Re: Warren Abstract Machine

Andrew Gavin <andrew.gavin@aethos.co.uk> writes:


> Does anyone know where I might find some information on Warren
>Abstract Machines? I am interested in books web sites and publically
>available papers.


The best description of the WAM that I know of is


@book{wamtute,
author = {Hassan Ait-Kaci},
title = {Warren's abstract machine: a tutorial reconstruction},
publisher = {MIT Press},
year = {1991}
}


>Failing this does anyone know any other languages like prolog which
>are have similar unification and backtracking features? [If that is
>not too dumb a question]
>
>I am looking into how unification and backtracking are efficiently
>implemented in lanuages.


A good general reference is


              "1983-1993: The Wonder Years of Sequential Prolog Implementation",
              Peter Van Roy, May/July 1994, Journal of Logic Programming. A survey
              of implementation technology and systems since the WAM. Available via
              <http://www.info.ucl.ac.be/people/PVR/implementation.html>.


If you're interested in efficiency, then you should also have a look at
some of our papers on Mercury <http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/mercury/papers.html>,
since the Mercury implementation is probably the most efficient logic
programming language implementation around at the moment.


--
Fergus Henderson <fjh@cs.mu.oz.au>
WWW: <http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~fjh>
PGP: finger fjh@128.250.37.3
--

Return to the comp.compilers page.
Search the comp.compilers archives again.