Prolog Programming for Artificial Intelligence [Paperback]

Ivan Bratko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2000 | ISBN-10: 0201403757 | ISBN-13: 978-0201403756 | Edition: 3rd

The third edition of this best-selling guide to Prolog and Artificial Intelligence has been updated to include key developments in the field while retaining its lucid approach to these topics. Divided into two parts, the first part of the book introduces the programming language Prolog, while the second part teaches Artificial Intelligence using Prolog as a tool for the implementation of AI techniques. Prolog has its roots in logic, however the main aim of this book is to teach Prolog as a practical programming tool. This text therefore concentrates on the art of using the basic mechanisms of Prolog to solve interesting problems. The third edition has been fully revised and extended to provide an even greater range of applications, which further enhance its value as a self-contained guide to Prolog, AI or AI Programming for students and professional programmers alike.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Prolog Programming for Artificial Intelligence
Third edition
Ivan Bratko

The third edition of this best-selling guide to Prolog and Artificial Intelligence has been updated to include key developments in the field while retaining its lucid approach to these topics. Divided into two parts, the first part of the book introduces the programming language Prolog, while the second part teaches Artificial Intelligence using Prolog as a tool for the implementation of AI techniques.

Prolog has its roots in logic, however the main aim of this book is to teach Prolog as a practical programming tool. This text therefore concentrates on the art of using the basic mechanisms of Prolog to solve interesting problems. The third edition has been fully revised and extended to provide an even greater range of applications, which further enhance its value as a self-contained guide to Prolog, AI or AI Programming for students and professional programmers alike.

Features
· Combined approach to Prolog and AI allows flexibility for learning and teaching
· Provides a thorough representation of AI, emphasizing practical techniques and Prolog implementations
· Prolog programs for use in projects and research are available for download on the World Wide Web.

New for this edition:
· Constraint Logic Programming
· Qualitative Reasoning
· Inductive Logic Programming
· The addition of belief networks for handling uncertainty
· A major update on machine learning
· Additional techniques for improving program efficiency
· Meta-programming is updated to show how Prolog can be used to implement other languages (including object-oriented programming)
· A new Companion Web Site will contain further teaching materials and updates

Author:
Professor Ivan Bratko leads the AI groups in the Faculty of Computer and Information Science at both Ljubljana University and the Jozef Stefan Institute in Slovenia. He has taught Prolog world-wide as well as applying Prolog in medical expert systems, robot programming, qualitative modelling and computer chess research.

About the Author

Professor Ivan Bratko leads the AI Lab in the Faculty of Computer and Information Science at Ljubljana University. He has taught Prolog world-wide as well as applying Prolog in medical expert systems, robot programming, qualitative modelling and computer chess research. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 678 pages
• Publisher: Addison Wesley; 3rd edition (September 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201403757
• ISBN-13: 978-0201403756
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #941,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > Prolog

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book on Prolog., May 15, 2000

By 

Armen Jamkotchian (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prolog Programming for Artificial Intelligence (Paperback)

Prolog is not an easy subject, especially for someone not well familiar with mathematical logic. Thus it is very important how the foundation would be laid down. Other books I had read on Prolog tended to two extremes. They were either too condensed for such a complicated language, or too broad and mathematically intensive. The author of this book had managed to find the optimal style of presenting both the essence and the practical aspects of the language. The book makes learning Prolog easy and fun. It covers many practical applications of the language and manages to convey the basic concepts of Prolog without overwhelming the beginner with too abstract passages. This book gives you the taste of declarative programming, which could be a very challenging shift in the way of thinking, especially for programmers used to procedural techniques. The book of Ivan Bratko will soften the learning curve and make the experience much pleasant.

The book is well structured, which makes it also a good programming reference. The material is very well illustrated and supported by a plenty of easy to understand examples. One can open it at any page and easily understand the material without tracing back and forth multiple chapters. This is a great book. Buy it if you don't want to stop learning Prolog before you understood it.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to Prolog programming., August 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Prolog Programming for Artificial Intelligence (Paperback)

This book is clear and well written. Its an excellent first book on Prolog programming. It also takes you far into the subject, up to a point where you should be able to write useable Prolog programs.

Much more clearly written than "Programming in Prolog" Prolog by Clocksin and Mellish, and it covers the same ground.

Prolog is not for everyone. You have to be quite intelligent to be able to use it effectively. And its not a general-purpose language. But Prolog is excellent for some applications, such as writing Expert Systems, Natural Language Parsers, and other A.I. applications.

This book is best used in combination with a prolog compiler/interpreter, so you can try out Prolog as you read about it. There are some free ones available on the Web.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for learning AI with Prolog, but...., August 12, 2002

By 

Fernando Rodriguez (Madrid, Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prolog Programming for Artificial Intelligence (Paperback)

... a horrible Prolog tutorial.

This is not a good first book on Prolog. If you are new to Prolog and Logic Programming, you should read 'Art of Prolog' first.

Prolog is quite different from other languages, and you'll need some time to get it. This book doesn't give you that time: after briefly introducing the basic concepts, Bratko dives at breakneck speed into recursion and list processing.

Don't get me wrong, this is a magnificent book on how to do AI with Prolog, but it shouldn't be your first Prolog book. It's an excellent second book.