Interactive extension of domain datatypes

Knowledge-based systems can be adapted interactively by non-programming experts to only a limited degree. The authors present an approach that delivers an additional layer of adaptability to such users. The added functionality allows the user to construct and specify the semantics of new domain terms, where these terms may refer to domain entities, characteristics or relations. The approach depends on strong-typing and extensive indexing of domain language terms. A system built on this approach exhibits a clear division of labor between the domain expert and a knowledge-base system programmer: the domain expert adds terms that describes particular domain elements while the programmer provides building blocks for a new term's semantics. The proposed approach has been implemented as part of a machine learning project in a system called KRAM.<>