Overview

The reference pages for Quintus Prolog built-in predicates conform to certain conventions concerning

• mode annotations
• predicate categories
• argument types

These are particularly important in utilizing the Synopsis and Arguments fields of each reference page. The Synopsis field consists of the goal template(s) with mode annotations and a brief description of the purpose of the predicate. For example, consider this excerpt from the reference page for assert/[1,2]:

Synopsis

assert(+Clause) assert(+Clause, -Ref)

Adds dynamic clause Clause to the Prolog database. Returns database reference in Ref.

The Arguments field lists, for each metavariable name in the template, its argument type, (e.g. callable), a brief description (sometimes omitted), and an indication ([MOD]) if it does module name expansion. For example,

Arguments

Clause callable [MOD]

A valid Prolog clause.

Ref db_reference

For further information see mpg-ref-cat.