PROVIDE THE KNOWLEDGE BASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM NECESSARY FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT .
TECHNIQUES AND STRUCTURES WHICH PERMIT AN ACTIVE ROLE MUST BE DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED .
AN EXAMPLE OF THE WAY IN WHICH AN ACTIVE ROLE MAY BE PLAYED IS IN THE RETRIEVAL OF SOFTWARE COMPONENTS . FOR EXAMPLE A USER MAY HAVE DEFINED HIS NEEDS FORMALLY . AN ACTIVE SYSTEM CAN THEN SEARCH AVAILABLE COMPONENT DESCRIPTIONS TO FIND POSSIBLE CLOSE MATCHES TO THOSE NEEDED . THE SYSTEM CAN THEN SUGGEST TO THE USER A SET OF COMPONENTS WHICH THE USER CAN THEN ADAPT TO HIS SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS .
TECHNICAL APPROACH
THIS COULD BE THROUGH ADVANCES IN CONVENTIONAL DATABASE TECHNOLOGY , FOR EXAMPLE VIA THE USE OF AI TECHNIQUES CONCERNING KNOWLEDGE REPRESENTATION , MANIPULATION AND CONSISTENCY .
ADDITIONAL TECHNIQUES SUCH AS SEARCH AND INFERENCE COULD BE APPLIED .
PROPOSALS FOR B-TYPE PROJECTS ARE INVITED TO START IN 1986 , AND THERE MAY BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A NUMBER OF B PROJECTS LEADING TO A CONSOLIDATED A PROJECT IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS .
R AND D AREA 2.4 : EVALUATION AND DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS
AS MENTIONED EARLIER , THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT BARRIER TO THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW METHODS AND TOOLS INTO INDUSTRY . THIS CAN PARTIALLY BE OVERCOME BY PROMOTING EVALUATION AND DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS . SEVERAL PROJECTS AND RESEARCH THEMES MENTIONED IN SECTIONS 2.1 TO 2.3 CONTAIN ELEMENTS OF EVALUATION AND/OR DEMONSTRATION , IN PARTICULAR 2.1.4 , 2.2.2 AND 2.3.1 . IT IS FELT , HOWEVER , THAT ADDITIONAL PROPOSALS SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED WHOSE MAIN INTEREST FOR THE ESPRIT PROGRAMME WOULD BE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE PRODUCTION OF RELIABLE INFORMATION ( WHERE POSSIBLE IN QUANTITATIVE FORM ) ABOUT THE USABILITY OF SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY RESULTS IN THE WIDEST SENSE IN TYPICAL INDUSTRIAL SITUATIONS . THUS THESE PROJECTS COULD CONTRIBUTE ALSO TO THE EMERGENCE OF AN EMPIRICS FOR SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY , WHICH IS SEEN TO BE LACKING AS YET .
THE INTENTION IS NOT TO CALL FOR ARTIFICIAL PROJECTS SOLELY TO DEMONSTRATE OR EVALUATE SOME PARTICULAR APPROACH , BUT RATHER TO USE REAL PROJECTS AS AN EVALUATION AND DEMONSTRATION VEHICLE . THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT COULD THEN COVER THE ADDITIONAL COSTS THAT ARE INCURRED IN PERFORMING THE EVALUATION AND DEMONSTRATION ROLE . IN PARTICULAR , IT MIGHT COVER TRAINING AND FAMILIARIZATION OVERHEADS AT THE START OF THE PROJECT , AND THE PREPARATION OF REPORTS AND CRITIQUES OF METHODS AND TOOLS FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE ESPRIT COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE . ACCEPTABILITY OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS IS CONDITIONAL UPON THE PRODUCTION OF SUCH REPORTS AND CRITIQUES , WHICH SHOULD BE MADE FREELY AVAILABLE TO INTERESTED PARTIES .
FOR AN EVALUATION OR DEMONSTRATION PROJECT TO BE EFFECTIVE , IT IS PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE THAT THE RESULTS TO BE PRODUCED FOR THE ESPRIT PROGRAMME ARE OF RELEVANCE TO A SIGNIFICANT SECTOR OF THE INDUSTRY , BOTH IN TERMS OF THE APPLICATION AREA THAT IS ENVISAGED , AND OF THE WORKING MODE THAT IS ADDRESSED . THE REPRESENTATIVENESS OF THE PROJECT FOR A CLASS OF SIMILAR PROJECTS WILL THEREFORE BE A