Prolog

Prolog is a declarative logic programming language widely used in artificial intelligence, expert systems, automated reasoning, and computational linguistics. Programs in Prolog consist of facts and rules that define relationships, which can then be queried.

Installation

SWI-Prolog is the industry-standard Prolog implementation on Linux. You can install it directly using apt or add the official PPA for the latest version.

Using Standard APT

apt update
apt install -y swi-prolog

Using Official SWI-Prolog PPA (Latest Release)

To install the latest stable version from the official repository:

apt update
apt install -y software-properties-common
add-apt-repository -y ppa:swi-prolog/stable
apt update
apt install -y swi-prolog

Verification

Verify that SWI-Prolog is properly installed:

swipl --version

Writing and Running Code

Create a Prolog file named hello.pl:

:- initialization(main, main).

main :-
    writeln('Hello from Prolog in TIDE!'),
    halt.

Executing directly

Run the script from the command line:

swipl -q -g main -t halt hello.pl

Compiling to a Standalone Executable

You can compile a Prolog source file into a native binary executable using swipl:

swipl -o hello -c hello.pl
./hello

Interactive REPL

To start the SWI-Prolog interactive shell:

swipl

To exit the REPL, type halt. and press Enter.

Official Resources

• Official Website