The Logic of Logic Programming

Abstract: Our position is that logic programming is not programming in the Horn clause sublogic of classical logic, but programming in a logic of (inductive) definitions. Thus, the similarity between prototypical Prolog programs (e.g., member, append, ...) and how inductive definitions are expressed in mathematical text, is not coincidental but essential. We argue here that this provides a natural solution to the main lingering semantic questions of Logic Programming and its extensions.