Problem-solving methods provide reusable architectures and components for implementing
the reasoning part of knowledge-based systems. The
Unified Problem-Solving
Method Description Language (
UPML) has been developed to describe and implement
such architectures and components to facilitate their semi-automatic reuse and adaptation.
In a nutshell, UPML is a framework for developing knowledge-intensive reasoning
systems based on libraries ofg eneric problem-solving components. The paper describes
the components and adapters, architectural constraints, development guidelines, and tools
provided by UPML. UPML is developed as part of the IBROW project, which provides
an Internet-based brokering service for reusing problem-solving methods.
Keywords: Knowledge Engineering; Problem-solving methods; Semantic Web
Received 9 August 1999 / Revised 6 January 2001 / Accepted in revised form 4 August 2001