Learning, Development, and Production Systems

Abstract

like to thank Mike Rychener and Jeff Schlimmer for comments on an earlier version of the chapter. 1 We will use the term "production system" is used in two distinct senses. The first refers to a theory of the cognitive architecture, independent of particular programs that are implemented within this framework. The second refers to specific sets of conditionaction rules that run within such an architecture. In general, the intended meaning should be clear from the context. Within artificial intelligence, the term "production system" sometimes includes backward chaining rule-based systems, such as that used in MYCIN (Shortliffe, 1976). However, we will use the term in the more limited (forward chaining) sense.