spiro@a.gp.cs.cmu.edu (Spiro Michaylov) (11/16/88)
I guess this has probably been discussed before, but I'd like to know if anybody has tried to make a list of REAL application programs written in PROLOG. By "REAL" I mean that a PROLOG program is being used by somebody to solve a problem, rather than to illustrate/teach the features of PROLOG, test/benchmark a compiler, to prototype something that is currently being rewritten in IBM 370 assembler, or just to try out an idea. Why such a strict definition? Because I don't want outsiders who read such a list to think that we're clutching at straws. I'm interested in this because there still seem to be people around who claim that few such programs exist. I think they're wrong, but I'd like to be sure. Additionally, such a list could be used to persuade more people to take PROLOG seriously. If no catalog of such application programs exists I'd like to compile one. Each entry consisting of a couple of paragraphs briefly describing the problem, why PROLOG was used, which PROLOG and on what machine, what problems had to be overcome, etc. I realize that industrial secrecy & national security concerns will cut down the number of entries, and some people will only be able to supply limited information, but I hope we can still get something worthwhile. Perhaps we can just discuss whether it has/can/should be done for a while and then if appropriate I'll repost with a request for submissions. However, let's try to limit the scope of the discussion -- I can just see my request being buried under dozens of messages about PROLOG's position in the world. Such a broad discussion might be worthwhile, but I have something more specific in mind. Thanks in advance, Spiro Michaylov. Carnegie Mellon Computer Science. spiro@cs.cmu.edu [(412) 268 3042] --
spiro@a.gp.cs.cmu.edu (Spiro Michaylov) (11/19/88)
After asking whether anybody has tried to compile a catalog of Prolog Application Programs all I have received is a number of very informative messages about particular applications. Many thanks to those who responded! Since it seems that no such catalog exists, I intend to compile one, and I am now asking for contributions. The criteria for inclusion as described in my previous message are reprinted below. Spiro Michaylov Carnegie Mellon Computer Science spiro@cs.cmu.edu [(412) 268 3042] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am looking for information about REAL application programs written in PROLOG. By "REAL" I mean that a PROLOG program is being used by somebody to solve a problem, rather than to illustrate/teach the features of PROLOG, test/benchmark a compiler, to prototype something that is currently being rewritten in IBM 370 assembler, or just to try out an idea. Why such a strict definition? Because I don't want outsiders who read such a list to think that we're clutching at straws. I'm interested in this because there still seem to be people around who claim that few such programs exist. I think they're wrong, but I'd like to be sure. Additionally, a list of such programs could be used to persuade more people to take PROLOG seriously. The intended format of the list/catalog is as follows: Each entry consisting of a couple of paragraphs briefly describing the problem, why PROLOG was used, which PROLOG and on what machine, what problems had to be overcome, etc. I realize that industrial secrecy & national security concerns will cut down the number of entries, and some people will only be able to supply limited information, but I hope we can still get something worthwhile. If you want to give me more background information than you would like me to make public, I'll respect your wishes. The resulting catalog will of course be made available in machine-readable and printed form. --