What is an 'expert system'? Briefly explain its components.

Expert System: Expert Systems are knowledge-intensive computer programs that capture the expertise of a human in a specific domain of knowledge and experience. The users of an expert system are people who perform value-added work requiring special skills or expertise. It provides tools, information, and structured methods for decision-making. For example, a system that advises builders on which cement to use, suggesting the best choice for the customer, is an expert system that helps in an organization's value-added work. The components of an expert system include: A knowledge base: It is a collection of rules or other information structures derived from the human expert. Rules are typically structured as If/Then statements. User Interface: It acts as a link between the user and the system, where the user interacts with the expert system. These can be through dialog boxes, command prompts, forms, etc. Inference engine: It is the main processing element of the expert system. It performs inferences on the knowledge and communicates answers to user's questions.