Tabling, Rational Terms, and Coinduction Finally Together!

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2014

Authors

Theofrastos Mantadelis (Author) Other; Ricardo Rocha (Author) FCUP; Paulo Moura (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Theory and Practice of Logic Programming

Vol. 14

Pages: 429-443

ISSN: 1471-0684

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 4 Citations

Scopus - 7 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences > Computer and information sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-009-PQG

DOI: 10.1017/s147106841400012x

Abstract (EN): Tabling is a commonly used technique in logic programming for avoiding cyclic behavior of logic programs and enabling more declarative program definitions. Furthermore, tabling often improves computational performance. Rational term are terms with one or more infinite sub-terms but with a finite representation. Rational terms can be generated in Prolog by omitting the occurs check when unifying two terms. Applications of rational terms include definite clause grammars, constraint handling systems, and coinduction. In this paper, we report our extension of YAP's Prolog tabling mechanism to support rational terms. We describe the internal representation of rational terms within the table space and prove its correctness. We then use this extension to implement a tabling based approach to coinduction. We compare our approach with current coinductive transformations and describe the implementation. In addition, we present an algorithm that ensures a canonical representation for rational terms.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 15