Contents

• Chapter 1  Introduction
  • 1.1  What is ECLⁱPS^e ?
  • 1.2  Overview
  • 1.3  Further Information
  • 1.4  Reporting Problems
• Chapter 2  Terminology
• Chapter 3  Getting started with ECLⁱPS^e
  • 3.1  How do I install the ECLⁱPS^e system?
  • 3.2  How do I run my ECLⁱPS^e programs?
  • 3.3  How do I use TkECLⁱPS^e?
    • 3.3.1  Getting started
  • 3.4  How do I write an ECLⁱPS^e program?
    • 3.4.1  Compiling a program
    • 3.4.2  Executing a query
    • 3.4.3  Editing a file
    • 3.4.4  Debugging a program
    • 3.4.5  Getting help
    • 3.4.6  Other tools
    • 3.4.7  Preference Editor
  • 3.5  How do I use eclipse?
    • 3.5.1  Getting started
    • 3.5.2  Interacting with the top level loop
    • 3.5.3  Compiling a program
    • 3.5.4  Entering a program from the terminal
    • 3.5.5  Executing a query
    • 3.5.6  Interrupting the execution
    • 3.5.7  Debugging a program
    • 3.5.8  The history mechanism
    • 3.5.9  Getting help
  • 3.6  How do I make things happen at compile time?
  • 3.7  How do I use ECLⁱPS^e libraries in my programs?
  • 3.8  How do I make my programs run faster?
  • 3.9  Other tips
    • 3.9.1  Initialization at start-up
    • 3.9.2  Recommended file names
• Chapter 4  The TkECLⁱPS^e Development Tools
  • 4.1  Display Matrix
    • 4.1.1  Invoking display matrix tool interactively
  • 4.2  Using the development tools in applications
    • 4.2.1  Using the Development tools in the Tcl/Tk Embedding Interface
    • 4.2.2  Using the Remote Development Tools
• Chapter 5  ECLⁱPS^e-specific Language Features
  • 5.1  Structure Notation
    • 5.1.1  Updating Structures
    • 5.1.2  Arity and Functor of Structures
    • 5.1.3  Printing Structures
    • 5.1.4  Inheritance
    • 5.1.5  Visibility
  • 5.2  Loop/Iterator Constructs
    • 5.2.1  Examples
  • 5.3  Array Notation
    • 5.3.1  Implementation Note
  • 5.4  The String Data Type
    • 5.4.1  Choosing The Appropriate Data Type
    • 5.4.2  Built-in Support for Strings
  • 5.5  Matching Clauses
  • 5.6  Soft Cut
• Chapter 6  The Compiler
  • 6.1  Summary
  • 6.2  Compiler Invocation
    • 6.2.1  Source Files
    • 6.2.2  Main Compiler Options
  • 6.3  Source Structure
    • 6.3.1  Clauses and Predicates
    • 6.3.2  Compilation and Modules
    • 6.3.3  Incrementality
  • 6.4  Directives
    • 6.4.1  Modules and Declarations
    • 6.4.2  Conditional Compilation
    • 6.4.3  Include Directives
    • 6.4.4  Compiler Pragmas
  • 6.5  Precompiled (ECO) Files
    • 6.5.1  Making Precompiled Files
    • 6.5.2  Restrictions
    • 6.5.3  Loading Precompiled Files
    • 6.5.4  Using the Compiler with a Makefile
  • 6.6  Special Compiler Features
    • 6.6.1  Compiling Non-Textual Source
    • 6.6.2  Mode Declarations
    • 6.6.3  Inlining
    • 6.6.4  Clause Expansion
  • 6.7  Writing Efficient Code
  • 6.8  Implementation Notes
• Chapter 7  Engines and Threads
• Chapter 8  The Module System
  • 8.1  Basics
    • 8.1.1  Purpose of Modules
    • 8.1.2  What is under Visibility Control?
    • 8.1.3  What Modules are There?
  • 8.2  Getting Started
    • 8.2.1  Creating a Module
    • 8.2.2  Exporting
    • 8.2.3  Importing
    • 8.2.4  Definitions, Visibility and Accessibility
  • 8.3  Advanced Topics
    • 8.3.1  Solving Name Conflicts
    • 8.3.2  Qualified Access via :/2
    • 8.3.3  Reexport - Making Modules from Modules
    • 8.3.4  Modules and Source Files
    • 8.3.5  Tools and Context Modules
    • 8.3.6  Lookup Module vs Context Module
    • 8.3.7  The Module Interface
    • 8.3.8  Module-related Predicate Properties
  • 8.4  Less Common Topics
    • 8.4.1  Modules That Use Other Languages
    • 8.4.2  Creating and Erasing Modules at Runtime
    • 8.4.3  Initialization and Finalization
    • 8.4.4  Locking Modules
• Chapter 9  Arithmetic Evaluation
  • 9.1  Built-Ins to Evaluate Arithmetic Expressions
    • 9.1.1  Arithmetic Evaluation vs Arithmetic Constraint Solving
  • 9.2  Numeric Types and Type Conversions
    • 9.2.1  Integers
    • 9.2.2  Rationals
    • 9.2.3  Floating Point Numbers
    • 9.2.4  Bounded Real Numbers
    • 9.2.5  Type Conversions
  • 9.3  Arithmetic Functions
    • 9.3.1  Predefined Arithmetic Functions
    • 9.3.2  Evaluation Mechanism
    • 9.3.3  User Defined Arithmetic Functions
    • 9.3.4  Runtime Expressions
  • 9.4  Low Level Arithmetic Builtins
  • 9.5  The Multi-Directional Arithmetic Predicates
  • 9.6  Arithmetic and Coroutining
• Chapter 10  Non-logical Storage and References
  • 10.1  Introduction
  • 10.2  Bags
  • 10.3  Records
  • 10.4  Shelves
  • 10.5  Stores
  • 10.6  Non-logical Variables
  • 10.7  Non-logical Arrays
  • 10.8  Global References
• Chapter 11  Input and Output
  • 11.1  Streams
    • 11.1.1  Predefined Streams
    • 11.1.2  Stream Handles and Aliases
    • 11.1.3  Opening New Streams
    • 11.1.4  Closing Streams
    • 11.1.5  Redirecting Streams
    • 11.1.6  Finding Streams
    • 11.1.7  Stream Properties
  • 11.2  Communication via Streams
    • 11.2.1  Character I/O
    • 11.2.2  Token I/O
    • 11.2.3  Term I/O
    • 11.2.4  Newlines
    • 11.2.5  General Parsing and Text Generation
    • 11.2.6  Flushing
    • 11.2.7  Prompting
    • 11.2.8  Positioning
  • 11.3  In-memory Streams
    • 11.3.1  String Streams
    • 11.3.2  Queue streams
  • 11.4  Term Output Formats
    • 11.4.1  Write_term and Printf
    • 11.4.2  Other Term Output Predicates
    • 11.4.3  Default Output Options
• Chapter 12  Dynamic Code
  • 12.1  Compiling Procedures as Dynamic or Static
  • 12.2  Altering programs at run time
  • 12.3  Differences between static and dynamic code
• Chapter 13  ECLⁱPS^e Macros
  • 13.1  Introduction
  • 13.2  Using the macros
    • 13.2.1  Source annotation aware macro transformations
  • 13.3  Definite Clause Grammars — DCGs
    • 13.3.1  Simple DCG example
    • 13.3.2  Mapping to Prolog clauses
    • 13.3.3  Parsing other data structures
• Chapter 14  Events and Interrupts
  • 14.1  Events
    • 14.1.1  Event Identifiers and Event Handling
    • 14.1.2  Raising Events
    • 14.1.3  Events and Waking
    • 14.1.4  Aborting an Execution with Events
  • 14.2  Errors
    • 14.2.1  Error Handlers
    • 14.2.2  Arguments of Error Handlers
    • 14.2.3  User Defined Errors
  • 14.3  Interrupts
    • 14.3.1  Interrupt Identifiers
    • 14.3.2  Asynchronous handling
• Chapter 15  Debugging
  • 15.1  The Box Model
    • 15.1.1  Breakpoints
  • 15.2  Format of the Tracing Messages
  • 15.3  Debugging-related Predicate Properties
  • 15.4  Starting the Debugger
  • 15.5  Debugging Parts of Programs
    • 15.5.1  Mixing debuggable and non-debuggable code
  • 15.6  Using the Debugger via the Command Line Interface
    • 15.6.1  Counters and Command Arguments
    • 15.6.2  Commands to Continue Execution
    • 15.6.3  Commands to Modify Execution
    • 15.6.4  Display Commands
    • 15.6.5  Navigating among Goals
    • 15.6.6  Inspecting Goals and Data
    • 15.6.7  Changing the Settings
    • 15.6.8  Environment Commands
  • 15.7  Extending the Debugger
    • 15.7.1  User-defined Ports
    • 15.7.2  Attaching a Different User Interface
  • 15.8  Switching To Creep Mode With CTRL-C
• Chapter 16  Development Support Tools
  • 16.1  Available Tools and Libraries
  • 16.2  Heuristic Program Checker
  • 16.3  Document Generation Tools
  • 16.4  Cross Referencing Tool
  • 16.5  Pretty Printer Tool
  • 16.6  Timing Profiler
  • 16.7  Port Profiler
  • 16.8  Line coverage
    • 16.8.1  Compilation
    • 16.8.2  Results
  • 16.9  Mode analysis
• Chapter 17  Attributed Variables
  • 17.1  Introduction
  • 17.2  Declaration
  • 17.3  Syntax
  • 17.4  Creating Attributed Variables
  • 17.5  Decomposing Attributed Variables
  • 17.6  Attribute Modification
  • 17.7  Attributed Variable Handlers
    • 17.7.1  Printing Attributed Variables
  • 17.8  Built-Ins and Attributed Variables
  • 17.9  Examples of Using Attributed Variables
    • 17.9.1  Variables with Enumerated Domains
  • 17.10  Attribute Specification
• Chapter 18  Advanced Control Features
  • 18.1  Introduction
  • 18.2  Concepts
    • 18.2.1  The Structured Resolvent
    • 18.2.2  Floundering
  • 18.3  Suspending Built-Ins and the Suspend-Library
  • 18.4  Development System Support
  • 18.5  Declarative Suspension: Delay Clauses
  • 18.6  Explicit suspension with suspend/3
  • 18.7  Waking conditions
    • 18.7.1  Standard Waking Conditions on Variables
    • 18.7.2  Library-defined Waking Conditions on Variables
    • 18.7.3  Global Symbolic Waking Conditions: Triggers
  • 18.8  Lower-level Primitives
    • 18.8.1  Suspensions and Suspension Lists
    • 18.8.2  Creating Suspended Goals
    • 18.8.3  Operations on Suspensions
    • 18.8.4  Examining the Resolvent
    • 18.8.5  Attaching Suspensions to Variables
    • 18.8.6  User-defined Suspension Lists
    • 18.8.7  Attaching Suspensions to Global Triggers
    • 18.8.8  Scheduling Suspensions for Waking
  • 18.9  Demon Predicates
  • 18.10  More about Priorities
    • 18.10.1  Changing Priority Explicitly
    • 18.10.2  Choice of Priorities
  • 18.11  Details of the Execution Mechanism
    • 18.11.1  Particularities of Waking by Unification
    • 18.11.2  Cuts and Suspended Goals
  • 18.12  Simulating the Delay-Primitives of other Systems
• Chapter 19  More About Suspension
  • 19.1  Waiting for Instantiation
  • 19.2  Waiting for Binding
  • 19.3  Waiting for other Constraints
• Chapter 20  Memory Organisation And Garbage Collection
  • 20.1  Introduction
    • 20.1.1  The Shared/Private Heap
    • 20.1.2  The Local Stack
    • 20.1.3  The Control Stack
    • 20.1.4  The Global Stack
    • 20.1.5  The Trail Stack
  • 20.2  Garbage collection
• Chapter 21  Operating System Interface
  • 21.1  Introduction
  • 21.2  Environment Access
    • 21.2.1  Command Line Arguments
    • 21.2.2  Environment Variables
    • 21.2.3  Exiting ECLⁱPS^e
    • 21.2.4  Time and Date
    • 21.2.5  Host Computer
    • 21.2.6  Calling C Functions
  • 21.3  File System
    • 21.3.1  Current Directory
    • 21.3.2  Looking at Directories
    • 21.3.3  Checking Files
    • 21.3.4  Renaming and Removing Files
    • 21.3.5  File names
  • 21.4  Creating Communicating Processes
    • 21.4.1  Process creation
    • 21.4.2  Process control
    • 21.4.3  Interprocess Signals
• Chapter 22  Interprocess Communication
  • 22.1  Socket Domains
  • 22.2  Stream Connection (internet domain)
  • 22.3  Datagram Connection (internet domain)
  • 22.4  Stream Connection (unix domain)
  • 22.5  Datagram Connection (unix domain)
• Chapter 23  Language Dialects, ISO Prolog and Porting Prolog Applications
  • 23.1  Using compatibility language dialects
    • 23.1.1  ISO Prolog
    • 23.1.2  Compiler versus interpreter
  • 23.2  Porting programs to plain ECLⁱPS^e
  • 23.3  Exploiting the features of ECLⁱPS^e
• Appendix A  Syntax
  • A.1  Introduction
  • A.2  Notation
    • A.2.1  Character Classes
    • A.2.2  Groups of characters
    • A.2.3  Valid Tokens
  • A.3  Formal definition of clause syntax
    • A.3.1  Comments
    • A.3.2  Operators
    • A.3.3  Operator Ambiguities
  • A.4  Syntax Differences between ECLⁱPS^e and other Prologs
  • A.5  Changing the Parser’s behaviour
  • A.6  Short and Canonical Syntax
• Appendix B  Operators
• Appendix C  Events
  • C.1  Event Types
    • C.1.1  Argument Types and Values
    • C.1.2  Arithmetic, Environment
    • C.1.3  Data and Memory Areas, Predicates, Operators
    • C.1.4  Modules, Visibility
    • C.1.5  Syntax Errors, Parsing
    • C.1.6  Compilation, Run-Time System, Execution
    • C.1.7  Top-Level
    • C.1.8  Macro Transformation Errors, Lexical Analyser
    • C.1.9  I/O, Operating System, External Interface
    • C.1.10  Debugging, Object Files
    • C.1.11  Extensions
  • C.2  Stack Overflows
  • C.3  ECLⁱPS^e Fatal Errors
  • C.4  User-Defined Events
• Appendix D  Command Line and Startup Options
  • D.1  Command Line Options
  • D.2  TkECLⁱPS^e Startup Settings
• Appendix E  Style Guide
  • E.1  Style rules
  • E.2  Module structure
  • E.3  Predicate definition
• Appendix F  Restrictions and Limits