Hierarchical Censored Production Rules (HCPRs) system

Abstract

Variable precision logic offers mechanisms for handling trade-offs between the precision of inferences and the computational efficiency of deriving them. In this paper we present a Hierarchical Censored Production Rules (HCPRs) system as an underlying representational and computational scheme for variable precision logic. The proposed scheme is based on an extension of Production Rules system. It is shown how an ordinary Production Rule on suitable modification and augmentation with relevant information becomes a Hierarchical Censored Production Rule (HCPR), which in turn enables to resolve many of the problems associated with usual Production Rules system. A concept of Hierarchical Censored Production Rule tree (HCPR-tree) is developed and it is shown that it can be employed to exhibit both variable specificity and certainty of belief in a conclusion using a General Control Scheme (GCS).