Declarative semantics of a meta-programming
language
Henning Christiansen
Department of Computer Science
Roskilde University, P.O.Box 260, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark
We present a logical programming language,
generative clause programs,
which generalize definite clause programs
with a meta-programming level.
The fundamental notion in the language
is that of a meta-goal
which consists of
a plain goal together with a program
in which it is expected to be true.
The declarative semantics can be defined in terms
of Herbrand models consisting of such meta-goals.
The well-known fixpoint characterization of
the least Herbrand model for
definite clause programs
generalizes immediately.
The procedural semantics is considered
in terms of an interpreter program
and a compiler for the language.
See dvi,
postscript.
Proceedings of META90,
Workshop on Meta-Programming in Logic, (M. Bruynooghe, ed.).
4-6 April 1990, Leuven, Belgium, pp. 150-168, 1990.