Logic interference machines at the ECRC

The European Computer-Industry Research Centre, or ECRC, has many interesting projects underway covering many crucial issues in the area of logic programming. In the area of computer architecture it has already designed and, with the aid of commercial simulation tools, carried out detailed analyses of two dedicated sequential processors. As a result of this work, a more general knowledge engine is being designed and will be manufacturers with the help of the parent companies. A complete parallel logic programming system has been designed. This work has involved the definition of a parallel logic programming language, computational model, abstract machine and compiler. The system is now implemented on a commercially available multiprocessor machine and the first results have been obtained. In addition, a simulation facility has been completed and is now being used to investigate the applicability of the system to different architectures. The first results of this work are already available. The group has recognised the importance of demonstrating the validity of the parallel system with real application programs rather than just simple benchmarks. To this end, several parallel application programs have been written. This work has also led to the generation of several tools to assist developing applications and in assessing their potential parallel performance