13.2  Syntax

• Setting and Getting Tentative Values
• Building and Accessing Conflict Sets
• Propagating Conflicts

13.2.1  Setting and Getting Tentative Values

With the repair library each variable can be given a tentative value. This is different from instantiating the variable. Rather the tentative value is a piece of updatable information associated with the variable. The tentative value can be changed repeatedly during search, not just on backtracking. The value is set using the syntax tent_set, and retrieved using tent_get. For example the following query writes first 1 and then 2:

?- X tent_set 1, 
   X tent_get Tent1, 
   writeln(Tent1), 
   X tent_set 2,
   X tent_get Tent2,
   writeln(Tent2).

Throughout this query X remains a variable.

A tentative variable may violate constraints. The following query writes succeed, because setting the tentative value to 1 does not cause a failure:

?- X $> 2,
   X tent_set 1,
   writeln(succeed).

13.2.2  Building and Accessing Conflict Sets

The relation between constraints and tentative values can be maintained in two ways. The first method is by monitoring a constraint for conflicts.

?- X $> 2 r_conflict myset,
   X tent_set 1,
   writeln(succeed).

This query also succeeds - but additionally it creates a conflict set named myset. Because X $> 2 is violated by the tentative value of X, the constraint is recorded in the conflict set. The conflict set written out by the following query is [X{1} $> 2]:

?- X $> 2 r_conflict myset,
   X tent_set 1,
   conflict_constraints(myset,Conflicts),
   writeln(Conflicts).

The conflict can be repaired by changing the tentative value of the variable which causes it:

This program instantiates Conflicts to [X{1} $> 2], but NoConflicts is instantiated to [].

13.2.3  Propagating Conflicts

Arithmetic equality (=:=, $=) constraints, instead of monitoring for conflicts, can be maintained by propagating tentative values. To do so, they must be rewritten in a functional syntax. Consider the constraint X =:= Y+1. For propagation of tentative values, this must be rewritten in the form X tent_is Y+1. If the tentative value of Y is set to 1, then this will be propagated to the tentative value of X. The following query writes out the value 2.

?- X tent_is Y+1,
   Y tent_set 1,
   X tent_get(TentX),
   writeln(TentX).

Each time the tentative value of Y is changed, the value of X is kept in step, so the following writes out the value 3:

?- X tent_is Y+1,
   Y tent_set 1,
   Y tent_set 2,
   X tent_get(TentX),
   writeln(TentX).

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Repair supports the following primitives: tent_set/2 tent_get/2 r_conflict/2 conflict_constraints/2 tent_is/2 (and some others that are not covered in this tutorial).

Figure 13.2: Syntax

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