Graphical interfaces for knowledge engineering: an overview of relevant literature

Abstract

AbstractLiterature relevant to the design and development of graphical interfaces for knowledge-based systems is briefly reviewed and discussed. The efficiency of human-computer interaction depends to a large extent on the degree to which the human-machine interface can answer the user's cognitive needs and accurately support his or her natural cognitive processes and structures. Graphical interfaces can often be particularly suitable in this respect, especially in cases where the user's “natural idiom” is graphical. Illustrated examples are given of the way in which graphical interfaces have successfully been used in various fields with particular emphasis on their use in the field of knowledge-based systems. The paper ends with a brief discussion of possible future developments in the field of knowledge-based system interfaces and of the role that graphics might play in such developments.