What is Prolog in Excel ?
- Prolog is one of the most famous logic programming language, used for Artificial Intelligence (AI) programming
- Excel is the wellknown spreadsheet developed by Microsoft
- Prolog in Excel is an excel add-in, providing prolog-like capabilities in excel
- PliX is a shortcut for “Prolog in eXcel”.
At a glance...
- Download and Install PrologInExcel.
In your excel workbook, you now have a “PliX” menu and ribbon. - In the worksheet, type your prolog program.
- In the PliX ribbon, click on the ?- consult. button.
- Double click on a ?- query.
- PliX displays the answer in a message box.
Key features
Free.
Compatibility Windows – Excel 2013 or newer.
Currently in beta version. Please report bugs, comments, …
The main features implemented are:
- Clauses, facts, rules, queries, unification.
- List (basics operations, manipulation of Head | Tail).
- Backtracking, cut!, not/1.
- Database manipulation (asserta/1, assertz/1).
- Term manipulation (functor/3, arg/3).
- Meta-predicates (call/1, findall/3).
- read/1, write/1.
- Math calculations (basics operations).
- Math comparisons (basics operations).
- User defined operators (op/3).
- Tracer (Inspired by Byrd model).
The main features not implemented are:
- Modules.
- DCG.
- CPL.
- numerous predicates.
- …
PliX is written in c#. The engine is widely inspired by the “Warren’s Abstract Machine” concepts.
PliX tends to be as much as possible ISO-Prolog compliant. At this stage several built-in features/predicates are missing or slightly differs from ISO-Prolog. Future updates shall improve compliance.
UI rely as much as possible on the excel environment : worksheets, message box, console-like window, ribbon.