bts@unc.UUCP (Bruce Smith) (02/04/86)
I've been asked to post an announcement for a "new" Prolog system that the Computer Science Department at UNC-Chapel Hill will be distributing: Modula-Prolog. I say new because I suspect it's new to the U.S. Our new chairman, Prof. Jurg Nievergelt, brought Modula-Prolog from Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule (ETH), in Zurich, where it was written by Carlo Muller and others. The following description is excerpted from the introductory chapter of the "Modula- Prolog User Manual", by Carlo Muller: Modula-Prolog is a software package written in Modula-2, offering tools for constructing Prolog interpreters which can interact in many ways with other Modula-2 programs. The package is designed as a Modula-2 library module called 'MPLib', which defines and implements the interface between Prolog and Modula-2. Together with the "user interface" included in the package, this module represents a complete Prolog interpreter, fully compatible with Clocksin & Mellish's "Programming in Prolog". In Modula-Prolog, the basic Prolog functions (parse, prove, unparse, unification, ... ) are isolated and can be called separately as library procedures from various Modula-2 programs. Modula-Prolog provides features for easily extending the set of built-in predicates, i.e. it is an instrument for building powerful user-tailored Prolog systems. Integration of graphics or database operations in the Prolog language are such possible extensions. The user-defined built-in predicates can manipulate Prolog terms in their full generality, again by using the term-assembling and term-disassembling procedures. The writer of a built-in predicate can use the Prolog unification procedure to perform variable bindings and consistency checks. Modula-Prolog is one of the building blocks of the "Smart Data Interaction Package", a general-purpose data manipulation package which integrates - the "Grid File" data structure to provide multi-key access, - Prolog as a deductive query and manipulation package, and - the "Easy" man-machine interface. (See E.S. Biagioni, K. Hinrichs, C. Muller and J. Nievergelt, "Interactive deductive data management-- the Smart Data Interaction package", Proc. GI Kongress '85, Wissensbasierte Systeme, Munich, Oct 28-29, 1985.) The manual mentions that Modula-Prolog runs on personal computers under MS-DOS and on VAXes under VMS. It's been run locally on Macintoshes and on our VAX under 4.2bsd UN*X. Of course, you will need a Modula-2 compiler to use it. I don't know what the price and conditions for distribution will be. If you're interested write to Professor Klaus Hinrichs Department of Computer Science New West Hall (035-A) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Or send electronic mail to "hinrichs@unc". I believe it's available in Europe from Carlo Muller Brown Boveri Research CH-5405 Baden Switzerland _____________________________________________________ Bruce T. Smith Dept. of Computer Science USENET: decvax!mcnc!unc!bts New West Hall (035-A) Others: bts.unc@CSNET-RELAY Chapel Hill, NC 27514