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Prolog - the language and its implementation compared with Lisp

Authors:

David H D Warren,

Luis M. Pereira,

Fernando PereiraAuthors Info & Claims

ACM SIGART Bulletin, Issue 64

Pages 109 - 115

https://doi.org/10.1145/872736.806939

Published: 01 August 1977 Publication History

Abstract

Prolog is a simple but powerful programming language founded on symbolic logic. The basic computational mechanism is a pattern matching process (“unification”) operating on general record structures (“terms” of logic). We briefly review the language and compare it especially with pure Lisp. The remainder of the paper discusses techniques for implementing Prolog efficiently; in particular we describe how to compile the patterns involved in the matching process. These techniques are as incorporated in our DECsystem-10 Prolog compiler (written in Prolog). The code it generates is comparable in speed with that produced by existing DEC10 Lisp compilers. We argue that pattern matching is a better method for expressing operations on structured data than conventional selectors and constructors - both for the user and for the implementor.

References

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Battani G and Meloni H {1973} Interpreteur du language de programmation Prolog. Groupe d'Intelligence Artificielle, Marseille-Luminy, 1973

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Bruynooghe M {1976} An interpreter for predicate logic programs: Part 1. Report CW 10, Applied Maths & Programming Division, Katholieke Univ Leuven, Belgium, Oct 1976.

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DEC {1974} DECsystem10 System Ref Manual (3rd edition) Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard, Mass. Aug 1974.

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McCarthy J et al. {1962} LISP 1.5 Programmer's Manual. MIT Press, MIT, Cambridge, Mass. Aug 1962.

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Pereira L M {1977} User's Guide to DECsystem-10 Prolog. Forthcoming publication, Divisao de Informatica, Lab. Nac. de Engenharia Civil, Lisbon. 1977.

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Roussel P {1975} Prolog: Manual de reference et d'utilisation. Groupe d'Intelligence Artificielle, Marseille-Luminy. Sep 1975.

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Warren D H D {1977} Implementing Prolog - compiling predicate logic programs. Forthcoming report, Dept of AI, Edinburgh. 1977.

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Cited By

Pettorossi A(2020)A Historical Account of My Early Research InterestsElectronic Proceedings in Theoretical Computer Science10.4204/EPTCS.320.1320(1-28)Online publication date: 7-Aug-2020
https://doi.org/10.4204/EPTCS.320.1
White J(2020)Book reviewPrometheus10.13169/prometheus.36.4.038236:4Online publication date: 2020
https://doi.org/10.13169/prometheus.36.4.0382
van Engelenburg SJanssen MKlievink B(2019)Designing context-aware systems: A method for understanding and analysing context in practiceJournal of Logical and Algebraic Methods in Programming10.1016/j.jlamp.2018.11.003103(79-104)Online publication date: Feb-2019
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Prolog - the language and its implementation compared with Lisp

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Published In

cover image ACM SIGART Bulletin

ACM SIGART Bulletin Just Accepted

Proceedings of the 1977 symposium on Artificial intelligence and programming languages

August 1977

179 pages

ISSN:0163-5719

DOI:10.1145/872736

Issue’s Table of Contents

Proceedings of the 1977 symposium on Artificial intelligence and programming languages
August 1977
185 pages
ISBN:9781450378741
DOI:10.1145/800228
Chairman:
James Low

Copyright © 1977 Authors.

Publisher

Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 August 1977

Published in SIGAI , Issue 64

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Cited By

Pettorossi A(2020)A Historical Account of My Early Research InterestsElectronic Proceedings in Theoretical Computer Science10.4204/EPTCS.320.1320(1-28)Online publication date: 7-Aug-2020
https://doi.org/10.4204/EPTCS.320.1
White J(2020)Book reviewPrometheus10.13169/prometheus.36.4.038236:4Online publication date: 2020
https://doi.org/10.13169/prometheus.36.4.0382
van Engelenburg SJanssen MKlievink B(2019)Designing context-aware systems: A method for understanding and analysing context in practiceJournal of Logical and Algebraic Methods in Programming10.1016/j.jlamp.2018.11.003103(79-104)Online publication date: Feb-2019
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlamp.2018.11.003
Leidner DBartels GBejjani WAlbu-Schäffer ABeetz M(2018)Cognition-enabled robotic wiping: Representation, planning, execution, and interpretationRobotics and Autonomous Systems10.1016/j.robot.2018.11.018Online publication date: Dec-2018
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.robot.2018.11.018
Dewey KNichols LHardekopf B(2015)Automated Data Structure Generation: Refuting Common Wisdom2015 IEEE/ACM 37th IEEE International Conference on Software Engineering10.1109/ICSE.2015.26(32-43)Online publication date: May-2015
https://doi.org/10.1109/ICSE.2015.26
Muggleton S(2014)Alan Turing and the development of Artificial IntelligenceAI Communications10.5555/2594611.259461327:1(3-10)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2014
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/2594611.2594613
Bry FEisinger NEiter TFurche TGottlob GLey CLinse BPichler RWei F(2007)Foundations of Rule-Based Query AnsweringReasoning Web10.1007/978-3-540-74615-7_1(1-153)Online publication date: 2007
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74615-7_1
Dix JPereira LPrzymusinski T(2005)Prolegomena to logic programming for non-monotonic reasoningNon-Monotonic Extensions of Logic Programming10.1007/BFb0023799(1-36)Online publication date: 9-Jun-2005
https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0023799
Mello PNatali A(2000)Objects as Communicating Prolog UnitsECOOP’ 87 European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming10.1007/3-540-47891-4_17(181-191)Online publication date: 25-Aug-2000
https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-47891-4_17
(1992)REFERENCESNatural and Artificial Intelligence10.1016/B978-0-444-89081-8.50020-8(509-536)Online publication date: 1992
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-89081-8.50020-8
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