Prolog

Artificial Intelligence: Structures and Strategies for Complex Problem Solving (5th Edition)

Average customer rating:

Superficial and unclear
Fantastic Introduction to AI
this book not cover much
Good For Beginners in AI
Don't miss it!

Artificial Intelligence: Structures and Strategies for Complex Problem Solving (5th Edition)
George F. Luger
Manufacturer: Addison Wesley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (2nd Edition)
AI Application Programming (Programming Series) (Programming Series)
Software Engineering: A Practitioner's Approach
Lisp (3rd Edition)
Prolog Programming for Artificial Intelligence

ASIN: 0321263189

Book Description

The fifth edition of this book continues to provide a balanced perspective on the language schools, theories, and applications of artificial intelligence. These diverse branches are unified through detailed discussions of AI's theoretical foundations. The book is broken down into six parts to provide readers complete coverage of AI. It begins by introducing AI concepts, moves into a discussion on the research tools needs for AI problem solving, and then demonstrates representations for AI and knowledge-sensitive problem solving. The second half of the book offers an extensive presentation of issues in machine learning, continues presenting important AI application areas, and presents Lisp and Prolog to the reader. This book is appropriate for programmers both as an introduction to and a reference of the theoretical foundations of artificial intelligence.

Customer Reviews:

Superficial and unclear.......2005-05-27

Trying to gather the greatest audience possible, this book is superficial, completly unclear and boring. Why? Topics are quickly introduced, concepts are rarely analized deeply, it's more discorsive than formal. With so many subjects of AI in the same book not enough space can be given to all of them, so most of the chapters are lists of important algorithms or concepts, barely explained. Do you want to verify it? See the table of contents and the number of pages, and try to see how much space can be given to every point... not enough.

Fantastic Introduction to AI.......2005-01-06

This book really stands out among the AI texts (I've read 4 others). First, the language is clear and simple enough for undergrads to grasp. Second, there are consistent examples that pervade the text to help the reader apply each method to an established problem. Third, the explanations of algorithms/structures are crafted and phrased to TEACH, not merely to summarize a bunch of material for reference purposes. Finally, the programming chapters allow the student to realize the material, and really think about the problems by implementing them and hashing out the details.

I cannot complain about any lack of depth - the length already exceeds 900 pages. To those that desire more, look into academic journals - this is an intro. Moreover, robotics, vision, neural nets, and other topics already have their own "forked" research fields, with textbooks of comparable length focusing on those topics alone!

Enjoy! This text is sure to get you started!

this book not cover much.......2003-07-14

I bought this book for my introduction course in AI. I feel that this book has lack of somethings which are very important, neural networks, and Ai and robotics to name a few. I found that the text is very hard to understand. Again he didn't use enough example to explain some of the topics. I am lost reading this book. The book is not well structured and turned me bored after 30 minutes reading it. The reason are, AI term definations are not included as other book do, few visual diagrams, objective is not well defined. Once again, he didn't include introduction/review of what we acpect to learn of each of every chapters. Reading it is like reading a "white bible". Only plain text and unprofessional layout. This book discorage me reading it. I think i should buy other book that have a wider coverage topics in AI and yet easy to understand, consistent with my AI course syllibus and yet easy for my eyes.

Good For Beginners in AI.......2002-12-05

This is a very good book for anyone wanting to get an insight. Good for the first college course in AI too. It introduces the different areas of AI quite well, and develops logic before doing that. Prolog and LISP are also introduced.

The only reason I wouldn't give this book 5 stars is because
1) The Prolog and LISP features aren't all that great. They could have done better than just explaining what they did.

2) There was very little or almost no depth in the material covered. I wanted to go on reading more about the advanced features, but that never happened. So, I had to go to the library and look for something there.

But a great book for a college course. I wouldn't recommend this for a Grad course in CS...A grad student should be knowing beyond what this book covers.

Don't miss it!.......2002-05-24

This is the best general AI book I've seen this far. It introduces all the popular branches of AI clearly. If you are serious about AI, you should own this book...

The Art of Prolog, Second Edition: Advanced Programming Techniques (Logic Programming)

Average customer rating:

Pricey but a must have
Great new programming paradigm.
One of the 4 best books on computer programming
A classic
Gentle and comprehensive

The Art of Prolog, Second Edition: Advanced Programming Techniques (Logic Programming)
Leon Sterling , and Ehud Shapiro
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Prolog Programming for Artificial Intelligence
Programming in Prolog: Using the ISO Standard
Clause and Effect: Prolog Programming for the Working Programmer
Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming
The Reasoned Schemer

ASIN: 0262193388

Book Description

This new edition of The Art of Prolog contains a number of important changes. Most background sections at the end of each chapter have been updated to take account of important recent research results, the references have been greatly expanded, and more advanced exercises have been added which have been used successfully in teaching the course.

Part II, The Prolog Language, has been modified to be compatible with the new Prolog standard, and the chapter on program development has been significantly altered: the predicates defined have been moved to more appropriate chapters, the section on efficiency has been moved to the considerably expanded chapter on cuts and negation, and a new section has been added on stepwise enhancement -- a systematic way of constructing Prolog programs developed by Leon Sterling.

All but one of the chapters in Part III, Advanced Prolog Programming Techniques, have been substantially changed, with some major rearrangements. A new chapter on interpreters describes a rule language and interpreter for expert systems, which better illustrates how Prolog should be used to construct expert systems. The chapter on program transformation is completely new and the chapter on logic grammars adds new material for recognizing simple languages, showing how grammars apply to more computer science examples.

Customer Reviews:

Pricey but a must have.......2006-12-21

Admittedly, this one tends to be a bit pricey. But, the content is pure gold for any programmer. Nowhere is the Prolog paradigm better conveyed than here. And, it is of little value to you if you attempt to learn prolog with a mindset of some other language. Prolog is unique and demands a unique way of looking at computer programming in general. It is dated a bit in that it does not cover all the latest developments in Prolog/AI research but no other Prolog books provide the foundational understanding that it does. Get this one for a solid foundation and then build on it with others. See my listmania list of AI Language books for suggestions of followup titles.

Great new programming paradigm........2005-09-27

I am currently working as a computer hardware design engineer. I have always been looking for new software methodology to improve my hardware design flow. Prolog, and especially its presentation in this book, shows me an interesting and powerful view of how computer programming should be.

Overall, I am a true believer in Prolog and logic programming after reading this book.

One of the 4 best books on computer programming.......2005-02-15

This, to me, is one of the 4 best books on computer programming. Unfortunately, it is hard. Not because the book is poorly written - it is like a wonderful story, but because understanding how to think declaratively after being taught something like C or Java is like someone giving you a pair of wings when you're a mudfish.

Thinking declaratively changes how you think about problems and how you write code. It's a career changing experience. This book leads the way.

Top 4:
* Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (Sussman, Abelson)
* The Art of Prolog by Sterling/Shapiro
* Introduction to Algorithms by Cormen, etc.
* Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming by Van Roy and Haridi

A classic.......2003-08-12

This book is a must for anyone starting to program in Prolog or interested in logic programming.

A downsize of the book (if any) can be that it could have detailed more in the respect of Prolog's applications. The pleasant style of the authors would have made a wonderful introduction into these fields.

A real pleasure to read.

Gentle and comprehensive.......2002-08-12

If you have previous programming experience, Prolog will be quite a challenge. Logic programming is very different from functional or imperative, and will definitely be a major culture shock.

The first part of the book introduces the concepts of logic programming at the right pace, giving you time to assimilate everything. The second part contains several applications of Prolog.

Book Description

B></B> This best-selling guide to Prolog has been fully revised and extended to provide an even greater range of applications, enhancing its value as a stand-alone guide to Prolog, artificial intelligence, or AI programming. Ivan Bratko discusses natural language processing with grammar rules, planning, and machine learning. The coverage of meta-programming includes meta-interpreters and object-oriented programming in Prolog. The new edition includes coverage of: constraint logic programming; qualitative reasoning; inductive logic programming; recently developed algorithms; belief networks for handling uncertainty; and a major update on machine learning. This book is aimed at programmers who need to learn AI programming.

Customer Reviews:

Why is this the the best textbook on prolog?.......2006-07-05

Although this text is always mentioned in the same breath as other introductory textbooks on prolog, I don't think I've ever seen it described as "the best."
The book which usually takes the palm in such comparisons is "Art of Prolog." While "Art of Prolog" is an outstanding book, I think that now, in 2006, it has been eclipsed by the 3rd edition Bratko's book. Why?

Simply this: Bratko's textbook is (as far as I'm aware) the _only_ textbook on prolog which treats the language as a living, developing language! Other textbooks are great for their time, but they are unfortunately stuck in their time. Its as if nothing has happend to the prolog language since February 16, 1987. But this isn't true at all!

The biggest case in point: constraint logic programming! Bratko's text is the only introductory prolog textbook to even acknowledge the existance of CLP. And Bratko gives very lucid descriptions of it, along with very helpful examples and challenging exercises.

Another case in point: inductive logic programming! An entire new branch of machine learning theory has risen, based on logic programming, and NONE of the other introductory prolog textbooks cover it? Come on guys!

I would love to see a 4th edition of this book, because since this one has been published, logic programming has moved even further ahead. Constraint handling rules (CHR), logical functional languages (like Curry), using prolog for the semantic web, etc etc etc. It might be the best kept secret in computer science, but logic programming is really still one of the most exciting areas of programming, and Bratko's book does the best job of staying abreast of, and conveying the excitment of, this living and dynamic field.

A respectable book from a respectable man.......2004-12-05

I remember contacting with Mr.Bratko via mail as I was a university student and I couldn't beleive that this book came from such a modest personality.
The most challanging language, the most challenging programming book I have ever faced with.
Force your IQ with this one.

Great book for learning AI with Prolog, but...........2002-08-12

... a horrible Prolog tutorial.

This is not a good first book on Prolog. If you are new to Prolog and Logic Programming, you should read 'Art of Prolog' first.

Prolog is quite different from other languages, and you'll need some time to get it. This book doesn't give you that time: after briefly introducing the basic concepts, Bratko dives at breakneck speed into recursion and list processing.

Don't get me wrong, this is a magnificent book on how to do AI with Prolog, but it shouldn't be your first Prolog book. It's an excellent second book.

An excellent introduction to Prolog and concepts in AI.......2002-03-06

Professor Bratko has done a tremendous job of putting all the fundamental concepts of Prolog and its applications in various areas of AI. Although this book is focused on Prolog, the concepts that he has discussed are so fundamental that they can be implemented in other languages like Java as well.

I recommend this book to everyone who wants to learn Prolog. I would also recommend the readers to use a Prolog system to work out the examples and exercises as s/he goes through every chapter. A DEC10 Prolog system (like SICStus Prolog) would probably be the best companion for this book.

I thought the book could be better.......2001-12-28

I find the book does not adequetly explain the more complex code examples. First of all the code is not adequetly commented. Secondly, it does not explain the code well for programmers. First when introducing a program like in the expert systems shell chapter it should first define an interface for the program, and explain each goal listed. It should adequetly explain what each goal and clause should hope to achieve. Also, for the more complicated programs it should draw some type of diagram, maybe a flow chart or something that explains the concepts involved. It leaves too much figuring out and guessing for the reader. It is not very user-friendly!
On the positive side, it does an adequate job of explaining concepts when complex code is not involved. I found that I could follow along on even the more advanced chapters mostly everything at least until code was suddenly introduced. Then it became a guessing game as to what it was trying to do.
The author does not seem to realize that it is more difficult to try to understand somebody else's program than it is to write your own program from scratch. As a consequence the reader wastes a lot of time trying to guess what his program is doing.
Note: this review is of the 2nd edition and does not necessarily reflect the 3rd. But, then again, every other review on this page prior to mine is about the 2nd edition as well!

Programming in Prolog: Using the ISO Standard

Average customer rating:

The Best Book on Prolog
Excellent resource on the Prolog programming language
Concise presentation of Prolog
the prolog classic
The original Clocksin & Mellish book is now dated (surprise)

Programming in Prolog: Using the ISO Standard
W.F. Clocksin , and C.S. Mellish
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Art of Prolog, Second Edition: Advanced Programming Techniques (Logic Programming)
Prolog Programming for Artificial Intelligence
Clause and Effect: Prolog Programming for the Working Programmer
Prolog: The Standard: Reference Manual
ML for the Working Programmer

ASIN: 3540006788

Book Description

Originally published in 1981, this was the first textbook on programming in the Prolog language and is still the definitive introductory text on Prolog. Though many Prolog textbooks have been published since, this one has withstood the test of time because of its comprehensiveness, tutorial approach, and emphasis on general programming applications.

Prolog has continued to attract a great deal of interest in the computer science community, and has turned out to be a basis for an important new generation of programming languages and systems for Artificial Intelligence. Since the previous edition of Programming in Prolog, the language has been standardised by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and this book has been updated accordingly. The authors have also introduced some new material, clarified some explanations, corrected a number of minor errors, and removed appendices about Prolog systems that are now obsolete.

Customer Reviews:

The Best Book on Prolog.......2007-03-27

As good in 2007 as it was when published first time. There is no better introduction to Prolog

Excellent resource on the Prolog programming language.......2001-03-14

This is an extreme valuable book on the Prolog programming language that every computer science person should own. Prolog itself is actually a fairly simple language to learn, albeit slightly obscure. It's reputation for complexity comes from its non-standard implementation, but if you don't enter into it expecting it to look and behave like other languages then you should be all right. Once you get past the mathematics and logic, you should be able to get your mind working in that particular direction. This book is a very handy guide for getting the programmer into the Prolog mindset as well as bringing one up to speed on all the (sometimes very confused) syntax.

This book, like Prolog itself, is not for the beginning programmer. If you have a good background in logic or mathematics, then you should find this book to be very rewarding.

Concise presentation of Prolog.......2000-06-15

Prolog is a complex subject, especially for someone not well familiar with mathematical logic. Thus, it is very important how the foundation would be laid down. Typically the books I had read on Prolog tend to two extremes. They are either too condensed for such a complicated subject as logical programming, or too broad and mathematically intensive. I would put this book into the first category. Though very concise and well structured, this book does not seem to be a good primer. I would rather recommend the book of Ivan Bratko "Prolog Programming for Artificial Intelligence (International Computer Science Series)" 2nd edition (the third edition of this book is due in August 2000). Ivan Bratko had managed to find the optimal style of presenting both the essence and the practical aspects of the language. Bratko's book covers various practical applications of the language and manages to convey the basic concepts of Prolog without overwhelming the beginner with too abstract or too condensed passages.

Nevertheless, "Programming in Prolog" could be a very good programming reference once you are relatively comfortable with the language.

the prolog classic.......1998-11-27

Programming in prolog is an excellent book, good reference about the core of prolog and its Edinburgh implementation. This book contains all you have to know about the "core". Easy to understand and fast to read.

The original Clocksin & Mellish book is now dated (surprise).......1997-08-23

The Clocksin & Mellish book was once the definitive guide to Prolog, but is now fairly dated and of historical interest. As I understand it, Clocksin has updated the 1981 work several times

Average customer rating:

A must for any Prolog programmer
Prolog:The Standard:Reference Manual

Prolog: The Standard: Reference Manual
Pierre Deransart , AbdelAli Ed-Dbali , and Laurent Cervoni
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Programming in Prolog: Using the ISO Standard
Clause and Effect: Prolog Programming for the Working Programmer
The Art of Prolog, Second Edition: Advanced Programming Techniques (Logic Programming)
Prolog Programming in Depth
Prolog Programming for Artificial Intelligence

ASIN: 3540593047

Book Description

This is the first reference manual on the ISO international standard of the programming language Prolog. Prolog was the first logic programming language and is used in many areas in industry, such as computer aided design and manufacturing, software engineering, multimedia and documentation, AI systems and databases (expert systems, knowledge bases, man-machine interfaces, natural language analysis), and application fields like transportation, telecommunications, and banking. The book contains a comprehensible full description of the standardized language together with an executable specification. It enables system developers, application programmers and Prolog users to work with any standard conforming processor.

Customer Reviews:

A must for any Prolog programmer.......2006-04-26

This book is a must for anyone doing serious Prolog programming. The book itself is a standard in clarity, concision and rigor.

There are minor drawbacks:
1. Poor paper quality and binding. Any programmer striving to write portable Prolog programs would use it heavily and the poor qualify shows off in just a month of daily use. Unfortunately, the form is not at the same level as the content.
2. The predefined predicates lack a listing by page (although they are listed by topic). This makes finding a certain particular predicate rather cumbersome when looked up frequently.
3. Minor typos.

Otherwise, no one serious about Prolog can afford to overlook this book.

Prolog:The Standard:Reference Manual.......2000-06-05

The title of this book accurately describes its organization and content. Although numerous examples of each language feature are given throughout the book, it is definitely not intended to be a tutorial.For that purpose, a beginning user of PROLOG should look elsewhere.

Book Description

This workbook is for programmers who are new to Prolog and who wish to write useful Prolog programs. The emphasis is on a simplified and disciplined methodology for discerning the mathematical structures related to a problem, and then turning these structures into Prolog programs. A relatively pure subset of Prolog is used and the focus is not on particular features of the language. The presentation is novel. An outline of basic concepts is interleaved with worksheets, which are graduated in scope and give guidance for practising new ideas. Extended examples in the form of case studies then apply the ideas. The book can be a useful companion to two other Springer books, as a sequel to the author's introductory text "Programming in Prolog" and alongside the reference manual "Prolog: The Standard".

Customer Reviews:

The Little Prologer.......2006-12-31

I really like this book. It serves roughly the same purpose for the Prolog language that "The Little Schemer" serves for Scheme. It presents the Prolog language through a series of examples (called "worksheets" here), each about a page long. In each example the author walks through the solution of some problem, discussing the issues that come up. Later in the book, the examples give way to larger "case studies" of five or ten pages each, in which a more substantial problem is tackled. In my opinion, this is a very effective way to teach a language like Prolog, and I now understand a lot about the language I didn't understand before. Prolog is one of those languages that can't be learned simply by memorizing new syntax and referring to what you already know, because its execution model (logic programming using unification and backtracking) is so drastically different from that of most other languages. Therefore, one needs to walk through a lot of examples slowly, and this is where "Clause and Effect" really shines. I was particularly impressed at how trivially easy it is to do symbolic algebra in Prolog; I've written programs of this type in Scheme, but the Prolog versions are much shorter and easier to understand.

This book is not perfect, however, and I can't in good faith give it five stars (though I really want to). There are a fair number of typos scattered through the text (the author has an errata sheet on his website). Most of these are obvious, but on occasion I had to spend a lot of time puzzling over whether some bit of code had a typo or not (most of the time, there was no typo; it was just my understanding that was deficient). When in doubt, entering the code into a Prolog interpreter works wonders; I really wish the author would make a zip file of all the code examples available for download. A more significant problem than the typos is that the author writes in a very condensed style and either doesn't explain the meaning of some critical terms at all (like tail recursion) or doesn't explain them well enough (like backtracking). Coming from a functional programming background, and having already read a book on Prolog, I could fill in the gaps without much trouble, but many readers will have a harder time than I did. For these readers, I recommend that they use this book as a complement to a book with a more extended discussion of the language; the author's book "Programming in Prolog" is a fine choice for this.

I think that all serious programmers owe it to themselves to learn about logic programming just to see how easy it makes some problems which are quite difficult to solve in more conventional languages (try writing a symbolic differentiation program in a single page of C++, for instance). I heartily recommend this book for this purpose; it will stretch your mind and make you a better programmer.

Ambivalent review.......2006-12-06

I am of two minds about this book. On the one hand, it suggests surprisingly diverse applications of the language, some of which I never would have imagined, taking advantage of the language's unusual features. My main complaint is with the explicit source code, which is supplied without comments and where variables are often represented by obscure single letters rather than descriptive names, as would normally be the case with textbook examples. If you don't mind this shortcoming, I would recommend this book to anybody interested in Prolog.

Serves its purpose well.......2001-06-20

For those who have experience in logic programming, either with Prolog or some other language, such as Lisp, or even a high-level symbolic programming language like Mathematica or Maple, this book could serve as a first course or a summary of Prolog programming. Research in logic programming is still an active area, and the approach taken in logic programming languages seems more natural from the standpoint of mathematical (predicate) logic. The author, in this short book, gives the reader an appreciation of Prolog and the philosophy and constructions behind logic programming. Many examples are employed that illustrate how to code in Prolog and how useful it can be in real-world applications.

In the first chapter, the author gives some justification for programming in Prolog, such as its symbol manipulation capability, automatic backtracking, the view that data structures and programs are of the same form, and the relational form of clauses. The syntax of Prolog is then discussed, and examples given of the three kinds of terms in Prolog. Readers with some background in category theory will appreciate the discussion more, as the author does employ some of this in the discussion, for example the view of addition as being a functor of a term. Terms are drawn in tree form in this chapter and throughout the book. The author then characterizes a Prolog program as a set of procedures, with each defining a predicate, and consisting of one or more (Horn) clauses. Unification of terms is discussed as a basic operation that determines when two clauses can be made equivalent by a substitution of variables. The execution of a program is viewed as a querying of the clauses, and the goal or e nd of the program is a proof that the goal is true.

Data structures in Prolog are discussed in chapter 2 as generalizations of programs using compound terms instead of just constants and variables. Lists are defined and their syntax discussed, along with dot and bracket notation. The implementation of simple arithmetic in Prolog is discussed. Several effective examples are given to illustrate arithmetic and list manipulation in Prolog.

Mappings, which are relations between two data structures, are the topic of chapter 3, and the author gives many examples illustrating how it is used to compose Prolog programs and how they act an both lists and more general trees.

The built-in predicate "cut" is discussed in the next chapter as a predicate to allow backtracking control of the program. The author gives many examples illustrating the problems involved with the use of "cut".

Difference structures are discussed in chapter 5 as a tool to simplify and increase program efficiency. A generalization of the idea of an accumulator, they allow one to work with "holes" in data structures during actual program execution. A list for example, can be viewed as "open" with its elements known only up to a point. It can then be filled in with an empty or a proper list. A difference list, discussed in the chapter, is then a list represented as a pair of "front" and "back", with the back being variable.

Applications of term rewriting are given in chapter 6, with symbolic differentiation launching the discussion. This is the more popular example of what Prolog-type languages can do, and is usually the reason given for beginning the use of symbolic programming languages. The author also discussed matrix multiplication in this chapter.

The next two chapters discuss the representation and manipulation of logical circuits using Prolog, including shift registers and coding circuits. This is followed in chapter 9 by an interesting discussion on how to write a compiler in Prolog, with the author discussing compilation for a single-accumulator computer, a RISC machine, and a stack machine. This is followed in chapter 10 by an even more interesting discussion on how to write a Fast Fourier transform in Prolog.

The last chapter of the book discusses how to use higher-order functional programming techniques in Prolog. For individuals, like myself, who are convinced that functional and logic programming are the most effective programming paradigms, this chapter is very interesting reading. The author defines an evaluator written in Prolog for these higher-order functional programs. Functional programming views computation as a collection of function applications on an expression representing a particular problem, and these functions can then be viewed as arguments to other functions. The lambda calculus from mathematical logic serves as the foundation for functional programming, and the author reviews this quickly, along with the technique of currying, in order to obtain facilities for functional programming in Prolog. Although short, this chapter introduces the reader to a fascinating area, and helpful references are given at the end of the chapter.

Ideal for a short course on Prolog.......2001-04-25

For years I've tried to find a short Prolog text for my Computer languages course. I cover Prolog in 4 weeks and so didn't want a huge 400+ page text. Clause and Effect comes in at about 1/2 inch thick. I've come to love this one for what it does. It introduces some basic topics, then includes a number of "worksheets" at the end of each chapter. It offers a "learning by doing" approach (the worksheets are short "lab exercises"). A word of warning - don't expect to learn everything about Prolog from this text. It does not go into the philosophy and theory of Prolog and logic programming. But for my needs it's perfect.

Average customer rating:

Definitely a good book
"Where to go next" in your quest for prolog mastery
Indispensable Classic
The Craft of Prolog

The Craft of Prolog (Logic Programming)
Richard O'Keefe
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

The Art of Prolog, Second Edition: Advanced Programming Techniques (Logic Programming)
Prolog: The Standard: Reference Manual
Clause and Effect: Prolog Programming for the Working Programmer
Programming in Prolog: Using the ISO Standard

ASIN: 0262150395

Book Description

Hacking your program is no substitute for understanding your problem. Prolog is different, but not that different. Elegance is not optional. These are the themes that unify Richard O'Keefe's very personal statement on how Prolog programs should be written. The emphasis in The Craft of Prolog is on using Prolog effectively. It presents a loose collection of topics that build on and elaborate concepts learned in a first course. These may be read in any order following the first chapter, "Basic Topics in Prolog," which provides a basis for the rest of the material in the book.

Richard A. O'Keefe is Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He is also a consultant to Quintus Computer Systems, Inc.

Contents: Basic Topics in Prolog. Searching. Where Does the Space Go? Methods of Programming. Data Structure Design. Sequences. Writing Interpreters. Some Notes on Grammar Rules. Prolog Macros. Writing Tokenisers in Prolog. All Solutions.

Customer Reviews:

Definitely a good book.......2006-12-12

I read this book in the library of my University. This book is *not* for beginners. Definitely. But in my opinion this is a *good* thing. This is a 5 star book: those who are not able to understand it, should study a bit more rather than lamenting about the book being too difficult.

"Where to go next" in your quest for prolog mastery.......2004-10-31

The spirit of this book is exemplified by this quote: "If your Prolog code is ugly, the chances are that you either don't understand your problem or you don't understand your programming language, and in neither case does your code stand much chance of being efficient."

This book is O'Keefe's attempt to wipe out both root and branch of bad prolog code. A close reading of this book will not only give you a deep understanding of prolog and logic programming, but it will put you into mental contact with O'Keefe's profound insights into the kind of thinking necessary for being a topflight progammer.

I should mention that this book is not just for prolog programmers. It contains mindbending observations on programming available absolutly nowhere else. Unfortunately, like the scholar of the middle ages who had to master Latin and greek, you'll have to learn prolog before this book will yield up its treasures.

As O'Keefe unambiguously states in the opening paragraphs, this book should NOT be your first, or even your second, book on Prolog. There's no royal road to knowledge; you'll have to pay your dues. But after you've achieved a good foundation, this is the way forwared to enlightenment.

Indispensable Classic.......1999-12-02

This book, although not an introductory text, is widely considered the indespensable classic in writing good Prolog code. Try searching for it in the newsgroup comp.lang.prolog some time on DejaNews.

Prolog does a wonderful job of hiding what is really going on. This book reveals the wonderous truth.

The Craft of Prolog.......1999-11-28

The contents are too confusing and it is definately not for the beginner/intermediate level who want to learn and understand more about prolog.

An Introduction to Programming in Prolog

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An Introduction to Programming in Prolog
Patrick Saint-Dizier
Manufacturer: Springer
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0387971440

An Introduction to Language Processing with Perl and Prolog: An Outline of Theories, Implementation, and Application with Special Consideration of English, French, and German (Cognitive Technologies)

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This book is going to be a classic !!

An Introduction to Language Processing with Perl and Prolog: An Outline of Theories, Implementation, and Application with Special Consideration of English, French, and German (Cognitive Technologies)
Pierre M. Nugues
Manufacturer: Springer
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Binding: Hardcover

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Text Generation: Using Discourse Strategies and Focus Constraints to Generate Natural Language Text (Studies in Natural Language Processing)
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The Oxford Handbook of Computational Linguistics (Oxford Handbooks in Linguistics)

ASIN: 354025031X

Book Description

The areas of natural language processing and computational linguistics have continued to grow in recent years, driven by the demand to automatically process text and spoken data. With the processing power and techniques now available, research is scaling up from lab prototypes to real-world, proven applications.

This book teaches the principles of natural language processing, first covering linguistics issues such as encoding, entropy, and annotation schemes; defining words, tokens and parts of speech; and morphology. It then details the language-processing functions involved, including part-of-speech tagging using rules and stochastic techniques; using Prolog to write phase-structure grammars; parsing techniques and syntactic formalisms; semantics, predicate logic and lexical semantics; and analysis of discourse, and applications in dialog systems. The key feature of the book is the author's hands-on approach throughout, with extensive exercises, sample code in Prolog and Perl, and a detailed introduction to Prolog. The reader is supported with a companion website that contains teaching slides, programs, and additional material.

The book is suitable for researchers and students of natural language processing and computational linguistics.

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This book is going to be a classic !!.......2006-10-10

This is a wonderful, code rich, book on language processing for computational linguists and language engineers. It is both theory and example rich with considerable detail throughout. The book is clearly written and very well structured!!

Highly recommended!

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