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The implementation of Pro Test: A Prolog debugger for a refined box model
Author(s) -
Schleiermacher A.,
Winkler J. F. H.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
software: practice and experience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1097-024X
pISSN - 0038-0644
DOI - 10.1002/spe.4380201003
Subject(s) - debugger , programming language , interpreter , computer science , prolog , notation , debugging , program transformation , simple (philosophy) , arithmetic , mathematics , philosophy , epistemology
We describe some aspects of the implementation of a Prolog debugger for a refined box model in which attempted unifications can also be observed. Our implementation of the ProTest debugger is based on a meta‐interpreter for Prolog. We start with an existing meta‐interpreter for Byrd's box model (four‐port debugger) and we transform it into one for the refined box model (ten‐port debugger). To explain the transformation we show several versions of the meta‐interpreter. In these versions we use the technique of changing the database to implement the cut, but another possibility is also explained briefly. A simple notation for typing is used to make Prolog programs more readable. In an appendix we give a listing of a simple prototype of the extended meta‐interpreter.