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A basis for a multilevel metalogic programming language

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Logic Program Synthesis and Transformation — Meta-Programming in Logic (META 1994, LOPSTR 1994)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 883))

Abstract

We are developing a multilevel metalogic programming language that we call Alloy. It is based on first-order predicate calculus extended with metalogical constructs. An Alloy program consists of a collection of theories, all in the same language, and a representation relation over these theories. The whole language is self-representable, including names for expressions with variables. A significant difference, as compared with many previous approaches, is that an arbitrary number of metalevels can be employed and that the object-meta relationship between theories need not be circular.

The language is primarily intended for representation of knowledge and metaknowledge and is currently being used in research on hierarchical representation of legal knowledge. We believe that the language allows sophisticated expression and efficient automatic deduction of interesting sets of beliefs of agents.

This paper aims to give a preliminary and largely informal definition of the core of the language, a simple but incomplete and inefficient proof system for the language and a sketch of an alternative, more efficient, proof system. The latter is intended to be used as a procedural semantics for the language. It is being implemented by an extension of an abstract machine for Prolog.

P. Dell'Acqua has been financially supported by both Uppsala Univ. and Univ. degli Studi di Milano.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computing Science Dept., Uppsala University, Box 311, S-751 05, Uppsala, Sweden

    Jonas Barklund, Katrin Boberg & Pierangelo Dell'Acqua

Authors
  1. Jonas Barklund
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  2. Katrin Boberg
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  3. Pierangelo Dell'Acqua
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Laurent Fribourg Franco Turini

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© 1994 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Barklund, J., Boberg, K., Dell'Acqua, P. (1994). A basis for a multilevel metalogic programming language. In: Fribourg, L., Turini, F. (eds) Logic Program Synthesis and Transformation — Meta-Programming in Logic. META LOPSTR 1994 1994. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 883. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-58792-6_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-58792-6_17

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-49104-0

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