Abstract
Forward chaining of a logic program is specified by a meta-interpreter written in Prolog. Premises of forward rules are verified by Prolog's backward proof procedure. Since meta-interpreters in general suffer from the overhead of the additional meta-layer, a well-known technique, partial evaluation of the metainterpreter wrt the object-level program, is applied to reduce this overhead. Still several sources of inefficiency can be identified after this transformation. To compile the forward program into the Warren Abstract Machine (WAM) in an efficient way, the WAM is modified by splitting the code area into a backward and forward code area and by adding a new stack to record derived facts. This shows how an efficient implementation of meta-interpreters can have an effect on compilation and even on the design of the target machine.
Supported by BMFT Research Project ARC-TEC (grant ITW 8902 C4)
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Hinkelmann, K. (1993). Forward logic evaluation: Compiling a partially evaluated meta-interpreter into the WAM. In: Jürgen Ohlbach, H. (eds) GWAI-92: Advances in Artificial Intelligence. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 671. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0019001
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0019001
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