Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!munnari.oz.au!goanna!ok
From: ok@goanna.cs.rmit.oz.au (Richard A. O'Keefe)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.prolog
Subject: Re: Good public domain MS/DOS Prologs?
Keywords: teaching, need_one_for_students
Message-ID: <4390@goanna.cs.rmit.oz.au>
Date: 28 Nov 90 07:09:38 GMT
References: <1990Nov20.214924.18056@cbnewsd.att.com> <7398@hub.ucsb.edu>
Organization: Comp Sci, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia
Lines: 32

In article <7398@hub.ucsb.edu>, 6600dt@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu (David Goggin) writes:
> In article <1990Nov20.214924.18056@cbnewsd.att.com> tracy@cbnewsd.att.com (kim.tracy) writes:
> >I'm looking for a good public domain prolog for use in teaching my AI
> >class.

ALS Prolog is not free or PD, but the "personal" version for the PC is
pretty cheap.  (If I remember correctly my copy was about AUS$140.)

> > yes	a. Run under MS/DOS
> > yes	b. Follow Clocksin/Mellish syntax, more or less
> > yes	c. Have a sufficient feature set to be able to do some 
> >		interesting projects
> > yes	d. Be cheap (yes) or free (no), so that the students can afford it.
> > 	e. Be free of large bugs.
I haven't found any large bugs.  A student came across one case where it
silently failed to compile a clause that was rather complex, but since
listing/1 works on compiled code in ALS Prolog you can check that.  The
way they integrate grammar rules into the system is in my opinion a design
mistake, but it does work as documented.

> BORALND HAS DISCONTINUED TURBO PROLOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!

> Is that shocking or what??????????????

It's the best thing that's happened to the Prolog market for a long time.
However, "PDC Prolog" is still on the market, it's no longer Borland that
sell it.

Let me put it this way:  the Turbo Prolog environment has more windows,
but ALS Prolog is less "pane".
-- 
I am not now and never have been a member of Mensa.		-- Ariadne.