PAMS : A DOMAIN-SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE-BASED PARALLEL MACHINE SCHEDULING SYSTEM.

Abstract

To overcome the inefficiency of domain independent tools, a domain-specific knowledge-based shell for parallel machine scheduling problems, PAMS (Parallel Machine Scheduling System), is proposed. PAMS has the following features; mixed knowledge representation, two-stage status-driven control strategy, conflict resolution using domain theory, domain-specific syntax and primitive operators, interface with database, domain-specific input/output interface, interactive scheduling capability, built-in heuristic knowledge, multiple levels of schedule, and expansibility of the domain. A prototype of PAMS, PAMS-1, is developed using C-language on a supermicrocomputer, and the performance of PAMS-1 is evaluated. The results show that the PAMS-1 performs very well from various perspectives.