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Functorial semantics as a unifying perspective on logic programming

Gu, T; Zanasi, F; (2021) Functorial semantics as a unifying perspective on logic programming. In: Proceedings of the 9th Conference on Algebra and Coalgebra in Computer Science (CALCO 2021). (pp. p. 17). Schloss Dagstuhl , Leibniz-Zentrum: Dagstuhl, Germany. Green open access

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Abstract

Logic programming and its variations are widely used for formal reasoning in various areas of Computer Science, most notably Artificial Intelligence. In this paper we develop a systematic and unifying perspective for (ground) classical, probabilistic, weighted logic programs, based on categorical algebra. Our departure point is a formal distinction between the syntax and the semantics of programs, now regarded as separate categories. Then, we are able to characterise the various variants of logic program as different models for the same syntax category, i.e. structure-preserving functors in the spirit of Lawvere’s functorial semantics. As a first consequence of our approach, we showcase a series of semantic constructs for logic programming pictorially as certain string diagrams in the syntax category. Secondly, we describe the correspondence between probabilistic logic programs and Bayesian networks in terms of the associated models. Our analysis reveals that the correspondence can be phrased in purely syntactical terms, without resorting to the probabilistic domain of interpretation.

Type: Proceedings paper
Title: Functorial semantics as a unifying perspective on logic programming
Event: 9th Conference on Algebra and Coalgebra in Computer Science (CALCO 2021)
ISBN-13: 9783959772129
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CALCO.2021.17
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.4230/LIPIcs.CALCO.2021.17
Language: English
Additional information: © Tao Gu and Fabio Zanasi; licensed under Creative Commons License CC-BY 4.0.
Keywords: string diagrams, functorial semantics, logic programming
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Computer Science
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10140513
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