Knowledge Interchange Format
Encyclopedia
Knowledge Interchange Format (KIF) is a computer-oriented language for the interchange of knowledge among disparate computer program
s.
It has declarative semantics
(i.e., the meaning of expressions in the representation can be understood without appeal to an interpreter for manipulating those expressions); it is logically comprehensive (i.e. it provides for the expression of arbitrary sentences in the first-order predicate calculus
); it provides for the representation of knowledge about the representation of knowledge; it provides for the representation of nonmonotonic
reasoning rules; and it provides for the definition of objects, functions, and relations.
It was originally created by Michael Genesereth, Richard Fikes
and others participating in the DARPA knowledge Sharing Effort
. There have been a number of versions of KIF.
Although the original KIF group intended to submit to a formal standards
body, that did not occur. A later version called Common logic
has since been developed for submission to ISO and has been approved and published. A variant called SUO-KIF is the language in which the Suggested Upper Merged Ontology
is written.
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
s.
It has declarative semantics
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
(i.e., the meaning of expressions in the representation can be understood without appeal to an interpreter for manipulating those expressions); it is logically comprehensive (i.e. it provides for the expression of arbitrary sentences in the first-order predicate calculus
First-order logic
First-order logic is a formal logical system used in mathematics, philosophy, linguistics, and computer science. It goes by many names, including: first-order predicate calculus, the lower predicate calculus, quantification theory, and predicate logic...
); it provides for the representation of knowledge about the representation of knowledge; it provides for the representation of nonmonotonic
Non-monotonic logic
A non-monotonic logic is a formal logic whose consequence relation is not monotonic. Most studied formal logics have a monotonic consequence relation, meaning that adding a formula to a theory never produces a reduction of its set of consequences. Intuitively, monotonicity indicates that learning a...
reasoning rules; and it provides for the definition of objects, functions, and relations.
It was originally created by Michael Genesereth, Richard Fikes
Richard Fikes
Richard Earl Fikes , is a computer scientist, and is currently Professor Emeritus in the Computer Science department of Stanford University and professionally active as a consultant and expert witness...
and others participating in the DARPA knowledge Sharing Effort
Darpa knowledge Sharing Effort
The Knowledge Sharing Effort was initiated in 1990 by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, an agency of the United States Department of Defense. It involved the participation of dozens of researchers from both academia and industry...
. There have been a number of versions of KIF.
Although the original KIF group intended to submit to a formal standards
Standardization
Standardization is the process of developing and implementing technical standards.The goals of standardization can be to help with independence of single suppliers , compatibility, interoperability, safety, repeatability, or quality....
body, that did not occur. A later version called Common logic
Common logic
Common logic is a framework for a family of logic languages, based on first-order logic, intended to facilitate the exchange and transmission of knowledge in computer-based systems....
has since been developed for submission to ISO and has been approved and published. A variant called SUO-KIF is the language in which the Suggested Upper Merged Ontology
Suggested Upper Merged Ontology
The Suggested Upper Merged Ontology or SUMO is an upper ontology intended as a foundation ontology for a variety of computer information processing systems. It was originally developed by the Teknowledge Corporation and now is maintained by . It is one candidate for the "standard upper ontology"...
is written.
External links
- Knowledge Interchange Format page at the Stanford AI Lab
- Common Logic