Warren's Abstract Machine: A Tutorial Reconstruction

(github.com)

39 points | by nextos 2 days ago ago

5 comments

  • herodotus 4 hours ago

    For those who need some context: In 1983 David Warren published a paper describing an abstract machine that could be used as the target of a Prolog compiler. This machine became the basis of most Prolog compilers - it is much faster than interpreters. His paper was not easy to understand. Hasan Air-Kaci's book was a brilliant exposition of Warren's work, and was a must-read for anyone serious about working on Prolog interpreters or compilers.

    • jfengel 2 hours ago

      Note that this is Professor David HD Warren. As opposed to Professor David S Warren, who led the XSB Prolog team. Which is built around the Warren Abstract Machine.

  • Milpotel a day ago

    Oh dear, that reminds me of one of my courses I had to take where we had to memorise the WAM and execute it on paper in the exam. Most useless course ever.