Principles of Rule-Based Programming

The book provides a unified overview of concepts and features of a comprehensive variety of rule-based programming languages. They have applications in diverse areas such as workflow systems, the Semantic Web, decision support, optimization problems, simulation and modeling, software engineering, program verification and security, and artificial intelligence. Through clear definitions, helpful explanations, concrete examples and instructive exercises with selected solutions, the reader will gain a thorough understanding of rule-based formalisms, systems and programming languages. The rule-based formalisms presented are Multiset Transformation, Term Rewriting Systems, Colored Petri Nets and Logical Algorithms. The rule-based systems are Production Rules, Event-Condition-Action Rules and Datalog. The rule-based programming languages are Functional Programming, Constraint Logic Programming and Concurrent Constraint Programming. By embedding these approaches into Constraint Handling Rules, a powerful and versatile programming language, it provides a common platform for understanding and comparison as well as execution and analysis of rule-based approaches. The book is ideal for researchers, students and programmers who want to learn about the power and potential of rule-based programming and understand its characteristic features and abilities.