zipc compiles Prolog to Clocksin's 1984 ZIP machine to make trilog run leaner
A ZIP-style Prolog VM for trilog
A work-in-progress compiler and virtual machine, written in C and Prolog, that targets the ZIP abstract machine from Clocksin's 1984 paper on sequential Prolog. The compiler, running on Scryer Prolog, emits a binary image that the VM loads and executes. The aim is to benchmark it against trilog's current runtime: compiling clauses instead of interpreting them with the ABC algorithm should cut instruction count and memory use. If the MVP holds up, zipc could become trilog's backend.
Either way, trilog interprets clauses as terms with the ABC algorithm, and compiling them to ZIP should make the same programs run in fewer instructions and less memory.
- donutdonot
Prolog is such a weird yet interesting language. Fun times having to program it back in University.
Are there any modern use cases of prolog left, or is it more of academic interest?