The Synthetic Approach to Decision Table Conversion

Previous approaches to the problem of automatically
converting decision tables to computer 
programs have been based on decomposition.  At any
stage, one condition is selected for testing, and 
two smaller problems (decision tables with one less
condition) are created.  An optimal program (with 
respect to average execution time or storage space, for
example) is located only through implicit enumeration 
of all possible decision trees using a technique such
as branch-and-bound.  The new approach described 
in this paper uses dynamic programming to synthesize
an optimal decision tree from which a program can 
be created.  Using this approach, the efficiency of creating
an optimal program is increased substantially, 
permitting generation of optimal programs for decision
tables with as many as ten to twelve conditions.

CACM June, 1976

Schumacher, H.
Sevcik, K. C.

decision tables, decision trees, dynamic programming, optimal programs

3.50 4.12 5.30 8.3

CA760606 JB January 4, 1978  1:50 PM

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