Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Appendix B
Getting Started with SWI-Prolog
To be able to follow the many Prolog examples in the topic and to run your own
programs, you will need to have access to a Prolog system installed on the computer
you are using. To simplify matters, the topic only discusses the SWI-Prolog system. If
for some reason, you are forced to deal with another dialect of Prolog, see appendix D
for some of the differences you may run into.
Ideally, a computer expert will install SWI-Prolog for you on your computer and
tell you what to do with your Prolog files. From that point on, everything else you
need to know is covered in this topic starting in chapter 3.
In case there is no computer expert around, you will need to do the installation
yourself. Take it slowly, make sure everything works as you go, and get as much
help as you can. Section B.1 deals with the installation of SWI-Prolog, and section B.2
covers how to load and run your own Prolog programs.
Warning . The instructions in this appendix may go out of date. Computers change,
operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux) change, and Prolog systems change. If
too much has changed, these instructions may no longer work and you will need
help from an expert.
B.1
Installing SWI-Prolog
This section concerns installing the free SWI-Prolog software on a computer that you
control. If you are using a shared computer , as in a lab at a university, you will not
be able to install any software yourself. If SWI-Prolog is already installed, you are in
luck; find out how to start it, and then go on to the next section. If SWI-Prolog is not
installed, you will need to ask around to see what your options are; another dialect
of Prolog may be installed, or you may be out of luck.
With Windows
To install SWI-Prolog under Windows, begin by downloading an installation package
from http://www.swi-prolog.org/download/stable/ . The latest version of SWI-
Prolog should run under the latest version of Windows. (Note: You can always safely
use a 32-bit version.) Then follow the installation instructions.
 
 
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