may15version.txt

1.I'll show you through a bit of prolog code, then talk about why the paradigm's interesting.

Learning a 'weird' language teaches you more than learning a similar one. Prolog's got the cake for weird.
Prolog is the only commonly used logic programming language.

2. BRIEF intro to 
capitals start variables
lowercase starts atoms
unification, resolution, and backtracking.
Trace into cannibals2nocomment, quickly to canoeCarries


Nondeterminism
   - reduces code size
   - input and output aren't fixed, vastly reducing API size
         (consider append, which is also prefix, suffix, and member)
   - declarative code can just define the problem, not define the steps needed to reach it.
   - has-a and has-many are the same thing.
   - error handling 'built in'
   - lack of control structures encourage metaprogramming
   - Partial structures, generate and test

Knowledge and facts - Knowledge lets us:
   - handle complexly structured data, data with exceptions, general rules.
   -schemaless DB is effectively a base type.
   - structure data as you go
   - code isn't just convertable to data, code IS data.
   - case based reasoning reduces coupling.
   - 'family tree' type reasoning is powerful for real world tasks too.

matching based calls
   - Closer to a true abstract type system than multimethods
   - radical destructuring, 'coding in the head'
   - passing structured data means not needing to know format everywhere.
   - post object world.

good data types
    - structure-as-you-go data is a type, like lisp.
    - String and StringBuffer without the pain

parsing as a fundamental operation
   - death to XML
   - we don't need regex's