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library(varnumbers)
The built-in predicate numbervars/3
makes a term
ground by binding the variables in it to subterms of the form '$VAR'(N)
where N is an integer. Most of the calls to numbervars/3
look like
numbervars(Term, 0, _)
which can be abbreviated to
numbervars(Term)
if you use this package.
varnumbers/3
is a partial inverse to numbervars/3
:
varnumbers(Term, N0, Copy)
unifies Copy with a copy of Term in which subterms of the form
'$VAR'(N)
where N is an integer not less than N0 (that is, subterms
which might have been introduced by numbervars/3
with second argument
N0) have been consistently replaced by new variables. Since 0 is the
usual second argument of numbervars/3
, there is also
varnumbers(Term, Copy)
This provides a facility whereby a Prolog-like data base can be
kept as a term. For example, we might represent append/3
thus:
Clauses = [ (append([], '$VAR'(0), '$VAR'(0)) :- true), (append(['$VAR'(0)|'$VAR'(1), '$VAR'(2), ['$VAR'(0)|'$VAR(3)]) :- append('$VAR'(1), '$VAR'(2), '$VAR'(3))) ]
and we might access clauses from it by doing
prove(Goal, Clauses) :- member(Clause, Clauses), varnumbers(Clause, (Goal:-Body)), prove(Goal).
Exported predicates:
numbervars(+Term)
makes Term ground by binding variables to subterms '$VAR'(N)
with
values of N ranging from 0 up.
varnumbers(+Term, -Copy)
succeeds when Term was a term producing by calling numbervars(Term)
and Copy is a copy of Term with such subterms replaced by variables.
varnumbers(+Term, +N0, -Copy)
succeeds when Term was a term produced by calling
numbervars(Term, N0, N)
(so that all subterms '$VAR'(X)
have integer(X)
, X >= N0
)
and Copy is a copy of Term with such subterms replaced by variables.