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- From: jamie@cs.sfu.ca (Jamie Andrews)
- Subject: comp.lang.prolog Frequently Asked Questions
- Message-ID: <prolog/faq-1-753444002@cs.sfu.ca>
- Followup-To: comp.lang.prolog
- Summary: Information about free Prolog implementations; contact names for commercial systems; controversial topics.
- Supersedes: <prolog/faq-1-752148003@cs.sfu.ca>
- Reply-To: jamie@cs.sfu.ca (Jamie Andrews)
- Organization: Logic Programming Lab, Computer Science, Simon Fraser University
- Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1993 10:00:08 GMT
- Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
- Expires: 12/04/93
- Lines: 381
- Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.lang.prolog:8943 news.answers:14759 comp.answers:2667
-
- Posted-By: auto-faq script
- Archive-name: prolog/faq
-
- Original-by: jamie@cs.sfu.ca (Jamie Andrews)
- Version: 1.12
- Last-modified: 7/15/93 by jamie@cs.sfu.ca (Jamie Andrews)
-
- This article contains the answers to some Frequently Asked
- Questions (FAQ) often seen in comp.lang.prolog. It is posted
- (twice a month, currently on the 1st and 16th) to help reduce
- volume in this newsgroup and to provide hard-to-find information
- of general interest.
-
- This article includes answers to the following questions.
-
- 0. General information
- 1. What is the Association for Logic Programming?
- 2. Where can I get a public-domain, free Prolog for (the IBM PC,
- the Mac, Unix)?
- 3. What commercial systems are available? What about systems
- available for a price from research institutions?
- 4. How do I get in touch with my Prolog's users' group,
- sales representative, or technical support line?
- 5. I think language X is better than Prolog. What do you think?
- 6. My Prolog prof assigned me this problem. Can you help
- me with it?
- 7. Can you suggest some books on Prolog?
- 8. Are there any FTP archive sites for comp.lang.prolog?
- 9. How can I get a copy of the draft ISO Prolog standard?
- Where can I go for more information about it?
- 10. How does the WAM (Warren Abstract Machine) work? How do I
- write a WAM-based compiler or a WAM emulator?
-
- Please forward suggestions for further questions and
- answers to the current FAQ maintainer, jamie@cs.sfu.ca (Jamie
- Andrews).
-
- Changes in this version:
- * Updated information for BinProlog.
- * Updated information for Open Prolog.
- * Updated information for ai.uga.edu site systems.
- * Added information for Aquarius Prolog.
- * Added information for XSB.
- * Added information for TPM (the Transparent Prolog Machine).
- * Added contact information for Expert Systems Ltd. / Prolog-2.
- * Added information for Covington's summary of the Prolog standard.
- * Added question 10.
-
- * * *
-
- 0. General information
-
- The newsgroup "comp.lang.prolog" discusses the language
- Prolog and other "logic programming" languages. Logic
- programming languages, in general, are programming languages
- which incorporate some of the language of mathematical logic;
- unification and backtracking search are common operational
- features. For more background information about Prolog, see the
- list of books in Question 7 of this list.
-
- * * *
-
- 1. What is the Association for Logic Programming?
-
- To keep up with the current state of logic programming
- technology, readers can join the Association for Logic
- Programming (ALP) and receive their Newsletter. For details on
- how to join, contact:
-
- Cheryl Anderson,
- ALP Administrative Secretary,
- Dept. of Computing,
- Imperial College,
- 180 Queen's Gate,
- London, SW7 2BZ, UK
-
- Email: csa@doc.ic.ac.uk
- Fax: +44 71 589 1552
- Phone: +44 71 589 5111 x5011
-
- The Prolog Resource Guide (v0.6) was printed in issue 5/1
- of the Newsletter (Feb. 1992). This lists information concerning
- Prolog Archives, Books, Suppliers, etc. It is now maintained by
- Mark Kantrowitz (Mark.Kantrowitz@GLINDA.OZ.CS.CMU.EDU), and
- posted periodically to comp.lang.prolog (see question 3).
-
- To send in Newsletter contributions, write to:
-
- Andrew Davison,
- Dept. of Computer Science,
- University of Melbourne,
- Parkville,
- Melbourne, Victoria 3052,
- AUSTRALIA
-
- Email: ad@cs.mu.oz.au
- Fax: +61 3 348 1184
- Phone: +61 3 344 7207 / 5230
- Telex: AA 35185
-
- * * *
-
- 2. Where can I get a public-domain, free Prolog for (the IBM PC,
- the Mac, Unix)?
-
- The following are anonymous-FTP sites for free Prologs
- which are either in the public domain or are "copy-lefted"
- (permitted to be copied with some restrictions on commercial use).
-
- [Please see Mark Kantrowitz's monthly "Prolog Resource
- Guide" posting (see question 3) for information about non-free
- implementations.]
-
- (Please note that for extensive development work, users
- will probably want a robust interpreter or compiler with good
- debugging facilities and a standard syntax, among other things.
- While public-domain systems are a valuable service to the
- community, they do not necessarily have all these things, and
- users should weigh carefully what they want to do against the
- capabilities and costs of the available systems.)
-
- For the IBM PC:
- - BinProlog 1.71, anonymous FTP from clement.info.umoncton.ca
- (139.103.16.2), directory BinProlog. Compiler for 386/486 machines.
- E-mail: tarau@info.umoncton.ca (Paul Tarau).
- - Anonymous FTP from aisun1.ai.uga.edu, directory ai.prolog;
- download "Contents" first. ADA Prolog and ESL Prolog.
- E-mail: mcovingt@uga.cc.uga.edu (Michael Covington).
- - SWI Prolog, anonymous FTP from swi.psy.uva.nl (192.42.96.1),
- directory pub/SWI-Prolog; or from ftp.th-darmstadt.de
- (130.83.55.75), directory pub/programming/languages/prolog.
- Portable, copy-lefted.
-
- For the Apple Macintosh:
- - Anonymous FTP from aisun1.ai.uga.edu, directory ai.prolog;
- download "Contents" first. Demo version of LPA MacProlog.
- E-mail: mcovingt@uga.cc.uga.edu (Michael Covington).
- - Open Prolog 1.0d40, anonymous FTP from grattan.cs.tcd.ie
- (134.226.32.15), directory pub/languages/open-prolog. In
- SEA/binhex form.
- E-mail: brady@cs.tcd.ie (Michael Brady).
- - UPMAIL Tricia Prolog, anonymous FTP from ftp.csd.uu.se
- (130.238.12.1), directory pub/Tricia; get README first.
- Email: tricia-request@csd.uu.se.
- - TPM (the Transparent Prolog Machine), anonymous FTP from
- hcrl.open.ac.uk, directory /pub/software. Demo LPA
- MacProlog with the TPM debugger built on top.
-
- For Unix systems:
- - BinProlog 1.39, anonymous FTP from clement.info.umoncton.ca
- (139.103.16.2), directory BinProlog. Compiler for SPARC
- (SunOS 4.x + Solaris), SUN3, NEXT.
- E-mail: tarau@info.umoncton.ca (Paul Tarau).
- - SWI Prolog, anonymous FTP from swi.psy.uva.nl (192.42.96.1),
- directory pub/SWI-Prolog; or from ftp.th-darmstadt.de
- (130.83.55.75), directory pub/programming/languages/prolog.
- Portable, copy-lefted.
- - SB-Prolog, anonymous FTP from cs.arizona.edu, directory
- "sbprolog/v3". Version 3. Copy-lefted.
- - Modular SB-Prolog (= SB-Prolog version 3.1 plus modules),
- anonymous FTP from ftp.dcs.ed.ac.uk (129.215.160.5), file
- pub/dts/mod-prolog.tar.Z . Interpreter for SPARC.
- E-mail: mprolog@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Brian Paxton).
- - ALF (Algebraic Logic Functional language), WAM-based language
- with narrowing/rewriting, anonymous FTP from ftp.germany.eu.net,
- directory "pub/programming/languages/LogicFunctional".
- E-mail: opalla@julien.informatik.uni-dortmund.de (Rudolf Opalla).
- - CLP(R), available by e-mail request from Joxan Jaffar,
- "joxan@watson.ibm.com". Constraint logic programming language,
- for academic and research purposes only.
- - Aquarius Prolog 1.0, send message with body "get aquarius-info
- license" to listserv@acal-server.usc.edu. High performance,
- commercial functionality except debugging and modules. For
- SPARC, DECstation, MIPS, HP 9000 series, Sun 3. Copy-lefted.
- - XSB, system with OLDT-resolution and HiLog capability. Compiler
- for Linux, Sun, Sparc, and NeXT. Anonymous FTP from
- cs.sunysb.edu (130.245.1.15), directory pub/XSB.
- E-mail: xsb-contact@cs.sunysb.edu
-
- * * *
-
- 3. What commercial systems are available? What about systems
- available for a price from research institutions?
-
- Many commercial systems are listed in the periodically
- posted Prolog Resource Guide. The Resource Guide also lists
- many systems which are not exactly "commercial", but available
- for a price from research instutitions. The list of such
- systems was originally compiled by Chris Moss, of Imperial
- College. The rest of the Resource Guide was originally compiled
- by Dag Wahlberg, of Uppsala University.
-
- The Resource Guide is now maintained by the kind efforts
- of Mark Kantrowitz, "Mark.Kantrowitz@GLINDA.OZ.CS.CMU.EDU", who
- posts it ON THE 14TH OF EVERY MONTH on comp.lang.prolog. It is
- also available by anonymous FTP from "ftp.cs.cmu.edu" [128.2.206.173]
- in the directory "/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/mkant/Public/AI/", as the
- file "prolog-resource-guide.text".
-
- Readers should also note that the newly formed Prolog
- Vendors' Group is contactable electronically via the Secretary,
- Al Roth. His email is "alroth@cix.compulink.co.uk".
-
- * * *
-
- 4. How do I get in touch with my Prolog's users' group,
- sales representative, or technical support line?
-
- Here are some e-mail addresses of these contacts, listed
- alphabetically by company or major product name. Please note
- that sometimes phoning or writing to the company will get better
- response than e-mail.
-
- ALS (Applied Logic Systems):
- Information: info@als.com
- Sales: sales@als.com
- Tech support: support@als.com
-
- Amziod (Cogent Prolog):
- All: amziod@world.std.com
-
- Expert Systems Ltd. (Prolog-2):
- Sales: sales@expert.demon.co.uk
- Support: support@expert.demon.co.uk
- Users' group: prolog2-request@hplb.hpl.hp.com
-
- LPA:
- Sales: lpa@cix.compulink.co.uk
- Tech support: lpa@cix.compulink.co.uk
-
- PDC Prolog:
- Information: pdc-request@pdc.dk
- Sales: sales@pdc.dk
- Tech support: support@pdc.dk
-
- ProLog by BIM:
- Contact: prolog@sunbim.be (Kathleen Pierco)
-
- Quintus:
- Users' group: quintus-users-request@quintus.com
- Sales: sales@quintus.com
- Tech support: teksup@quintus.com
-
- Sepia:
- User's group: sepia_users@ecrc.de
- Information: sepia_request@ecrc.de
- Tech support: sepia_bugs@ecrc.de
-
- SICStus:
- Users' group: sicstus-users-request@sics.se
- Sales: sicstus-request@sics.se
- Tech support: sicstus-bug@sics.se
-
- Turbo Prolog:
- Turbo Prolog is the older name for PDC Prolog (see above).
-
- * * *
-
- 5. I think language X is better than Prolog. What do you think?
-
- These debates rarely result in any productive discussion.
- To some extent, one's favourite language is based on irrational
- ideology.
-
- However, many people now agree that different languages are
- good for different things. Prolog seems to be good for problems
- in which logic is intimately involved, or whose solutions have a
- succinct logical characterization. Like other interactive,
- symbolic languages, Prolog is also good for rapid prototyping.
-
- Also, please note that there are many different "Prologs"
- and other logic programming languages available, all with
- different capabilities.
-
- * * *
-
- 6. My Prolog prof assigned me this problem. Can you help
- me with it?
-
- If your instructor assigned it to you, he or she probably
- wanted you to do it yourself. If it's an introductory Prolog
- course, your question might be elementary to most readers, so it
- might be a waste of network resources to ask it. Please ask
- your instructor, a friend, a teaching assistant, or a local
- newsgroup for help first.
-
- That being said, there are comp.lang.prolog readers who
- would be glad to help people making a legitimate attempt to
- learn Prolog.
-
- * * *
-
- 7. Can you suggest some books on Prolog?
-
- The Prolog Resource Guide (see above, question 3) contains
- a listing of Prolog books. It is maintained by Mark Kantrowitz
- (Mark.Kantrowitz@GLINDA.OZ.CS.CMU.EDU), and posted periodically
- on comp.lang.prolog.
-
- Here are some of the most popular books on Prolog.
-
- _Programming in Prolog_. William F. Clocksin and Christopher S.
- Mellish. Springer-Verlag, 1987. (Introductory.)
-
- _The Art of Prolog: Advanced Programming Techniques_. Leon
- Sterling and Ehud Shapiro. MIT Press, 1986. (Advanced.)
-
- _The Craft of Prolog_. Richard A. O'Keefe. MIT Press, 1990.
- (Advanced.)
-
- _Foundations of Logic Programming_. John Lloyd.
- Springer-Verlag, 1988 (2nd ed). (Logic programming theory.)
-
- * * *
-
- 8. Are there any FTP archive sites for comp.lang.prolog?
-
- Yes. As of the latest check, the following archive sites
- contain selected recent articles from comp.lang.prolog in the
- indicated directories.
-
- "cs.dal.ca": /pub/comp.archives/comp.lang.prolog
- "rtfm.mit.edu": /pub/usenet/comp.lang.prolog
- "src.doc.ic.ac.uk": /usenet/comp.archives/auto/comp.lang.prolog
- "cnam.cnam.fr": /pub/Archives/comp.archives/auto/comp.lang.prolog
-
- Some other sites contain copies of this FAQ list and the
- Prolog Resource Guide (see question 3). For users with "archie"
- access, type "archie comp.lang.prolog" for an up-to-date list of
- sites having either archives or the periodic postings.
-
- * * *
-
- 9. How can I get a copy of the draft ISO Prolog standard?
- Where can I go for more information about it?
-
- You can pick up a copy by anonymous FTP from site
- "ai.uga.edu", directory "ai.prolog.standard". The directory
- also contains a summary of the standard, by Michael Covington,
- in the "isoprolog" files. Note that no one at that site can
- answer any questions about the standard; it is just an FTP site
- for the standard in the USA.
-
- For more information about the ISO Prolog standard, contact
-
- Roger Scowen
- ISO/IEC JTC1 SC22 WG17 (Prolog) convener,
- DITC/93, National Physical Laboratory
- TEDDINGTON, Middlesex TW11 0LW
- UNITED KINGDOM
- Tel: +44 81 943 6956
- Fax: +44 81 977 7091
- E-mail: rss@seg.npl.co.uk
-
- * * *
-
- 10. How does the WAM (Warren Abstract Machine) work? How do I
- write a WAM-based compiler or a WAM emulator?
-
- Reportedly the best tutorial is Hassan Ait-Kaci's book
- _Warren's Abstract Machine: A Tutorial Reconstruction_ (MIT
- Press, 1991). A public-domain WAM emulator, written in C++ by
- Herve Touati, is available by anonymous FTP at site
- "gatekeeper.dec.com", in directory "pub/plan/prolog/ucb".
-
- * * *
-
- Acknowledgements
-
- For help in putting together this FAQ, thanks to Andrew
- Davison, Mike Brady, Michael Covington, Stephen Bevan, John
- Dowding, Thilo Kielmann, Paul Singleton, Dave Moffatt, Dani de
- Ridder, Per Bilse, Chris Moss, Kathleen Pierco, Paul Tarau,
- Jonathan Kamens, Jan Wielemaker, Dag Wahlberg, Micha Meier, Don
- Sannella, Clive Spenser, Yuan Liu, Jonas Barklund, and Ian
- Dickinson. Special thanks to John Dowding for suggesting a good
- format for the list, and to Chris Moss, Dag Wahlberg, and Mark
- Kantrowitz for their work on the Prolog Resource Guide.
-
- --Jamie Andrews.
- jamie@cs.sfu.ca
-