Opus: A Smalltalk Production System

Abstract

Opus is a tool for rule-based programming which integrates a production system paradigm with the Smalltalk-80 environment. Opus currently provides a data-driven production system that allows the programmer considerable freedom, including access to the full functionality of the Smalltalk-80 language, and the ability to match rules with arbitrary objects in the environment. We present the goals for the design, a description of the system and its implementation, and discuss issues raised by this approach.