Web-based expert systems and services

Abstract

Web-based expert systems (WBESs) provide the benefits of both expert system technology and web technology. The use of web services to deliver functionalities of WBESs allows the integration of these systems in web-portals. WBESs are used in a diversity of areas like engineering, management, medicine, agriculture, education, tourism, finance etc. A study on the various features of WBESs like knowledge-representation, reasoning, languages, implementation tools, use of various web services-related processes such as discovery, selection, composition etc. can result into some interesting conclusions. Presented work tries to fulfill the same purpose. The paper presents various WBESs classified according to their use of domain. The comparisons, observations, and assessments of these systems are presented by emphasizing the above-mentioned features of WBESs. A discussion on different web services-related processes and some representative techniques for performing each has also been provided to clarify their use in the WBESs. On the basis of assessments and surveys from different perspectives, some remarkable conclusions are drawn. © 2010 Cambridge University Press.