly so that reasoning algorithms can be implemented efficiently. Applications to information systems prototyping are discussed.>

When a database increases in size, retrieving the data becomes a major problem. An approach based on data visualization and visual reasoning is described. The main idea is to transform the data objects and present sample data objects in a visual space. The user can use a visual language to incrementally formulate the information retrieval request in the visual space. A prototype system is described with the following features: (1) it is built on top of the SIL-ICON visual language compiler and therefore can be customized for different application domains; (2) it supports a fuzzy icon grammar to define reasonable visual sentences; (3) it incorporates a semantic model of the database for fuzzy visual query translation; and (4) it incorporates a VisualNet which stores the knowledge learned by the system in its interaction with the user so that the VisualReasoner can adapt its behavior.>

Exceptional conditions are anomalous data which meet the intent of a schema but not the schema definition, represent a small proportion of the database extension, and may become known only after the schema is in use. Admission of exceptional conditions is argued to suggest a representation that locally stretches the schema definition by use of relations with embedded subrelations. Attempted normalization of these relations to 1NF does not yield the static schema typically associated with such transformations. A class of relations, termed Exceptional Condition Nested Form (ECNF), is defined which allows the necessary representation of exceptional conditions while containing sufficient restrictions to prevent arbitrary and chaotic inclusion of embedded subrelations. Queries on a subset of exceptional conditions, the exceptional constraints , are provided an interpretation via an algorithm that transforms ECNF relations into 1NF relations containing two types of null values. Extensions of relational algebraic operators, suitable for interactive query navigation, are defined for use with ECNF relations containing all forms of exceptional conditions.

The SIL-ICON compiler is a software system for the specification, interpretation, prototyping, and generation of icon-oriented systems. The system design of the SIL-ICON compiler is presented. The icon system G, the icon dictionary ID, the operator dictionary OD, and the extended task action grammar ETAG are described. An application example to design a text editor using the Heidelberg icon set is also presented in detail.>

The SIL-ICON Compiler is a software system for the specification, interpretation, prototyping and generation of icon-oriented systems. In this paper, the design of the SIL-ICON Compiler is described. An application example to design a text editor using the Heidelberg Icon Set is presented in detail.

A prototype intelligent image database system (IIDS) that is based on a novel pictorial data structure is presented. This prototype system supports spatial reasoning, flexible image information retrieval, visualization, and traditional image database operations. A pictorial data structure, based on 2-D strings, provides an efficient means for iconic indexing in image database systems and spatial reasoning. The modular design of IIDS facilitates its implementation. Further extensions of the prototype system are discussed.>

A generalized icon is an object with the dual representation of a logical part (the meaning) and a physical part (the image). We describe a formal approach to specify icon systems. Iconic operators are presented, which constitute an icon algebra to construct complex icons and define icon semantics. The Chinese character formation rules can then be explained in a unified way. Applications of this methodology are discussed.

In this paper, we give purity-preserving conditions for iconic operators, and present a formal definition of degree of icon purity by extending an icon system to a fuzzy icon system, based upon the theory of fuzzy sets. We also show an icon system can be modeled by means of an attribute grammar.

In this paper, we describe a new way of representing a symbolic picture by a two-dimensional string. A picture query can also be specified as a 2-D string. The problem of pictorial information retrieval then becomes a problem of 2-D subsequence matching. We present algorithms for encoding a symbolic picture into its 2-D string representation, reconstructing a picture from its 2-D string representation, and matching a 2-D string with another 2-D string. We also prove the necessary and sufficient conditions to characterize ambiguous pictures for reduced 2-D strings as well as normal 2-D strings. This approach thus allows an efficient and natural way to construct iconic indexes for pictures.

The design approach of a knowledge-based message management system is described. A linguistic message filter is used to filter out junk messages. Relevant messages are then processed by an expert system, driven by user-defined alerter rules. An alerter rule base for a secretarial office is illustrated. Further research topics in knowledge-base design, evaluation, and learning are also discussed.

Recent advances in hardware technology have made feasible the design of sophisticated image information systems. There is need for image information systems in many application areas. A survey of commercial systems that are currently available indicates the diversity of product orientations, nonuniformity, and lack of integration in their capabilities. A survey of R & D efforts indicate that many sophisticated techniques and concepts have been developed, but lack of integration again prevents their immediate applications. Based upon these considerations, an approach to software design for image information systems to achieve system integration is suggested, which emphasizes program portability and modularity, self-descriptive data structures, unified image processing language and programming environment, and flexible user interface. The concept of generalized icons is proposed as a means to help achieve such system integration.

An office procedure is a structured set of office activities for accomplishing a specific office task. A unified model, called office procedure model (OPM), is presented to model office procedures. The OPM describes the relationships among messages, databases, alerters, and activities. The OPM can be used to coordinate and integrate the activities of an office procedure. The OPM also allows the specification of office protocols in an office information system. A methodology for the verification of office procedures is presented. With this methodology, potential problems in office procedure specification, such as deadlock, unspecified message reception, etc., can be analyzed effectively.

This paper describes a generic image processing language IPL, and a programming environment supporting the language primitives for an image information system. The central notion of IPL is that it allows the user to navigate through the image database and manipulate images using generalized icons. The image processing language IPL consists of three subsets: the logical image processing language LIPL, the interactive image processing language IIPL, and the physical image processing language PIPL. This paper presents the main concepts of this generic language, some examples, and a scenario.

We present an approach for picture indexing and abstraction. Picture indexing facilitates information retrieval from a pictorial database consisting of picture objects and picture relations. To construct picture indexes, abstraction operations to perform picture object clustering and classification are formulated. To substantiate the abstraction operations, we also formalize syntactic abstraction rules and semantic abstraction rules. We then illustrate by examples how to apply these abstraction operations to obtain various picture indexes, and how to construct icons to facilitate accessing of pictorial data.

In this paper the authors approach the problem of office activities management from the database viewpoint. Database alerting techniques are developed to serve the purpose of office activities management. A conceptual framework for office information system design is presented. Simple database alerters and implementation techniques, existential alerters and time alerters are discussed. An example of journal editing is described in detail. Finally, alerter system stability is discussed.

This paper presents the motivation, history, and idiosyncrasy of a query translation system. Detail of the translation process has also been described.

We present a methodology for structured database decomposition based on the relational data model. It is argued that in the distributed database environment, structured database decomposition is attractive both for efficiency and for database security considerations. Techniques for parallel processing and hashed access of structurally decomposed database are presented. Techniques for structured database decomposition to support multiple user views are also described. Structured database decomposition is most advantageous in a query only database environment with stable user views, although dynamic updates can also be handled using techniques described in this paper.

An integrated approach for a pictorial database system is proposed. It will handle the non-pictorial data and pictorial data in a uniform way in order to allow for greater flexibility for pictorial information retrieval. The distinction of logical view and physical view of picture ob jects is discussed. A picture algebra is defined to manipulate the areal picture object, linear picture object, point picture object, and even the combination of these picture objects. In addition physical zooming as magnification of picture object, logical zooming technique is more important to navigate into the detailed description of this picture object or to browsing among the similar picture of the reference picture. Hierarchical representation for the handling of spatial data in order to fit logical zooming technique and the materization of the logical picture to physical picture ready for display are also included in picture algebra.

The concept of a database skeleton which reflects both the user's conception of the real world and the system's understanding of the interrelationships among database entities is described. It consists of a conceptual schema (conceptual graphs) and a relational schema (information graph). With the aid of the database skeleton, fuzzy queries can be translated and disambiguated by analyzing the queries using the conceptual graphs of a database skeleton. The query language XQL is introduced, and the XQL translator is described in some detail.

This paper presents the concept of a model of database skeleton which is used to represent user's knowledge on the meaning of the data. The logical database synthesis pfoblem is then formulated as a problem of convetting a partially specified database skeleton to a completely specified-one, which corresponds to one of several data models. Approaches to optimal logical database synthesis for the relational database are then considered.

This paper treats the problem of fuzzy query translation using the concept of database skeleton. An imprecise, or fuzzy, query is represented by a query graph, which can be analyzed for translatability with respect to a given database skeleton. The fuzzy query translation problem is formulated as a problem of converting a partially specified query graph into a completely specified query graph. This graph is then translated into a sequence of data manipulation commands, such as commands in relational algebra. Approaches to optimal fuzzy query translation are also described.

It is often possible to save storage space in a computer by storing only the differences among data items rather than the entire items. For example, suppose we have two records A and B. We should store all of A, then for B store a pointer to A and the differences between A and B. If A and B are similar, there will be few differences and storage space can be saved.

A model of a distributed computer system for transaction processing is described. The system configuration problem is formulated as a problem of deciding transaction allocation, routing, processor allocation, and line allocation to satisfy certain performance requirements and design constraints. A heuristic design procedure for hierarchical computer systems is described. Based upon this design procedure, an experimental interactive configurator for distributed computer system design is implemented in APL. Topics for further investigation are discussed.

The design of a distributed data base for a hierarchical computer system is investigated. If the transmission cost and storage cost can be calculated from linear cost functions, a data base can be decomposed based upon a simple figure of merit. Moreover, each file can be allocated individually. When the cost functions are nonlinear, a file allocation algorithm is proposed to allocate files which again is based upon a simple figure of merit. The decomposition problem for completely decentralized data bases is also considered.

A method for the balancing of binary search trees on a highly parallel computer is described. This method can be adapted for execution on a multiprocessor computer system.

A method of constructing binary search trees in a multiprocessor computer system is proposed. Asymptotically, this method achieves the maximum possible increase in speed as compared with a single processor computer system. To make better use of this method, a parametrized restructuring of binary search trees is also discussed.

The computation of window operations and arbitrary local operations on a parallel organized computer is studied. It is shown that for the window operations, the computation time can be minimized, subject to the restriction of memory accessibility. It is also shown that the computation time increases as the degree of disorderliness of a local operation increases.

A method is developed for the reconstruction of a two-dimensional convex symmetric object from two orthogonal projections. To reconstruct a three-dimensional object, the object is divided into thin slices and the slices are individually reconstructed. An experimental result of the reconstruction of a clay model from its X-ray pictures is described. Applicability of this technique to cardiac cineangiography is discussed.

An interactive system for the generation and editing of Chinese texts using a small computer and a low-cost graphic display device is described. A unified structural approach is taken for character generation, character retrieval, and the defining of new characters. It is estimated that character-retrieval rates of the order of 30 characters per minute may be attained with this system. The system is suitable for use by persons having a working knowledge of Chinese.

An iterative method is described which generates a minimal tree with a Steiner topology in at most n -2 steps, where n is the number of fixed vertices.The SI algorithm is formulated.When n < 4, the SI algorithm converges to a proper tree.Experimental studies indicate that this algorithm generates trees close to optimal Steiner minimal trees.

An abstract model for the execution of fuzzy programs using finite-state machines is described, Different ways of executing fuzzy programs are investigated. It is shown that the performance function λ of a fuzzy machine M can be effectively constructed so that the program searching cost of an elementary fuzzy program, a number of elementary fuzzy programs, or a regular fuzzy program is minimized. Some application examples are discussed.

The problem of parallel computation of local operations using five differently organized parallel processing machines (the SASD, SAPD, PASD, PAMD, and PAPD computers) is investigated. It is shown that for a special class of local operations, called window operations, there is a trade-off between computation time and machine complexity. It is also shown that for the PAMD computer, the computation time increases as the degree of disorderliness of the local operation increases. In conclusion, in the designing of special-purpose parallel processing machines, we must take into consideration the degree of disorderliness of the operations to be performed.

The problem of reconstructing binary patterns from their shadows or projections is treated. Two algorithms are formulated. For the two-view case, both algorithms give a perfect reconstruction if and only if the pattern is two-view unambiguous. It is also shown that n views are sufficient, but not necessary, to reconstruct any n × n binary pattern. Experimental results for the four-view reconstruction of 25 × 25 binary patterns indicate that one of the algorithms has good convergency behavior.

A method for the description of the hierarchical structure of two-dimensional pictures is proposed. The model is called picture-processing grammar. It can be regarded as an extension of phrase-structure grammars to the two-dimensional case. A picture analysis program is described. It accepts picture-processing grammar in tabular form and processes pictures using that grammar. Experiments have been performed to analyze handwritten numerals, mathematical expressions and line drawings. Some practical applications are discussed.