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From: eiverson@nmsu.edu (Eric Iverson)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.prolog
Subject: making a "call" to a text file
Message-ID: <EIVERSON.90Jul19123922@aigyptos.nmsu.edu>
Date: 19 Jul 90 18:39:22 GMT
Sender: news@NMSU.edu
Distribution: comp
Organization: NMSU Computer Science
Lines: 51


I am working with a very large text file of dictionary definitions in
prolog format.  What I would like to do is write a routine that does a
virtual call without actually consulting the file.  That is to say, I
would like to somehow just get the term I want from the file and unify
it with a prolog variable.

This obvious thing to do is a simple: read(Stream,Functor(Var1,...VarN)).
However, while this works, it is far too slow for multiple queries.
Is there something that could be implemented under grep or sed or lex
that would do the same thing?

Below is a sample of what I am trying to call:

int(play(v,12),
     [[genera,
         [[ancestor, [perform(v,1)]]]],
      [differentia,
         [[source,
             [[preference,
                 [[agent, [human_being(n,1)]],
                  [object, [music(n,1)]]]],
              [assertion,[]]]],
          [target, []]]]]).

adjective(green,[green(aj,1),green(aj,2),green(aj,3)]).

int(green(aj,1),
     [[genera,
         [[superproperty, [coloured(aj,1)]],
          [property, [green(n,1)]]]],
      [differentia,
         [[source,
             [[preference,
                 [[object, 
                     [[bounds(n,1), [bounded(aj,1)]],
                      [extent(n,1), [[not(aj,1),zero_dimensional(aj,1)]]],
                      [composition(n,1), [physical(n,1)]],
                      [animacy(n,1), [nonliving(aj,1)]]]]]],
              [assertion,
                 [[object, 
                     [[colour(n,1), [green(aj,1)]]]]]]]],
          [target, []]]]]).
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Iverson				Internet: eiverson@nmsu.edu
Computing Research Lab
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