Logic Program Modules for Interoperable Information Systems

: Reuse of existing applications for building new applications is a critical task in software engineering, requiring the integration of heterogeneous and potentially distributed systems. On the other hand, interoperability will be one main issue in the design of future intelligent information systems. In the framework of a layered architecture we suggest a cyclic model of interoperable systems. We describe the "theory & link" concept provided by the distributed knowledge base management system EPSILON for the modularization of large knowledge bases and sketch a declarative semantics of a knowledge base consisting of linked theories. Finally, we discuss the use of this methodology for the integration of components in an interoperable knowledge base management system. 1. Introduction Modelling large knowledge bases requires the possibility of accessing and integrating existing sub-knowledge-bases, and of decomposing a knowledge base into "modules ". Regarding logic programming environme..