ESTA - OVERVIEW

• ESTA – Expert System for Text Animation

– ESTA can be used to create an expert system for any

subject area by building the knowledge base in that
domain.

ESTA + Knowledge Base = Expert System

 System interface External
Programs
Working memory

Knowledge
Explanation Facility Inference Engine Base

User Interface Developer’s interface

Knowledge
User Engineer
 Overview
• ESTA is a rule based system that has the facilities
for
– Knowledge base
– Inference engine
– Graphic user interface
– Graphic developer interface
– Explanation
– Uncertain reasoning
– Debugging
– interface to system programs
 Knowledge base

• The knowledge base in ESTA is represented by

two distinct kind of objects:

– Sections
– Parameters
 KnowledgeBase - Sections

• Each section describes both how to decide whether

any advice should be given to the expert system
user, and to which section ESTA should go next.
– Consultation begins with the start section.
– All knowledge bases in ESTA must begin with a
section called start.
– Sections can be modified from the section tree.
– Updates are dynamically reflected on the section tree.
 Parameters

• Parameters are variables which determine the flow of

control between the sections.
• Example – car.kb
section start : 'main section‘

if (problem='starting_problem') do
starting_problem
if (problem='overheating') do overheating
if (problem='smell_of_gasoline') do
smell_of_gasoline
if (problem='vibration') do vibration
do other

/* An alternative is to write : do_section_of

problem */
 Parameters

Sections and parameters within a knowledge base can be

listed.
Parameters that are not yet assigned a value appears with a ?
Mark.
Section List of car.kb
alternative_transport : Investigation of other transport possibilities
another_battery : start the car using another battery start : main section
bad_idling_section : the engine idles badly starting_problem : starting problems
bad_running : the engine runs badly vibration : vibrations in the car
battery_dead : the battery is dead wet_weather: the weather is wet
brakes : problems with the brakes wiper_motor: problems with a wiper moto
electrical : check the electrical system
gasoline_help : what to do when there is no gasoline on the car
horn_problem : problems with the horn
lack_of_power_section: the engine feels lacking in power
light_problem : problems with the lights
other : other problems not dealt with in the start section
overheating : the engine gets overheated
push_start : push-start the car
recharge : recharge the battery
smell_of_gasoline : the car smells of gasoline
Parameter list of car.kb
acceleration_noise : there is a noise during acceleration( ? )
another_battery : you can use another battery( ? )
bad_idling : the engine is idling badly( ? )
battery_dead : the battery is dead( ? )
brake_long_travel : the brake has a long travel( ? )
brake_nonoperative : the brakes do not work at all( ? )
brake_otherproblem : the brakes have unclassified problems( ? )
brake_poor : stopping ability is poor( ? )
brake_spongy : the brakes feel spongy( ? )
brake_springy : the brakes feel springy( ? )
brake_veer: car veers to one side when the brakes are applied( ? )
car : the kind of car( ? )
close_to_fueltank : you are close to a gasoline station( ? )
engine_vibration : the engine vibrates excessively( ? )
gasoline_can : you have a spare can with gasoline( ? )
gasoline_ok : there is gasoline in the car( ? )
horn_badnoise : the horn is not working properly( ? )
 Knowledge Representation
Knowledge representation in ESTA is based on the
following items:
• Parameters
• Sections
• Title
 Knowledge Representation
Numbers
Numbers are either integers or decimal numbers/
Examples:
12 45 234.54 -898.7e3

Strings
Strings are a sequence of characters between two single quotes.
‘This is a string.’

Symbols
Comparison symbols: < > <> <= >= =
Arithmetic operators: * - + /
Other symbols : () .. , . /* */
 Knowledge Representation

Comments
Comments are enclosed within /* */

Expresions
There are three types of expressions in ESTA
Text expression
Number expression
Boolean expression
 Text Expressions

• Text expressions can be used in the explanation field, in the question

field, or in the text rules of parameter declerations.
• In sections text expressions are used as advice.
• The & character can be used to insert new lines into the text.

• The text functions are:

– concat(X,Y) returns the string X concatenated with Y
– startstr(N,X) returns the first N characters from the string X
– endstr(N,X) returns the last N characters from the string X
 Text Expressions

• startstr(1, name_of_day) = ‘t’ /* days starting with ‘t’ are

accepted*/

• ‘The favorite food of the ’ animal ‘is’ favorite_food ‘.’

(The above string is composed of strings and values of
parameters.)
 Number Expressions
Number expressions are used in the rule fields of a number
parameter declaration, or in boolean expressions. The
usual operators are:
• + addition
• - subtraction
• * multiplication
• / division
Functions
• ESTA includes a full range of mathematical functions
Examples
Salary – tax
5*8/x–7+y
(sqrt(cos(x)*cos(x)+sin(x)*sin(x)) + 3) / 2
 Boolean Expressions
• Boolean expressions guide the logic of ESTA’s dialog
They consist of :
– boolean parameters
– comparisons between number expressions
– comparisons between strings
– compound boolean expressions

• A boolean parameter may evaluate to true, false or

unknown
• Examples
– number_of_days_required / 7 < weeks_required
– has_retired or is_unwell
– date_of_birth < 1960 and owns_a_car
 Parameters
• Parameters are like variables which determine the flow
between the sections.
• A parameter can be any of the following four types:
– boolean parameter
– text parameter
– number parameter
– category parameter
• Any parameter can obtain a value in one of the following
ways:
– From an answer to a question
– As a result of applying some rules
– An assignment resulting from an assign action
 Parameters
The Decleration Field
parameter <parameter-name> [:]<description text>

The description text is used to generate replies when a user ask

HOW a certain value was established or WHY a certain piece of
advice was given.

For boolean parameters ESTA phrase is:

THE OBJECTIVE IS TO FIND OUT WHETHER <DESCRIPTION TEXT>

For number, text or catagory parameters, ESTA phrase is:

THE OBJECTIVE IS TO ESTABLISH THE VALUE OF <DESCRIPTION
TEXT>
 Parameters

The Decleration Field

parameter owns_car ‘you own a car’

type boolean

ESTA will generate

THE OBJECTIVE IS TO FIND OUT WHETHER YOU OWN A CAR

 Parameters
The Explanation Field
• Text in the explanation field is reflected to the user upon ‘explain the
question’ request

parameter marital_status ‘the people are married’

type category

explanation
‘Marital status is determined by whether’ &
‘there exists a marriage certificate for’ &
name ‘and’ name_of_partner ‘ or not’
options
married,
unmarried.
question ‘What is the marital status of’ name ‘?’
 Parameters
The Question Field
• The question field is used when the value of a parameter is to be
determined by an answer to a question.

• If the question text is omitted, ESTA will generate a default text for
the question, based on the description text of the decleration field and
type of the parameter.

• For boolean parameters the default question text is:

IS IT TRUE THAT <DESCRIPTION TEXT>

• For text, category and number:

WHAT IS THE VALUE OF <DESCRIPTION TEXT>
 Parameters
The Rules Field
• The rules field is used when a parameter’s value should be determined
by rules and not by a question

• Examples
rules
‘blue’ if frequency < 1000,
‘orange’ if frequency >= 1000 and frequency < 2000,
‘red’ if frequency > 2000 and frequency < 3000,
‘invisible’.
 Parameters
The Picture Field
The picture field is used to specify a picture that will be shown during the
consultation.

The picture can be specified by the name of the picture from the picture
database or the name of a parameter.

picture ‘cars’
/* cars is a picture name from the pictures db. */

picture car
/* car is a parameter name */
 Boolean Parameter
parameter wet_weather ‘the weather is wet’
type boolean
explanation ‘It has been raining within the last few days
or it is foggy’
question ‘Is the weather wet?’

• If the question is not provided ESTA will generate it as:

IS IT TRUE THAT THE WEATHER IS WET?
 Number Parameter
parameter height_cm ‘your height in cm’
type number
range 100 250
question ‘What is your height in cm?’

ESTA verifies if the input is a number and if range is given further

validates if the number is within the range.
Text Parameter
parameter name ‘the name of the user’
type text
question ‘What is your name?’

Category Parameter
parameter car ‘the kind of car’
type category
explanataion ‘Identify your car with one of the listed types’
option
ambulance,
policecar,
sedan,
van.
question ‘Which kind of car do you have?’
picture ‘cars’
 Sections

The actions that can be defined within a section are:

advice
assign
call
chain
do
exit
stop
 Sections
section start : ‘the first section to be executed’
if car_color = ‘red’
(advice
‘your car is red, try to sell it to the fire brigade’,
call sound(200, 100))
if car_color <> ‘red’ and car_color <> ‘blue’
advice ‘Your car is not one of our favourite colors!’

advice ‘That’’s all folks!’

parameter car_color ‘the color of the car’

type text
question ‘What is the color of your car?’
 Sections
Assign
The assign action is used to assign values to parameters.
Examples
section start ‘a very short section to illustrate assign’
assign n := 7 + 8 / 2
advice ‘evaluation of 7 + 8 / 2 gives’ n
assign n := (7 + 8) / 2
advice ‘evaluation of (7 + 8) / 2 gives’ n
‘as / has higher priority than +.’ &
‘Notice that the parameter changed the value’

parameter n ‘n’
type number
 Sections
Chain
The chain action enables ESTA to consult new knowledge
bases
Example
section start : 'Start section in the demo knowledge
base'

if esta = 'information'(call display('uk_inf.txt'),chain '')

if esta = 'car' chain 'car.kb'
if esta = 'sanocor' chain 'sanocor.kb‘
 Sections
parameter esta : ''
type category
explanation 'You can choose to get information about
ESTA or to consult a knowledge base.'
options
information - 'Information about ESTA',
car - 'Knowledge base about cars',
sanocor - 'Knowledge base about health'.
/* rules */
question 'Choose a subject to explore.'
picture 'estademo'
 Sections
Do
The do action transfers control to another section.
Example
section start : ‘first section to be executed’
if answer = ‘yes’ (do positive_section, do
next_section)
if answer = ‘no' do negative_section
 Sections
Do_section_of
section start : 'main section'
do_section_of problem

parameter problem : 'the problem with your car'

type category
explanation
'Identify the problem with your car as closely as you can. Only those listed are dealt with in this
knowledge base.'
options
starting_problem - 'starting problems'
overheating- 'the engine gets overheated'
smell_of_gasoline - 'the car smells of gasoline'
bad_running- 'the engine runs badly'
brakes- 'the brakes'
vibration- 'excessive vibrations'
wiper_motor- 'the wiper motors'
light_problem- 'the lights'
horn_problem- 'a faulty horn'.
question
'What is the problem with your ' car ' ?'
picture car
 Sections
Exit
The exit action terminate consultation with the current knowledge base

Stop
The stop action may be used to optimize rules written in a section. Execution
of a stop action indicates that no more actions are to be executed in the
containing section.
 Sections
Call
The call action is used to call one of the built in procedures in ESTA.

call clear_all() – clears all the parameter values in the current knowledge
base

call clear_value (<parameter_name>) clears a particular parameter value in

the current knowledge base

display(<filename>) displays the content of a text file in a window on the

screen
Examples
call display(‘inform.txt’)
call display(‘c:\\info\\inform.txt’)
 Sections
Call
Hyperadvice enables to activate a specific node in a Windows helpfile.The
node is shown as a topic in the Windows hypertext help system.
Example
section brakes 'problems with the brakes'

if brake_long_travel call hyperadvice('hypercar.hlp',8)

if brake_poor call hyperadvice('hypercar.hlp',13)
if brake_veer call hyperadvice('hypercar.hlp',14)
if brake_spongy call hyperadvice('hypercar.hlp',17)
if brake_springy call hyperadvice('hypercar.hlp',15)
if brake_nonoperative call hyperadvice('hypercar.hlp',16)
if brake_otherproblem (advice
'This is a difficult problem, but perhaps one of the following is the cause:
Maybe the shoes are installed incorrectly with do to leading and trailing ends
Broken shoe return spring. Try to find the answer in the car manual',
call hyperadvice('hypercar.hlp',5))
 Sections
Call
Restore_values restores the ESTA parameters to settings previously
saved in a data file.
This procedure is used in combination with chaining to other
knowledge bases or communicating with external programs
called within ESTA.
Example
call restore_values (‘c:\\esta\\setup.dat’)

Save_values(<filename>) saves in a datafile the settings of all

parameters currently bound to a value.
Example
call save_values (‘c:\\esta\\setup.dat’)
 Sections
Call
showpic(<picture-name>) displays a picture from the picture database.
Example
call showpic (‘cars’)

sound (<number>, <number>) generates a sound through the computer’s

loud speaker lasting the given duration, and with the given frequency.
Example
call sound (10, 100)

System(command_string) is used to call other applications from ESTA

Example
call system(‘myprog.exe’)
 Title
To represent the whole knowledge base a title can be used. The title can
either be a plain text or a picture.

Example
You can specify a picture as a title
*cars*

or

you can specify plain text as a title

Car Knowledge Base
 Reasoning With Uncertainty
Certainty Factor
• cf_and(P1, P2) -> P3
P3 is the lowest of the P1 and P2

• cf_or (P1, P2) -> P3

P3 is the biggest of the P1 and P2

• cf_not(P1) -> P3
P3 is (1-P1)

• cf_add(P1, P2) -> P3

P1+P2*(1-P1) both P1, P2 > 0
(P1+P2)/(1- min(abs(P1), abs(P2)) one of P1 or P2 <0
-cf_add(-P1, -P2) both P1, P2 < 0
 Reasoning With Uncertainty
section weather ‘example section’
advice
‘The statement “it is very cold weather’’ is true with a certainty
factor of’ cold_weather_cf
parameter cold_weather_cf ‘certainty factor for cold weather’
type number
range –1.0 1.0
rules
cf_add(cold_because_of_snow, cold_because_of_ice).
parameter cold_because_of_ice
type number
range –1.0 1.0
rules
0.8 if ice_on_the_river,
-1.0.
 Reasoning With Uncertainty
parameter cold_because_of_snow
type number
range –1.0 1.0
rules
0.7 if it_is_snowing,
-1.0.

parameter it_is_snowing ‘It is snowing’

type boolean
question ‘Is it snowing?’

parameter ice_on_the_river ‘there is ice on the river’

type boolean
question ‘Is part of the river frozen over?’
 Reasoning With Probability
parameter prob ‘probability’
type number
rules
1 if weight_loss and appetite_loss and fever and itching,
0.67 if weight_loss and fever and itching,
0.75 if weight_loss and appetite_loss and fever,
0.6 if appetite_loss and fever and itching,
0.5 if weight_loss and fever,
0.5 if weight_loss and appetite_loss,
0.35 if weight_loss and itching,
0.5 if appetite_loss and fever,
0.1 if itching.

parameter hodga ‘hodgin a’

type boolean
rules true if prob > 0.6.
 Debugging

• Log of the consultation can be taken by opening a

dialog box before consultation begins.
• File – new- new dialog
– Begin consultation
– .......
– Stop consultation
– Investigate the consultation log
– Continue consultation
 Pictures in ESTA

• Pictures are stored in PICTURES.DBA

• The ESTA system includes hotspot editor allowing the

specification of selectable subfields in a picture

• This feature is used in conjunction with category

parameters in which the options correspond to fields in the
attached picture
 DDE Communication

• DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) is a Windows protocol

that lets applications talk.
• ESTA can be interfaced to all Windows applications that
support DDE.
• You can send data to applications, you can receive
information from the application, you can even execute
commands in the applications.
 DDE Communication

• A conversation with a DDE server is created by the

function:
dde_initiate(Application, Topic)
• This function returns a channel number used to identify the
conversation

dde_execute(Channel, Command)
• Sends the commands in Command to the server for
execution.Channel is the number returned from
dde_initiate.
 DDE Communication

dde_poke(Channel, Item, Data)

sends data to the server. Item specifies the destination.
• dde_poke(CH, “R1C1”, “hello”) inserts hello to row1,
column1

dde_request(Channel, Item)
is used to retrieve a data item from the server.
 DDE Communication

Example:
CH := dde_initiate(‘excel’, ‘file_a.xls’)
dde_poke_number(CH, ‘R2C4’, 546)
dde_execute(CH, ‘[OPEN(\034file_b.xls\034)]’
VAL := dde_request_number(CH, ‘R1C2’)
dde_terminate(CH)

Note: 034 is the ASCII code for “. Thus the command is

[OPEN(“file_b.xls”)]
 Homework

• Implement the following “A Medical Diagnosis

Expert System” problem found on the link
provided using ESTA.

http://www.comp.rgu.ac.uk/staff/khui/cm3016/cours
ework/CM3016%20coursework%200708.pdf