A.4  Syntax Differences between ECLⁱPS^e and other Prologs

ECLⁱPS^e supports the following extensions of Prolog syntax:

• Attributed variables: X{Attr}.
• Rational numbers: 3_4.
• Bounded real numbers: 1.99__2.01.
• Array subscripts: Matrix[3,4].
• Structures with named fields: emp{age:33,salary:33000}.
• Binary prefix operators: some X p(X).

Some of these extensions can be disabled via syntax option settings (this is done for example by the compatibility packages). In addition to the above extensions, the following minor differences exist between default ECLⁱPS^e syntax and most Prolog systems:

• In ECLⁱPS^e, end of file is accepted as fullstop.
• By default, an unquoted vertical bar can be used as an atom or functor (controlled by the syntax option bar_is_no_atom).
• By default, operators with precedence higher than 1000 are allowed in a comma-separated list of terms, i.e., structure arguments and lists. The ambiguity is resolved by considering commas as argument separators rather than operators inside the term. Thus, for example,

  p(a :- b, c)
  

  is accepted and parsed as p/2. This behaviour can be disabled (and turned into a syntax error) by setting the syntax option limit_arg_precedence.
• By default, double-quoted items are parsed as strings, not as character lists. This behaviour can be changed via set_chtab/2 which allows string-quotes, list-quotes and atom-quotes to be redefined.
• By default, consecutive string- or list-quotes have the effect of concatenating the quoted items, while consecutive atom-quotes have no special meaning. This can be changed by using the syntax option doubled_quote_is_quote.
• By default, blank space between a sign and a number is significant: When there is no space between sign and number, the sign is taken as part of the number. With space, the sign is taken as prefix operator. This is controlled by the syntax option blanks_after_sign.