14.20.1 New Features

• On some platforms, SICStus Prolog now has the ability to compile predicates just in time (JIT) to native code. In this release, those platforms are the x86 ones, 32 and 64 bit, running Windows, OS X, and Linux. This happens automatically by default, but can be switched off with the option:

  -DSP_JIT=disabled
  

  The following mutually exclusive predicate properties have also been added:

  jittable

  The predicate is amenable to JIT compilation.

  jitted

  The predicate has been JIT compiled.

• New stream properties input_encoding/1 and output_encoding/1.
• CLPFD:
  • - solve/2 generalizes labeling/2 and can perform optimization over multiple sets of domain variables, with different search heuristics per set.
  • - labeling/2 with the option minimize/1 or maximize/1 can either enumerate every solution that improves the objective function, or only the optimal one after optimality has been proved, under the control of the new options best and all. The same options are available to the predicates minimize/3 and maximize/3.
  • - labeling/2 with the option minimize/1 or maximize/1 can be told which optimization method to use with the new options bab and restart.
  • - More labeling options, inspired by MiniZinc: input_order, smallest, largest, first_fail, anti_first_fail, occurrence, most_constrained, max_regret, median, middle.
  • - New constraints: bool_and/2, bool_or/2, bool_xor/2, bool_channel/4.
  • - all_different/2 and all_distinct/2 take a new side-constraint option L #= R, where L is a sum, a product, or a sum of squares of the variables, and R is an integer.
  • - div, floored division, is a new binary arithmetic operator. Corresponds to the new Prolog arithmetic operator with the same name.
  • - //, truncated division, is a new alias for the existing binary operator /. Please note that the Prolog arithmetic operators / and // do not mean the same thing.
• ZINC:
  • - The limitation that search annotations must include all variables or be absent has been lifted.
  • - The limitation that solutions(all) had no effect on optimization problems has been lifted.
  • - search(bab) and search(restart) are new options for choosing optimization method.
  • - mzn-sicstus is a shortcut for minizinc with the proper defaults for using SICStus as back-end.
  • - spfz is a small FlatZinc interpreter command-line tool for use from the shell. Invoked by mzn-sicstus.
• library(structs), library(objects): The types integer_64 and unsigned_64 have been added for all platforms.
• PROCESS:
  • - A new option wait(Status) to process:process_create/3 that simplifies waiting for a started process to terminate.
  • - process:process_create/[2,3] now uses file_type(executable) when resolving the path to the executable. This affects the Windows platform where ‘.exe’ will be added automatically, if needed.
  • - process:process_create/3 now allows a general argument specification when specifying the values of environment variables passed to the subprocess.
  • - On Windows, when starting a console application with process:process_create/[2,3], a console window is not created unless the option window(true) is specified.
• Executables created by the spld tool now set the process locale from the environment (UNIX-like platforms only). The locale can also be passed as an argument to spld.
• --objects is a new splfr option, which you must use if the Prolog source code uses library(objects).