Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!decwrl!labrea!jade!ucbvax!ji.Berkeley.EDU!carlton From: carlton@ji.Berkeley.EDU (Mike Carlton) Newsgroups: comp.lang.prolog Subject: Re: Looking For Prolog Machines Message-ID: <21570@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> Date: Mon, 2-Nov-87 21:27:59 EST Article-I.D.: ucbvax.21570 Posted: Mon Nov 2 21:27:59 1987 Date-Received: Fri, 6-Nov-87 21:49:46 EST References: <454@trwspf.TRW.COM> <30115@sun.uucp> Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Reply-To: carlton@ji.Berkeley.EDU (Mike Carlton) Organization: University of California, Berkeley Lines: 95 In article <30115@sun.uucp> ram%shukra@Sun.COM (Renu Raman, Sun Microsystems) writes: >In article <454@trwspf.TRW.COM>, thomsen@trwspf.TRW.COM (Mark Thomsen) writes: ... >> I would like any references or descriptions on Prolog machines that you guys >> know of. I will submit a summary of received data in a few weeks. Thanks! ... > If you talk of prolog hardware - the fastest available today is from > UCB called PLM. (Yeah! they are a few orders of magnitude faster than > Japanese PSI - How about a university project out-performing a > national project) Al. Despain has been instrumental in its development > and so are Dobry, Srini, P. Van Roy & co. The First Hardware was > available thru Xenologic [X-1] which hooks onto a Sun VME backplane was > performing at 300K lips and the new CMOS version is > 500K (maybe 800K. > I think the PSI barely reaches 3 figures). Apparently the new CMOS version > (I don't know how true this is) is available as a MOSIS tape and > you can probably license it and fabricate it. There is a pretty > efficient compiler that goes along with it (Written by Van Roy). > I guess the new PLM hardware hooks onto an NCR (as it was developed > thru an NCR grant). ... > Hope this helps. Info given here are from sketchy info that I > have gathered. If there is any wrong info here - please correct me > [I am sure Despain & Co. read this newsgroup]. > >--------------------- > Renu Raman ARPA:ram@sun.com > Sun Microsystems UUCP:{ucbvax,seismo,hplabs}!sun!ram > M/S 5-40, 2500 Garcia Avenue, > Mt. View, CA 94043 Thanks for the kind words. Let me give some background on the Aquarius project here at Berkeley. The group has built several Prolog machines to date, beginning with an NCR 9300 based system. Prolog programs were compiled to WAM (Warren Abstract Machine) and then to microcode. With a cycle time of 150 ns., this system achieved 53 KLIPS for determinate concat in 1985. The next machine, the PLM, was a TTL implementation of the WAM with some local improvements, see [Dobry87]. The PLM was simulated to run at 400 KLIPS for determinate concat, based on a 100 ns. cycle. Another project implemented the WAM instruction set in microcode on a VAX 8600. This machine, with an 80 ns. cycle, reached 108 KLIPS on determinate concat. The most recent machine (chip actually) is the VLSI PLM, being fabricated right now. This is a 200K equivalent transistor, 1.4 micron CMOS implement- ation of an extended PLM. With a cycle time of 100 ns. this chip has been simulated at 416 KLIPS for determinate concat and 98 KLIPS for Warren's Chat program. The Prolog compiler used for most of this research was written by Peter Van Roy [VanRoy85], and is available directly from him. He can be reached via email at vanroy@ji.berkeley.edu. Unfortunately, the VLSI PLM is not available as a MOSIS tape as Renu's message indicated. The chip was funded in part by NCR and they are fabricating it for us and for their own use. Our focus has shifted away from single processor systems; current research centers around parallel execution Prolog machines. For some results from recent work in this area, see [Fagin87]. Altogether, more than 50 papers and reports have been produced by the Aquarius project. If anyone would like a list of the publications, please send electronic mail to Kathleen Nimr (nimr@ji.berkeley.edu). Most of these publications are still available from her. As for commercial products, Xenologic licensed the PLM design from the university and has designed an improved version, called the X-1. This is a set of 2 VME boards which plug into a Sun workstation and function as a coprocessor. I don't have exact performance figures for their machine, but have been told that they are better than the PLM. If you would like more information you can contact Xenologic at 39899 Balentine Dr., Suite 145, Newark, CA 94560. Their phone number is (415) 656-0708. Hope this helps, if you would like more information or have any questions please send us mail, Mike (and the rest of the Aquarius group) carlton@ji.berkeley.edu or ...!ucbvax!ji!carlton References: Dobry, T., "A High Performance Architecture for Prolog", Ph.D Dissertation, UCB, May 1987 Fagin, B., Despain, A., "Performance Studies of a Parallel Prolog Architecture", 14th ICSA, June 1987 Van Roy, P., "A Prolog Compiler for the PLM", UCB/CSD Report No. 84/203, November 1984 Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with Xenologic (other than wanting my own X-1 for the Sun in my office!). However, some members of our research group do have connections with Xenologic. This should not be construed as an advertisement for Xenologic.