Knowledge Base (klog)

Last Updated: December 12, 2017

Definition - What does Knowledge Base (klog) mean?

A knowledge base is a database used for knowledge sharing and management.

It promotes the collection, organization and retrieval of knowledge. Many knowledge bases are structured around artificial intelligence and not only store data but find solutions for further problems using data from previous experience stored as part of the knowledge base.

Knowledge management systems depend on data management technologies ranging from relational databases to data warehouses. Some knowledge bases are little more than indexed encyclopedic information; others are interactive and behave/respond according to the input prompted from the user.

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Techopedia explains Knowledge Base (klog)

A knowledge base is not merely a space for data storage, but can be an artificial intelligence tool for delivering intelligent decisions. Various knowledge representation techniques, including frames and scripts, represent knowledge. The services offered are explanation, reasoning and intelligent decision support.

Knowledge-based computer-aided systems engineering (KB-CASE) tools assist designers by providing suggestions and solutions, thereby helping to investigate the results of design decisions. The knowledge base analysis and design allows users to frame knowledge bases, from which informative decisions are made.

The two major types of knowledge bases are human readable and machine readable.

Human readable knowledge bases enable people to access and use the knowledge. They store help documents, manuals, troubleshooting information and frequently answered questions. They can be interactive and lead users to solutions to problems they have, but rely on the user providing information to guide the process.
Machine readable knowledge bases store knowledge, but only in system readable forms. Solutions are offered based upon automated deductive reasoning and are not so interactive as this relies on query systems that have software that can respond to the knowledge base to narrow down a solution. This means that machine readable knowledge base information shared to other machines is usually linear and is limited in interactivity, unlike the human interaction which is query based.

Knowledge management (KM) contains a range of strategies used in an organization to create, represent, analyze, distribute and enable the adoption of experiences. It focuses on competitive advantages and the improved performance of organizations. Work script is a well known knowledge management database.