One proposed basis for understanding complex behaviors is the concept of frames. Using inherited or default values has traditionally been considered a relatively inexpensive way to fill up slots in frames because acquiring such values requires no powerful reasoning processes.

Obtaining derived information is a slot-specific function that involves the use of slot-specific heuristics that encompass procedural information. The author claims that obtaining inherited information, a crucial point in frame-based knowledge reasoning, can also be considered slot-specific. Therefore, he uses an idea he advanced in a previous paper [1] and considers a database structure that includes a frame for each kind of slot (kos). He attempts to bring this modified frame theory closer to predicate calculus, but his approach is rather informal.

Hutchinson describes the mechanisms of inheritance in terms of the relations to which koses correspond. Each kos contains a special slot called the “inheritance path,” and the author shows that various known algorithms designed to obtain “full” value (including all inherited contributions) for a slot fit into four standard strategies. The paper suffers from a lack of examples but contains some interesting ideas; previous readings in the field of frame-based theory would help one to fully understand it.