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CLASSIC is a recently developed knowledge representation system that follows the paradigm originally set out in the KL-ONE system: It concentrates on the definition of structured concepts, their organization into taxonomies, the creation and manipulation of individual instances of such concepts, and the key inferences of subsumption and classification. Rather than simply presenting a description of CLASSIC, we complement a brief system overview with a discussion of how to live within the confines of a limited object-oriented deductive system. By analyzing the representational strengths and weaknesses of CLASSIC, we consider the circumstances under which it is most appropriate to use (or not use) it. We elaborate a knowledge engineering methodology for building KL-ONE-style knowledge bases, with emphasis on the modeling choices that arise in the process of describing a domain. We also address some of …