Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!SHardy@SRI-KL.ARPA
From: SHardy@SRI-KL.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.ai
Subject: Prolog For The Vax
Message-ID: <2163@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 12-Jun-83 22:44:10 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.2163
Posted: Sun Jun 12 22:44:10 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 16-Jun-83 19:02:18 EDT
Lines: 55

[Reprinted from the Prolog Digest.]

Implementation For VAX/VMS

The Sussex Poplog system is a multi-language programming environment 
for AI tasks.  It includes:

(a) A native mode Prolog compiler, compatible with the Clocksin and
    Mellish book.  The system supports floating point arithmetic.

(b) A POP-11 compiler.  POP-11 and Prolog programs may share data
    structures and may call each other as subroutines; they may also
    co-routine with each other. (POP is the British derivative of
    LISP; functionally equivalent to Lisp, it has a more conventional
    syntax.)

(c) VED, an Emacs like extendible editor, is part of the run time
    system.  VED is written in POP-11 and so can easily be extended.
    It can also be used for input (e.g. simple menus) and for output
    (simple cellular graphics).  VED and the compilers share memory,
    making for a well integrated programming environment.

(d) Subroutines written in other languages, e.g. Fortran, may be
    linked in as new built in predicates.

Prolog's complex architecture was designed to help build blackboard 
systems working on large amounts of numerical data.  The intention is 
that Fortran (or a similar language) be used for array processing; 
POP-11 will be used for manipulating agendas and other procedurally 
oriented tasks and Prolog will be used for logical inference.

However, the components of Prolog can be used individually without 
knowledge of the other components.  To some users, Poplog is simply a 
powerful text editor, to others it just a Prolog system.

Poplog has been adopted, along with Franz LISP and DEC-20 Prolog, as 
part of the "common software base" for the IKBS program (Britain's 
response to The Fifth Generation).

The system is being transported to the PERQ and Motorola 68000, as 
well as being converted for VAX/UNIX.

Although full details haven't yet been announced, the system will be 
commercially supported.  The license fee will be approx $10,000 with 
maintenance approx.  $1,000 per annum.  For more details, write to:


                Dr Aaron Sloman
                Cognitive Studies Programme
                University of Sussex
                Falmer, Brighton, ENGLAND
                (273) 606755

-- Steve Hardy,
   Teknowledge