Understanding Logic Programming: Concepts and Principles

Table of Contents

Logic Programming Concepts

What is logic programming?   drill logic_programming

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What is logic programming?

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Logic programming is a programming paradigm based on formal logic. Programs are sets of logical statements, and computation is performed by making logical inferences.

Prolog   drill logic_programming

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What is Prolog?

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Prolog is a logic programming language. It is based on first-order predicate calculus and is particularly suited for problems involving symbolic reasoning and database queries.

Facts in Prolog   drill logic_programming

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What are facts in Prolog?

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Facts are basic assertions about the problem domain. They are unconditionally true statements, typically represented as predicates. For example: `parent(john, mary).`

Rules in Prolog   drill logic_programming

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What are rules in Prolog?

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Rules in Prolog define relationships or inferences based on other facts or rules. They have a head and a body, separated by `:-`. For example: `grandparent(X, Y) :- parent(X, Z), parent(Z, Y).`

Queries in Prolog   drill logic_programming

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How do queries work in Prolog?

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Queries in Prolog are used to ask questions about the knowledge base. They are evaluated against facts and rules to determine if they are true or to find variable bindings that make them true. Example: `?- parent(john, X).`

Unification in Logic Programming   drill logic_programming

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What is unification in logic programming?

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Unification is the process of making two terms identical by finding a substitution for variables. It's a fundamental operation in logic programming used for pattern matching and inference.

Cut Operator in Prolog   drill logic_programming

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What is the cut operator (!) in Prolog?

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The cut operator (!) is used for controlling backtracking in Prolog. It commits to the choices made so far in the resolution of a goal, preventing backtracking beyond that point.

Negation as Failure   drill logic_programming

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What is "negation as failure" in logic programming?

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Negation as failure is a non-monotonic inference rule used in logic programming. It assumes that any statement that cannot be proved true is false. In Prolog, it's typically implemented using the `\+` operator.

List in Prolog   drill logic_programming

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How are lists represented in Prolog?

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Lists in Prolog are represented as sequences of elements enclosed in square brackets, separated by commas. The empty list is []. A list can be split into its head and tail, like [Head|Tail].

Author: Jason Walsh

j@wal.sh

Last Updated: 2024-10-30 16:43:54