36. A software shell as claimed in claim 35 wherein the data-oriented communication links carry messages including: an acknowledgment message; a notification of failure message; a request for data message; a data supplied message; and a knowledge source list message.
36. A software shell as claimed in claim 35 wherein the data-oriented communication links carry messages including: an acknowledgment message; a notification of failure message; a request for data message; a data supplied message; and a knowledge source list message. 37. A software shell as claimed in claim 36 wherein the control-oriented communication links carry messages including: a start message; a stop message; an activate process message; a set parameters message; an acknowledgment message; and a notification of failure message.