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International Conference on Algebraic and Logic Programming

ALP 1992: Algebraic and Logic Programming pp 100–114Cite as

Oracle semantics for Prologa

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 632))

Abstract

This paper proposes to specify semantic definitions for Prolog in terms of an oracle which provides information on which clauses are to be applied to resolve a given goal. The approach is quite general. It is applicable to pure Prolog to define both operational and declarative semantics; and can be viewed as a basis for both sequential and parallel implementations.

Previous semantic definitions for Prolog typically attempt to encode the sequential depth-first search of the language into various mathematical frameworks. A clause is applied in such semantics only if it is chosen under the search strategy. We prefer instead to specify in a more declarative way the condition upon which a clause is to be applied. The decision whether or not to apply a clause may be viewed as a query to an oracle which may be specified from within the semantics or reasoned about from outside. This approach results in simple and concise semantic definitions which are more useful for arguing the correctness of program transformations and providing the basis for abstract interpretations than previous proposals.

This work has been supported by “Progetto Finalizzato Sistemi Informatici e Calcolo Parallelo” of C.N.R. under grant n. 9100880.PF69 and by the Esprit Basic Research Action 3012 — Compulog.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Informatica, Università di Pisa, I-56125, Pisa

    Roberto Barbuti & Roberto Giacobazzi

  2. Department of Computer Science, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, B-3001, Leuven

    Michael Codish

  3. IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, P.O. Box 704, 10598, Yorktown Heights, NY

    Michael Maher

Authors
  1. Roberto Barbuti
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  2. Michael Codish
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  3. Roberto Giacobazzi
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  4. Michael Maher
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Editor information

Hélène Kirchner Giorgio Levi

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© 1992 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Barbuti, R., Codish, M., Giacobazzi, R., Maher, M. (1992). Oracle semantics for Prologa. In: Kirchner, H., Levi, G. (eds) Algebraic and Logic Programming. ALP 1992. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 632. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0013822

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0013822

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-55873-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-47302-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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