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Next: Software Engineering Up: Michaelmas Term 2008: Part Previous: Mathematical Methods for Computer Contents
Prolog
Lecturer: Dr D.M. Eyers
No. of lectures: 6
Prerequisite courses: Foundations of Computer Science, Algorithms I and Logic & Proof
Aims
The aim of this course is to introduce programming in the Prolog language. Prolog encourages a different programming style to Java or ML and particular focus is placed on programming to solve real problems that are suited to this style. Practical experimentation with the language is strongly encouraged.
Lectures
- Introduction to Prolog. The structure of a Prolog program
and how to use the Prolog interpreter. Unification revisited. Some
simple programs.
- Arithmetic and lists. Prolog's support for evaluating
arithmetic expressions and lists. The space complexity of program
evaluation discussed with reference to last-call optimisation.
- Backtracking, cut, and negation. The cut operator
for controlling backtracking.
Negation as failure and its uses.
- Search and cut. Prolog's search method for solving
problems. Graph searching exploiting Prolog's built-in
search mechanisms.
- Difference structures. Difference lists: introduction and
application to example programs.
- Building on Prolog. How particular limitations of Prolog
programs can be addressed by techniques such as Constraint Logic
Programming (CLP) and tabled resolution.
Objectives
At the end of the course students should
- be able to write programs in Prolog using techniques such as
accumulators and difference structures
- know how to model the backtracking behaviour of program
execution
- appreciate the unique perspective Prolog gives to problem
solving and algorithm design
- understand how larger programs can be created using the basic
programming techniques used in this course
Recommended reading
* Bratko, I. (2001). PROLOG programming for artificial intelligence. Addison-Wesley (3rd ed).
Next: Software Engineering Up: Michaelmas Term 2008: Part Previous: Mathematical Methods for Computer Contents