Integration of fuzzy logic with expert systems and neural nets for industrial applications. This product is a flexible object oriented graphical environment for developing hybrid systems.

Companies of all sizes now depend on

• efficient transfer of business information
• rapid application of expert knowledge
• smart tools for developing software that meets corporate informational needs

Via knowledge-based systems, neural nets, object oriented design, and other technologies, AI delivers on all these counts. Corporations use today's AI techniques to insure success in tomorrow's world.

Conversely, business requirements impel AI workers to new heights of ingenuity. Among its many real-world success stories, AI has broadened its horizons to provide new ways of

• analyzing gigabytes of data
• building intelligent helpdesks
• creating corporate modeling tools based on true visual programming

With a set of articles as varied as today's corporate arena, we highlight AI tools and applications that businesses use. In our Feature Article ("Intelligent Software for Managers") Lisa Lewinson takes us inside the Management Software Association (TMSA), a group of vendors who have recently carved out a niche in the software world. TMSA members market packages which help with the myriad tasks of corporate management. Merrill Warkentin continues his "AI in Business and Management" series. Merrill and co-authors Kimberly Davis, Jay Liebowitz, and Janet Zeide examine an array of expert systems geared toward the numerous facets of the legal profession. In "AI and the French National Railroad," Patrick Suel explains how constraint-based reasoning keeps the trains running smoothly in France. Michael Cesar and Barbara Kiely ("Integrating Technologies for the Modern Corporation") show that object oriented development, knowledge-based systems, and CASE can combine to form a powerful team for rapid application development.

We round out the issue with features that give you a broad view of the AI landscape. "Logic Programming and Natural Language" continues. This issue's installment tells you how Definite Clause Grammars coordinate with Prolog to extract information from sentences. Jeff Rapaport reviews O'Inca Design Framework, an environment for building applications that integrate fuzzy logic, neural nets, and expert systems. Peter Immarco reviews DataSculptor, a data preprocessing tool that eases the strain and pain of neural net development. Our Buyer's Guide and Product Update offer the latest information on intelligent software.

With so much information to process, we'd better get down to business.

Joseph Schmuller