Survey of the Equational Logic Programming Project

In 1975 I started a small project to explore the consequences of implementing equational programs with no semantic compromises. Latest results include a compiler that executes exactly the logical consequences of an equational program, with run-time speed comparable to compiled Franz LISP. This paper surveys the development of the project, through theoretical foundations, algorithm development, design and implementation, application, and directions for the future. 1 Introduction This paper surveys a small project aimed at providing a style of logic programming based on equational logic. The project was always intended as an exploration of radical possibilities in programming languages, rather than as an attempt to support any particular application. Christoph Hoffmann was an equal collaborator from 1977 to 1983. Paul Chew and Robert Strandh made significant contributions in their doctoral dissertations, and Paul Golick This work was supported by NSF grant DCR-8601843. This paper was..