Prolog

The language of logic

 History
• Kowalski: late 60’s Logician who showed
logical proof can support computation.
• Colmerauer: early 70’s Developed early
version of Prolog for natural language
processing, mainly multiple parses.
• Warren: mid 70’s First version of Prolog
that was efficient.
 Characteristics
• Prolog approximates first-order logic.
• Every program is a set of Horn clauses.
• Inference is by resolution.
• Search is by backtracking with unification.
• Basic data structure is term or tree.
• Variables are unknowns not locations.
• Prolog does not distinguish between inputs
and outputs. It solves relations/predicates.
 SWI-Prolog Notes
• Free! Down Loadable
• To load a file:
– consult( ‘C:\\kibler\\prolog\\test’).
• For help:
– help(predicate-name).
• “ ; “ will give you next solution.
• listing(member) will give definition.
 Example
• Facts: ()
– likes(john,mary).
– likes(john,X). % Variables begin with capital
• Queries
– ?- likes(X,Y).
– X=john, y=Mary. % hit “;” for more
– ?- likes(X,X).
– X=john.
 Example
• Rules
– likes(john,X) :- likes(X,wine). % :- = if
– likes(john,X):- female(X), likes(X,john).
• Note: variables are dummy. Standarized apart
• Some Facts:
– likes(bill,wine). female(mary). female(sue).
• Query: ? - likes(john,Y).
– Y = bill ;
– no.
 Family
father(a,b).
father(e,d).
mother(c,b).
mother(d,f).
parent(X,Y) :- father(X,Y).
parent(X,Y) :- mother(X,Y).
grandfather(X,Y):- father(X,Z),parent(Z,Y).
% Do your own for practice.
 Informal Summary
• Program is facts + rules. (horn clauses).
• Query = conjunct of predicates.
• First set of bindings for variables that solve
query are reported. If none, then Prolog
returns no.
• Use “;” to get other solutions.
• Can be viewed as constraint satisfaction
program.
 MapColoring
• color(r). color(g). color(b).
• colormap(C1,C2,C3):-
color(C1),color(C2),color(C3), C1\==C2,
C1\==C3, C2\==C3.
• Query: colormap(X,Y,Z).
– X = r, Y= g, Z=b.
• Is that it. Yes! Turn on trace.
 Unification: (matching) terms
• Two terms UNIFY if there is a common
substitution for all variables which makes them
identical.
• f(g(X),Y) = f(Z,Z). % = cheap unification
– X = _G225, Y=g(_G225).
• Look at parse tree for each term.
– variables match
– variable matches anything (set the binding)
– function symbols only match identical function
symbols.
 Satisfiability: uses unification
• sat(true). % base case
• sat(not(false)). % base case
• sat(or(X,Y)):- sat(X).
• sat(or(X,Y)):-sat(Y).
• sat(and(X,Y)):-sat(X),sat(Y).

• test1(X,Y):- sat(and(not(X),X)).
• test2(X,Y):- sat(and(X,not(Y))).
 List Operator [H |T]
• [a,b,c] is a list in Prolog.
• [H|T] = [a,b,c] results in
– H = a i.e. the head of list
– T = [b,c] i.e. the tail of the list.
• membership definition
– member(H,[H|T]). % base case first. Why?
– member(H,[_|T]):- member(H,T).
– Use it.
 Member Tests
• ?- member(3,X).
– X = [3| _G109]. % _G.., system generated
variable
– X= [_G11,3| _]. % etc.
• ?- member(X,Y).
– X = _G131, Y= [_G131|, _G321].
 Permutation & Insert
• insert(X,L, [X|L]).
• insert(X,[H|T],[H|T1]):- insert(X,T,T1).

• perm([],[]).
• perm([H|T],P):-perm(T,T1),insert(H,T1,P).
 DFS
% solve(goal, solution Path)
% s(state, successor-state)
dfs(N,[N]) :- goal(N).
dfs(N,[N|Sol1]):- s(N,N1), dfs(N1,Sol1).

s(a,b). s(a,c). s(b,d). s(b,e). s(c,f).

s(c,g). s(d,h). s(e,i). s(e,j). s(f,k).
goal(i). goal(f).

?- dfs(a,N).
N = [a, b, e, i] ;
N = [a, c, f] ;
 Limitations
• 2nd order: Can’t ask what is relationship
between heart and lungs?
• Probabilities: What is likelihood of fire
destroying Julian?