While CLIPS is primarily forward-chaining, the textbook demonstrates how to simulate backward chaining using goal rules and control facts.
The Kindle edition is a verified, reflowable PDF equivalent. It is searchable, includes full code listings, and works on any device. Check for "Text-to-Speech" and "Word Wise" features.
The textbook lists several strategies:
Salience overrides other strategies — a common practice in CLIPS for controlling execution order.
Early expert systems struggled with certainty. This edition introduces certainty factors, fuzzy logic, and dempster-shafer theory—concepts that are now resurging in hybrid AI systems. Salience overrides other strategies — a common practice
A naive inference engine would re-evaluate all rule conditions after each fact change — O(N * M) complexity, where N = facts, M = rules. The Rete algorithm (Forgy, 1982), explained in Chapter 6 of Giarratano and Riley (2005), caches partial matches across cycles.
What makes this book legendary is its marriage of principles with CLIPS, a public-domain rule-based language developed by NASA. The Fourth Edition includes: For students searching for a verified PDF ,
For students searching for a verified PDF, the ability to copy-paste CLIPS code is crucial. Scanned PDFs often distort code indentation, causing syntax errors. A legitimate verified PDF (or better, the physical book) preserves the exact formatting.
Many university libraries provide access to the digital edition via ProQuest Ebook Central or EBSCO. If you are a student or faculty, this is the best free (legitimate) method. where N = facts