Logic Programming with Prolog

Logic Programming is the name given to a distinctive style of programming, very different from that of conventional programming languages such as C++ and Java. Fans of Logic Programming would say that 'different' means clearer, simpler and generally better! Although there are other Logic Programming languages, by far the most widely used is Prolog. The name stands for Programming in Logic. This book teaches the techniques of Logic Programming through the Prolog language. Prolog is based on research by computer scientists in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s, notably at the Universities of Marseilles, London and Edinburgh. The first implementation was at the University of Marseilles in the early 1970s. Further development at the University of Edinburgh led to a de facto standard version, now known as Edinburgh Prolog. Prolog has been widely used for developing complex applications, especially in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Although it is a general-purpose language, its main strengths are for symbolic rather than for numerical computation. The developers of the language were researchers working on automating mathematical theorem proving. This field is often known as computational logic. But if you are not a Computer Scientist, a logician or a mathematician do not let this deter you! This book is aimed at the 99. 9% of the population who are none of these. Those who are, already have a number of excellent textbooks from which to choose.

Written for those who wish to learn Prolog as a powerful software development tool, but do not necessarily have any background in logic or AI.Includes a full glossary of the technical terms and self-assessment exercises.

Getting Started.- Clauses and Predicates.- Satisfying Goals.- Operators and Arithmetic.- Input and Output.- Loops.- Preventing Backtracking.- Changing the Prolog Database.- List Processing.- String Processing.- More Advanced Features.