Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Path: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!RELAY.CS.NET!JREECE%sc.intel.com From: JREECE%sc.intel.com@RELAY.CS.NET Newsgroups: mod.ai Subject: Turbo Prolog - Yet Another Opinion Message-ID: <8610060616.AA12837@ucbvax> Date: Fri, 26-Sep-86 14:40:00 EDT Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8610060616.AA12837 Posted: Fri Sep 26 14:40:00 1986 Date-Received: Mon, 6-Oct-86 06:13:51 EDT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The ARPA Internet Lines: 17 Approved: ailist@sri-stripe.arpa Although Turbo Prolog has been characterized by some wags as a "brain-dead implementation" I think its mixture of strengths and weaknesses would be more accurately described as those of an idiot savant. Some of the extensions, such as the built-in string editor predicates, are positively serendipitous, and you get most of the development time advantages of a fifth generation language for a conventional application plus good runtime performance for only $70. On the other hand, one tires quickly of writing NP-incomplete sets of type declarations which are unnecessary in any other implementation.... If nothing else, for $70 you can prototype something that can be used to justify spending $700 for a real PC Prolog compiler, or $18,000 for a VAX implementation. John Reece Intel