Skip to main content

Prolog as a Knowledge Representation Language the Nature and Importance of Prolog

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Prolog: The Next 50 Years

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 13900))

Abstract

In the Computer Science literature, Prolog is usually characterized as a language for programming computers. That makes sense. Its inventors described Prolog as a programming language [14]; and its very name is an abbreviation for PROgrammation en LOGique (PROgramming in LOGic). Unfortunately, characterizing Prolog as primarily a programming language may be doing it a disservice. As argued in [5, 6] and elsewhere, it is also an excellent knowledge representation language. In fact, an argument can be made that Prolog’s main value lies not so much in programming as in knowledge representation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Carlson, P., Genesereth, M.: Insurance portfolio management as containment testing. In: ICAIL (2023)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Chandra, A.K., Merlin, P.M.: Optimal implementation of conjunctive queries in relational databases. In: Proceeding of the 9th Annual ACM Symposium on the Theory of Computing, pp. 77–90 (1977)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Chen, W., Swift, T., Warren, D.: Efficient top-down computation of queries under the well-founded semantics. J. Logic Program. 24(3), 161–201 (1995)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  4. Clocksin, W.F., Mellish, C.S.: Programming in Prolog, 4th edn. Springer, New York (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-97596-7

    Book  MATH  Google Scholar 

  5. De Cat, B., Bogaerts, B., Bruynooghe, M., Janssens, G., Denecker, M.: Predicate logic as a modeling language: the IDP system. Declarative Logic Program. 279–323 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Gelfond, M., Leone, N.: Logic programming and knowledge representation. Artif. Intell. 138(1–2), 1 (2002)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  7. Bassiliades, N., Gottlob, G., Sadri, F., Paschke, A., Roman, D. (eds.): RuleML 2015. LNCS, vol. 9202. Springer, Cham (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21542-6

  8. Genesereth, M., Chaudhri, V.: Logic programming. Synth. Lect. Artif. Intell. Mach. Learn. (2020). https://doi.org/10.2200/S00966ED1V01Y201911AIM044

  9. Genesereth, M.: Insurance portfolio management. Complaw Corner, Codex: The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics (2022). https://law.stanford.edu/2022/07/30/insurance-portfolio-management/

  10. Hayes, P.: Computation and deduction. In: Proceedings Second Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science, Czechoslovakian Academy of Sciences, Czechoslovakia, pp. 105–118 (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Hinrichs, T.: Extensional reasoning. Ph.D. thesis, Computer Science Department, Stanford University (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Kakas, A.C., Kowalski, R., Toni, F.: The role of abduction in logic programming. In: Gabbay, D.M., Hogger, C.J., Robinson, J.A. (eds.) Handbook of Logic in Artificial Intelligence and Logic Programming, vol. 5, pp. 235–324. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Kowalski, R., Kuehner, D.: Linear resolution with selection function. Artif. Intell. 2, 227–60 (1971)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  14. Kowalski, R.: Predicate logic as a programming language. In: Proceedings of IFIP 1974, North Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam, pp. 569–574 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Kowalski, R.: Algorithm = Logic + Control. Commun. ACM 22(7) (1979)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Kowalski, R., Sadri, F.: LPS - a logic-based production system framework (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Kowalski, R., Sadri, F.: Integrating Logic Programming and Production Systems in Abductive Logic Programming Agents (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Logical English as a Programming Language for the Law. ProLALA 22 (2022)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Lifschitz, V.: What is answer set programming? (PDF). In: Proceedings of the 23rd National Conference on Artificial Intelligence, vol. 3, pp. 1594–1597. AAAI Press, 13 July 2008

    Google Scholar 

  20. McCarthy, J.: Programs with common sense. In: Proceedings of the Teddington Conference on the Mechanization of Thought Processes, pp. 75–91. Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, London (1959)

    Google Scholar 

  21. McCarthy, J.: Coloring maps and the kowalski doctrine. In: Lifschitz, V. (ed.) Formalizing Common Sense: Papers by John McCarthy, pp. 167–174 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Pereira, L.M., Porto, A.: Selective Backtracking for Logic Programs. Departamento de Informatica, Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal (1980)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Sagonas, K., Swift, T.: Warren, D.S.: XSB as an efficient deductive database engine. In: Proceedings of the ACM SIGMOD International Conference on the Management of Data (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Ullman, J.D.: Information integration using logical views. Theor. Comput. Sci. 239(2), 189–210 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3975(99)00219-4

  25. van Emden, M., Kowalski, R.: The semantics of predicate logic as a programming language. J. Assoc. Comput. Mach. 23(4), 733–774 (1976)

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  26. Warren, D.S.: Programming in Tabled Prolog. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.49.4635

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Genesereth .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Genesereth, M. (2023). Prolog as a Knowledge Representation Language the Nature and Importance of Prolog. In: Warren, D.S., Dahl, V., Eiter, T., Hermenegildo, M.V., Kowalski, R., Rossi, F. (eds) Prolog: The Next 50 Years. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 13900. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35254-6_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35254-6_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-35253-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-35254-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics