25. A software shell as claimed in claim 24 wherein the at least one knowledge source module includes: a rule-based knowledge source module having a forward-chaining belief propagation scheme including rules in if-then-else form with associated levels of belief; and a case-based knowledge source module having a data comparison scheme including predefined patterns and conditions, whereupon execution of the case-based knowledge source, the conditions are inferred to be true if a certain level of closeness is found between received data and the patterns.
25. A software shell as claimed in claim 24 wherein the at least one knowledge source module includes: a rule-based knowledge source module having a forward-chaining belief propagation scheme including rules in if-then-else form with associated levels of belief; and a case-based knowledge source module having a data comparison scheme including predefined patterns and conditions, whereupon execution of the case-based knowledge source, the conditions are inferred to be true if a certain level of closeness is found between received data and the patterns. 26. A software shell as claimed in claim 25 wherein the at least one knowledge source module includes a plurality of knowledge sources of varying priority.