A programmable approach to maintenance of a finite knowledge base

In this paper, we present a programmable method of revising a finite clause set. We first present a procedure whose formal parameters are a consistent clause set Γ and a clause A and whose output is a set of minimal subsets of Γ which are inconsistent with A. The maximal consistent subsets can be generated from all minimal inconsistent subsets. We develop a prototype system based on the above procedure, and discuss the implementation of knowledge base maintenance. At last, we compare the approach presented in this paper with other related approaches. The main characteristic of the approach is that it can be implemented by a computer program.