Prolog by Example: How to Learn, Teach and Use It

✍ Scribed by Helder Coelho, José Carlos Cotta (auth.)

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
• Year: 1988
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 380
• Series: Symbolic Computation
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Prolog has a declarative style. A predicate definition includes both the input and output parameters, and it allows a programmer to define a desired result without being concerned about the detailed instructions of how it is to be computed. Such a declarative language offers a solution to the software crisis, because it is shorter and more concise, more powerful and understandable than present-day languages. Logic highlights novel aspects of programming, namely using the same program to compute a relation and its inverse, and supporting deductive retrieval of informa­ tion. This is a book about using Prolog. Its real point is the examples introduced from Chapter 3 onwards, and so a Prolog programmer does not need to read Chapters 1 and 2, which are oriented more to teachers and to students, respec­ tively. The book is recommended for introductory and advanced university courses, where students may need to remember the basics about logic program­ ming and Prolog, before starting doing. Chapters 1 and 2 were also kept for the sake of unity of the whole material. In Chapter 1 a teaching strategy is explained based on the key concepts of Pro­ log which are novel aspects of programming. Prolog is enhanced as a computer programming language used for solving problems that involve objects and the relationships between objects. This chapter provides a pedagogical tour of pre­ scriptions for the organization of Prolog programs, by pointing out the main draw­ backs novices may encounter.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter....Pages I-X
Teaching Prolog....Pages 1-9
One or Two Things About Prolog....Pages 11-20
Using Prolog....Pages 21-69
Proving with Prolog....Pages 71-97
Doing Arithmetic with Prolog....Pages 99-117
Doing Algebra with Prolog....Pages 119-122
Playing with Prolog....Pages 123-145
Searching with Prolog....Pages 147-159
Learning with Prolog....Pages 161-172
Modeling with Prolog....Pages 173-187
Designing with Prolog....Pages 189-193
Drawing with Prolog....Pages 195-217
Planning with Prolog....Pages 219-242
Seeing with Prolog....Pages 243-245
Engineering Grammars with Prolog....Pages 247-280
Constructing Personal Databases with Prolog....Pages 281-304
Text Formatting with Prolog....Pages 305-314
Management with Prolog....Pages 315-332
Building Up with Prolog....Pages 333-363
Back Matter....Pages 364-382

✦ Subjects

Programming Techniques; Artificial Intelligence (incl. Robotics); Programming Languages, Compilers, Interpreters; Models and Principles