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There are functions such as square,
which can be called like relations (i.e. as a prefix to parenthesized arguments)
such as in square(3), and which
return values. Thus, function calls can be nested, call-by-value, into
other operator (function or relation) calls as illustrated by <(square(3),+(2,3,5)).
Even built-in RELFUN operators such as the polyadic + and < are written in prefix notation.
Relations can be defined by Horn clauses, much like in PROLOG.
Functions can be defined by directed equations, either unconditionally
as in square(X) :& *(X,X). or
conditionally as in square(X) :- numberp(X)
& *(X,X). Conditional equations thus are like PROLOG clauses
with an ampersand--instead of a comma--preceding the value to be returned.
RELFUN functions may--like PROLOG relations--bind free actual arguments.
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Since (round) parentheses are used--as in mathematics and most programming
languages--to denote active function and relation calls, [square] brackets
are used to denote passive structures (i.e. constructor applications),
such as in address[dfki,kl,de].
Even when there are no function calls, the use of brackets for structures
--as for lists--is clearer than PROLOG's use of parentheses for both relation
calls and structures: it sets apart calls like works(ludwig,address[dfki,kl,de])
from nested structures like room[wittgenstein,address[dfki,kl,de]].
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Higher-order notations are permitted for functions, relations, and constructors
by allowing them to be, e.g., structures as in twice[square](3),
partition[<](2,[3,2,1],Sm,Gr),
and address[office][dfki,kl,de]. Free
variables are also allowed in operator positions as in R(john,mary),
querying for arbitrary relationships between fixed individuals.
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PROLOG's cut operator in RELFUN is viewed as a determinism specifier not
only for relations but also for functions, which is natural since RELFUN
functions may--again like PROLOG relations--non-deterministically enumerate
several solutions. For instance, these are (cutless) definitions
of a non-deterministic membrn relation
and membfn function:
| membrn(X,[X|R]). |
membfn(X,[X|R]) :& [X|R]. |
| membrn(X,[Y|R]) :- membrn(X,R). |
membfn(X,[Y|R]) :& membfn(X,R). |
E.g., membfn(fone,[email,fone,web,fone])
enumerates the values [fone,web,fone] and
[fone].
But the following (neck-cut) definitions specify
a membrd relation and membfd
function deterministically, thus confining themselves to the first of the above solutions:
| membrd(X,[X|R])!. |
membfd(X,[X|R]) !& [X|R]. |
| membrd(X,[Y|R]) :- membrd(X,R). |
membfd(X,[Y|R]) :& membfd(X,R). |
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For pure DATALOG, the syntax of RELFUN does not differ from the one of
PROLOG. However, as indicated in 2., PROLOG structures like address(dfki,Site,de)
in RELFUN become address[dfki,Site,de],
while PROLOG's parenthesized notation in RELFUN would try to call address
as an active operator. PROLOG's
vertical bar for rest lists in RELFUN is generalized to arbitrary polyadic structures
and calls, and may occur immediately after an opening bracket or parenthesis.
PROLOG's is-primitive in
RELFUN becomes .=, which permits
arbitrary user-defined right-hand-side functions, rather than just arithmetic
built-ins. PROLOG's clauses are generalized for value returning by replacing
the right-most conjunctive comma by an ampersand (conditional equations),
where :-
& may be joined to :&
(unconditional equations). The cut is regarded as part of the clause syntax
(replacing a comma), not as a kind of argumentless built-in call (between
commas); for neck cuts, it may be joined with
:- or :& to
!- or !&. Unlike in
PROLOG, top-level calls are not terminated by a period, since this is again
considered as part of the clause syntax.
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PROLOG's bagof is replaced by RELFUN's
tupof primitive, which returns
its list of solutions as--cf. 4.--in tupof(membfn([fone,Nr],[[email,_],[fone,311],[web,_],[fone,312]])),
returning [[[fone,311],[web,_],[fone,312]],[[fone,312]]].
PROLOG's negation as failure or \+ in RELFUN is
naf; the once
primitives are the same. RELFUN's arithmetic and list built-ins, however,
where mostly inspired by LISP. The command builtins
shows built-in functions, relations, and extra-logicals; help
shows further commands, of which more
or m replaces PROLOG's semicolon
for obtaining further solutions. There is a prelude containing--among many
other definitions--a LISP-list-like
function tup(|Elems) :& [|Elems].
for listifying a variable-length sequence of call-by-value evaluated elements.
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Functions can be transformed into PROLOG-like relations by RELFUN's relationalize
and rf2pro commands; deterministic relations can be transformed into LISP-like
functions by its FLIP package. Still, the direct availability of all the
RELFUN operator kinds has turned out to provide a natural functional-logic
integration idiom for various applications. The semantic formalization
of pure RELFUN parallels SLD resolution and Herbrand models for pure PROLOG.
Full RELFUN is available as an interpreter written in LISP; for efficiency,
the RELFUN compiler expands on PROLOG's WAM technology, using an emulator
rewritten in C.