After a long period of inactivity I’ve updated the F/OSS ruby-prolog gem! It’s been updated for ruby 2.0.0, bundler, and minitest, and released as v1.0.1!
ruby-prolog allows you to solve complex logic problems on the fly using a dynamic, Prolog-like DSL. Basic use is encompassed by stating basic facts using your data, defining rules, and then asking questions. Why is this cool? Because ruby-prolog allows you to leave your normal object-oriented vortex on demand and step into the alternate reality of declarative languages.
With ruby-prolog:
- There are no classes.
- There are no functions.
- There are no variables.
- There are no control flow statements.
You can use all these wonder things — it’s still Ruby after all — but they’re not needed, and mainly useful for getting data and results into/out of the interpreter. Prolog still tends to be favored heavily in artificial intelligence and theorem proving applications and is still relevant to computer science curricula as well, so I hope this updated release proves useful to the Ruby community.
Check out a simple ACL enforcement example or, for the daring, the ruby-prolog solution to the Tower’s of Hanoi problem!
