Improving Prolog Programs: Refactoring for Prolog

Refactoring is an established technique from the OO-community to restructure code: it aims at improving software readability, maintainability and extensibility. Although refactoring is not tied to the OO-paradigm in particular, its ideas have not been applied to Logic Programming until now. This paper applies the ideas of refactoring to Prolog programs. A catalogue is presented listing refactorings classified according to scope. Some of the refactorings have been adapted from the OO-paradigm, while others have been specifically designed for Prolog. Also the discrepancy between intended and operational semantics in Prolog is addressed by some of the refactorings. In addition, ViPReSS, a semi-automatic refactoring browser, is discussed and the experience with applying \vipress to a large Prolog legacy system is reported. Our main conclusion is that refactoring is not only a viable technique in Prolog but also a rather desirable one.Comment: To appear in ICLP 200

Knowledge Sits in Places: The Vernacularity and Emplacement of Fish Markets in Southern Philippines

Markets sit in places and knowledge produced in these places also constitute the very foundation of markets’ viability and market actors’ performative competitive edge. However, not all markets are created equal primarily in the context of their importance in the global economy. Thus conceived, we imagine a world economy or markets populated by people in front of wide computer screens making sense of financial algorithms and derivatives. In a way, here, we see a market that is run by codified knowledge, or scientific knowledge that transcends boundaries. But what about a conception of market that recognizes the production of knowledge in the periphery, and this instance, fish markets, where place-based knowledge marks the contours of engagement of fishmongers to their wider world and yet, concomitantly, also underscores their attachment to place? In this article, in an ethnographic study of four fish markets in a small coastal town in southern Philippine, fishmongers engage with market processes via their production and deployment of vernacular knowledge which is performed in the form of public specialized knowledge, tacit knowledge and network knowledge. In these forms of vernacular knowledge, we become cognizant of the complexities of market processes even in places that are relegated to the margins, where knowledge plays a crucial role in sensing the world and making it lived and real

LCM and MCM: specification of a control system using dynamic logic and process algebra

LCM 3.0 is a specification language based on dynamic logic and process algebra, and can be used to specify systems of dynamic objects that communicate synchronously. LCM 3.0 was developed for the specification of object-oriented information systems, but contains sufficient facilities for the specification of control to apply it to the specification of control-intensive systems as well. In this paper, the results of such an application are reported. The paper concludes with a discussion of the need for theorem-proving support and of the extensions that would be needed to be able to specify real-time properties

A Framework for Datatype Transformation

We study one dimension in program evolution, namely the evolution of the datatype declarations in a program. To this end, a suite of basic transformation operators is designed. We cover structure-preserving refactorings, but also structure-extending and -reducing adaptations. Both the object programs that are subject to datatype transformations, and the meta programs that encode datatype transformations are functional programs.Comment: Minor revision; now accepted at LDTA 200

TEACHER-EVALUATORS’ NARRATIVE ACCOUNTS IN ASSESSING SELF-LEARNING MODULES (SLM)

This study aims to describe the narrative accounts of teacher-evaluators in assessing the quality of SLMs. This study uses a narrative research approach to examine five teacher-evaluators from the Koronadal City Division. As part of Bruner's theoretical framework, individuals produce new ideas or concepts based on prior information. Their expertise is needed to choose and process data. This study applies this approach because the cognitive structure organizes perceptions and helps individuals go beyond knowledge because evaluating self-learning material quality teaches teachers new concepts (SLMs). The finding reveals that participants feel honored and pressured, some are ready to carry out any assignment, and some are happy and excited. Participants indicated the advantage indicated learning new things and meaningful experiences, while the disadvantage indicated adding workloads. This research may support and motivate teacher-evaluators to tailor instruction to meet individual needs. Whether they differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, ongoing assessment and flexible grouping make this a successful approach to assessing students' SLMs quality. This study would provide a framework to build certain tasks, activities, or modules to motivate teachers and help them focus attention, organize information for understanding and remembering, monitor and assess learning, encourage self-monitoring, and self-correct tools for reflecting on and assessing their own learning in evaluating the quality assurance of SLM's.  Article visualizations