A Programming Tool for Management of a Predicate-Calculus-Oriented Data Base

Abstract

This paper describes a LISP program, called PCDB, for storage and retrieval in a data base of predicate calculus (PC) formulas. The PCDB pacxage uses standardized representations of PC formulas, where ground unit clauses are stored efficiently, e.g. on the property-lists of their arguments, and other clauses have other representation. The major part of the PCDB package is a function generator, which accepts declarations of PC relations and functions, and Which also accepts (= non-ground axioms intended for use in deduction) Declarations and rules are used to generate efficient code for storage and retrieval of facts (usually = ground unit clauses) in and from the data base. This generation process may be characterized as a compilation of the rules (from predicate calculus to LISP).