Designing and implementing intelligent database applications-a case study

State-of-the-art research and implementation efforts being conducted in the area of expert database systems with the goal of developing intelligent and effective applications is examined. Various approaches taken to integrate expert systems and database systems are discussed. Next, a real-world application developed by the author using one of the outlined techniques is discussed in detail. This application consists in the implementation of a comprehensive computerized system to automate the educational activities of the American Red Cross. The insights gleaned from this effort are presented. The most important lesson learned was to stop thinking about rules in abstract terms and visualize them instead, as any other valid entity (or object) as a part of the overall data model.<>