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Types of Knowledge Base Files

A knowledge base file stores the categories, the relationships between the categories. The knowledge base file is the input to the Siebel Smart Answer Manager and is generated by the Siebel Smart Answer Administration Tool based on the knowledge base model. There are two types of knowledge base files, as follows:

• Flat Knowledge Base file. This type of file contains one level of categories and is easier to create and maintain than a hierarchical knowledge base file. The following code is a knowledge base file for the knowledge base named KB that has five categories: apparel, automotive, baby, beauty, and books.

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8">

  <knowledge-base name="KB">

  <category name="apparel"/>

  <category name="automotive"/>

  <category name="baby"/>

  <category name="beauty"/>

  <category name="books"/>

  </category>

  </knowledge-base>

• Hierarchical Knowledge Base file. This type of file uses a hierarchy of categories. Multiple levels of categories might be beneficial when similar concepts appear in more than one category. By grouping categories under a branch, it is easier to locate a specific solution associated with a category. The following code is a hierarchical knowledge base with two top-level categories: English and German. The knowledge base name is still KB, but now the five categories are repeated for each language.

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>

  <knowledge-base name="KB">

  <category name="English">

  <category name="apparel - English"/>

  <category name="automotive - English"/>

  <category name="baby - English"/>

  <category name="beauty - English"/>

  <category name="books - English"/>

  </category>

  <category name="German">

  <category name="apparel - German"/>

  <category name="automotive - German"/>

  <category name="baby - German"/>

  <category name="beauty - German"/>

  <category name="books - German"/>

  </category>

  </category>

  </knowledge-base>