Prolog

Question 1

In Prolog, who developed the language in the early 1970s based upon the work of Robert Kowalski?

Answer 1

Alain Colmerauer.

Question 2

The name ‘Prolog’ is an abbreviation for this French phrase.

Answer 2

PROgrammation en LOGique.

Question 3

The first interpreter, implemented in ALGOL-W by Philippe Roussel, is retrospectively known by this name.

Answer 3

Prolog 0.

Question 4

The initial motivation for Prolog was not general-purpose computing but the processing of natural language.
True or False

Answer 4

True

Question 5

In 1965, J.A. Robinson introduced this complete method for proving theorems in first-order logic, which became a theoretical foundation for Prolog.

Answer 5

The Resolution Principle.

Question 6

Alain Colmerauer insisted on a language that could handle infinite trees and symbolic manipulation.
True or False

Answer 6

True

Question 7

In Prolog, Horn Clauses are restricted logical formulas of the form

Answer 7

A <- B1, B2, … Bn.

Question 8

Who implemented the first Prolog interpreter and contributed to the decision to use depth-first search with backtracking?

Answer 8

Philippe Roussel.

Question 9

This specific implementation of Prolog is the latest stable release that uses an open-source platform and introduces native GUI tools based on SDL3 and Cairo.

Answer 9

SWI-Prolog version 10.0.

Question 10

Definite Clause Grammars (DCGs) were formally standardized in ISO/IEC TS 13211-3:2025 for what specific application?

Answer 10

Natural language processing.

Question 11

Prolog II marked a theoretical expansion by replacing standard unification with equation solving over these structures.

Answer 11

Trees (specifically, infinite or rational trees).

Question 12

This implementation of Prolog was the first compiler to generate machine code and established the standard “Edinburgh Syntax”.

Answer 12

DEC-10 Prolog.

Question 13

SWI-Prolog maps Prolog threads to native Operating System threads, allowing it to utilize modern multi-core CPUs efficiently. True or False

Answer 13

True

Question 14

Prolog relies on this primary mechanism for data manipulation, which attempts to make two terms identical rather than just setting a value.

Answer 14

Unification

Question 15

Prolog is primarily classified as an imperative programming language because it executes instructions sequentially.
True or False

Answer 15

False

Question 16

In Prolog, data is represented and handled through structures called terms.
True or False

Answer 16

True

Question 17

This type of constant in Prolog represents specific objects or concepts, is immutable, and starts with a lowercase letter.

Answer 17

Atom

Question 18

Prolog variables do not require explicit declaration or type definition before use. True or False

Answer 18

True

Question 19

Create a statement in Prolog defining a fact that ‘jude’ is a ‘student’.

Answer 19

student(jude).

Question 20

This built-in data type is built out of a functor followed by a sequence of arguments placed in ordinary brackets.

Answer 20

Complex terms (or structures).

Question 21

Arrays are natively supported as a primitive data structure in Prolog.
True or False

Answer 21

False

Question 21

Prolog possesses explicit type definitions such as typedef found in imperative languages like C or Java.
True or False

Answer 21

False

Question 22

In Prolog, lists are represented as an ordered sequence of elements that are either empty [] or a structure composed of these two parts.

Answer 22

Head and Tail ([Head | Tail]).

Question 23

Strings in SWI-Prolog are distinct text objects enclosed in double quotes and are not interned.
True or False

Answer 23

True

Question 24

What is the output of the following program snippet in Prolog? ?- [Head | Tail] = [jude, jona, ace, ecie].

Answer 24

Head = jude, Tail = [jona, ace, ecie]

Question 25

What is the output of the following program snippet in Prolog? get_array_item(Index, Array, Value) :- arg(Index, Array, Value). ?- Arr = array(10, 20, 30), get_array_item(2, Arr, Val).

Answer 25

Val = 20.

Question 26

Create a statement in Prolog that defines a rule valid_year(Y) ensuring Y is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

Answer 26

valid_year(Y) :- integer(Y), Y >= 1.

Question 27

This operator in Prolog is used for term unification.

Answer 27

=

Question 28

What symbol is used in Prolog to initiate a single-line comment?

Answer 28

%

Question 29

Prolog is a free-format language, meaning the compiler ignores whitespace, indentation, and line breaks. True or False

Answer 29

True

Question 30

This punctuation mark terminates clauses and queries in Prolog.

Answer 30

Period (.)

Question 31

In Prolog, the semicolon (;) represents conjunction (logical AND). True or False

Answer 31

False (The semicolon represents disjunction/logical OR; the comma represents conjunction).

Question 32

This symbol serves as the anonymous variable in Prolog.

Answer 32

Underscore (_)

Question 33

Create a statement in Prolog using the turnstile operator to define a rule where grandfather(X, Z) depends on father(X, Y) and parent(Y, Z).

Answer 33

grandfather(X, Z) :- father(X, Y), parent(Y, Z).

Question 34

The assignment operator (=) in Prolog overwrites the memory location of a variable. True or False

Answer 34

False

Question 35

What is the output of the following program snippet in Prolog? demo_no_reassignment :- X = 5, X = 6. ?- demo_no_reassignment.

Answer 35

False

Question 36

What is the output of the following program snippet in Prolog? ?- X is 2 + 3 * 4.

Answer 36

X = 14.

Question 37

In Prolog, predicates serve the role of subprograms or functions from imperative languages. True or False

Answer 37

True

Question 38

Variables in Prolog have global scope across the entire program by default. True or False

Answer 38

False (Variables are strictly local to the clause they appear in).

Question 39

Create a statement in Prolog that declares a predicate named score with arity 1 as dynamic so it can be modified at runtime.

Answer 39

:- dynamic score/1.

Question 40

In Prolog, arithmetic structures like 3 + 2 are automatically evaluated without needing specific predicates. True or False

Answer 40

False (They are treated as complex terms and only compute when passed to specific predicates like is/2)

Question 41

Prolog uses goal evaluation where predicates either succeed (true) or fail (false), rather than traditional boolean expressions. True or False

Answer 41

True

Question 42

This punctuation sequence represents Negation as Failure in Prolog.

Answer 42

\+

Question 43

Prolog execution is driven by this type of search through the knowledge base.

Answer 43

Depth-first search

Question 44

Prolog supports traditional loops like 'for' and 'while' for iteration. True or False

Answer 44

False (Iteration is achieved through recursion).

Question 45

This control mechanism is used to force backtracking in Prolog execution.

Answer 45

fail/0 (or fail).

Question 46

What is the output of the following program snippet in Prolog? factorial(0, 1). factorial(N, F) :- N > 0, N1 is N - 1, factorial(N1, F1), F is N * F1. ?- factorial(3, A).

Answer 46

A = 6.

Question 47

What is the output of the following program snippet in Prolog? ?- Goal = writeln('Hello'), call(Goal).

Answer 47

Hello.

Question 48

Create a statement in Prolog that uses the once/1 predicate to limit the results of user(Name, admin) to the first success.

Answer 48

?- once(user(Name, admin)).

Question 49

SWI-Prolog natively supports coroutine-like behavior through delayed goals using predicates like when/2 or freeze/2. True or False

Answer 49

True

Question 50

- He is widely recognized as the creator of Prolog and drove its practical implementation for natural language processing.

Answer 50

Alain Colmerauer

Question 51

- What are the three basic constructs used to build programs in Prolog?

Answer 51

facts, rules, and queries.

Question 52

- This specific symbol must be used at the end of every Prolog statement to terminate a clause or query.

Answer 52

( . ) (Period)

Question 53

- It is the combination of an atom and its arity used to name compound terms.

Answer 53

Functor

Question 54

- Prolog is classified as an imperative programming language because the programmer specifies exactly how to compute a result. True or False

Answer 54

False (It is a Declarative Logic Programming language)

Question 55

- Variables in Prolog must always begin with an uppercase letter or an underscore (_). True or False

Answer 55

True

Question 56

- Prolog uses traditional for and while loops to perform repetitive tasks. True or False

Answer 56

False (Iteration is achieved through recursion)

Question 57

- The "Cut" operator, which is used to prevent backtracking, is represented by the exclamation mark symbol (!). True or False

Answer 57

True

Question 58

- The standard file extension for Prolog source files is typically .pl or .pro. True or False

Answer 58

True

Question 59

- Given the query, what is the value of Tail? ?- [Head | Tail] = [jude, jona, kaye].

Answer 59

Tail = [jona, kaye]

Question 60

- Given the facts and rules, what query can invoke the output? dog(ringgo). dog(georgia). owns(kaye, Pet):- dog(Pet). loves(Who, What):- owns(Who, What).

Answer 60

-? loves(Who, What) Who = kaye, What = ringgo ; Who = kaye, What = georgia

Question 61

- Given the facts, what is the result of the query? friend(ace, mark). friend(mark, jude). ?- friend(ace, X), friend(X, jude).

Answer 61

X = mark

Question 62

Given the facts and rules, what is the result of the query? is_compsci(ace). is_compsci(ecie). is_nursing(alecs). is_business(sophia). not_compsci(X) :- \+ is_compsci(X). ?- not_compsci(sophia).

Answer 62

true.

Question 63

If a rule is defined as follows, what is the result of the query? double(X, Y) :- Y is X * 2 ?- double(10, Result).

Answer 63

Result = 20