how to prevent no in prolog? - recursion

Prolog, recursive function:
i want it to print the C with each element of the list
for example: C=30 and [H|T]= [-9,-10,-30]
myfunc(C,[H|T]):-
(\+([H|T]=[])),
write(C), write(' with '), write(H), nl,
myfunc(C,T).
i check at the beginning that the head of the list is not empty. it gives me this output
30 with -9
30 with -10
30 with -30
(32 ms) no
this output is what i want but i dont want to get a 'no' at the end because this makes the parent function to fail as well!
how can i remove it and put a 'yes' instead?

Simple way: just add a base case with the empty list.
myfunc(_, []) :- !.
myfunc(C,[H|T]):-
write(C), write(' with '), write(H), nl,
myfunc(C,T).
test:
?- myfunc(30, [1, 2, 3]).
30 with 1
30 with 2
30 with 3
true.
I don't know if this is the best way to do that, but you didn't give us much details about your whole program, so I opted for a small modification of your predicate.

If you have maplist in your Prolog, you can write
myfunc(N, L) :-
maplist(my_write(N), L).
my_write(N, Val) :-
format('~w with ~w~n', [N, Val]).
With SWI-Prolog and module lambda
:- use_module(library(lambda)).
myfunc(N, L) :-
maplist(\X^format('~w with ~w~n', [N, X]), L).

Related

Incrementing a Counter in Prolog

This is the current code I have for a problem I am working on. It is supposed to read in from a file, and increment a counter, R, every time it comes across a vowel.
Currently, I have it stop when reaching a vowel, but I would like it to increment a counter, then continue processing. Once done, I want it to print R to the console. Thanks in advance!
readWord(InStream, W) :-
get0(InStream,Char),
checkChar_readRest(Char,Chars,InStream, R),
atom_codes(Code,Chars),
write(Code).
%checkChar_readRest(10,[],_) :- !. % Return
%checkChar_readRest(32,[],_) :- !. % Space
checkChar_readRest(-1,[],_,_) :- !. % End of Stream
checkChar_readRest(97,[],_,R) :- !. % a
checkChar_readRest(101,[],_,R) :- !. % e
checkChar_readRest(105,[],_,R) :- !. % i
checkChar_readRest(111,[],_,R) :- incr(R,R1), write(R1). % o
checkChar_readRest(117,[],_,R) :- !. % u
%checkChar_readRest(end_of_file,[],_,_) :- !.
checkChar_readRest(Char,[Char|Chars],InStream,R) :-
get0(InStream,NextChar),
checkChar_readRest(NextChar,Chars,InStream,R).
incr(X, X1) :- X1 is X+1.
vowel(InStream, R) :-
open(InStream, read, In),
repeat,
readWord(In, W),
close(In).
Here's my attempt (ISO predicates):
% open Src, count vowels, close stream, print to console
count_vowels_in(Src) :-
open(Src, read, Stream),
count(Stream, Total),
close(Stream),
% cutting here because our Stream is now closed, any backtracking will break things that rely on it
% you could also put this after at_end_of_stream/1 in count_/3
% not sure what best practices are here
!,
write(Total).
% just a nice wrapper to get started counting with the initial count set to 0
count(Stream, Total) :-
count_(Stream, 0, Total).
% at end of stream, Count = Total and we're done
count_(Stream, Count, Count) :-
at_end_of_stream(Stream).
% read from stream recursively, incrementing Count as needed
count_(Stream, Count0, Total) :-
\+at_end_of_stream(Stream),
get_char(Stream, Char),
char_value(Char, Value),
Count1 is Count0 + Value,
% recursively call count_, but now with our new Count1 value instead, carrying forward the results
count_(Stream, Count1, Total).
char_value(Char, 1) :-
vowel(Char).
char_value(Char, 0) :-
\+vowel(Char).
vowel(a).
vowel(e).
vowel(i).
vowel(o).
vowel(u).
The biggest difference is that I use two variables for keeping track of the count. Count (equivalent to your R) is the current count, and Total is a variable representing the final count. We unify Total with Count when we are finished counting: at the end of the stream.
In the original program posted, there were many singleton variables (variables that are never unified with anything, for example W). This is usually indicative of a bug and will generate warnings. Remember that Prolog is a logical language, it can be good to take a step back and think "what am I actually trying to do with these variables?". It can also help to break the problem down into smaller chunks instead of trying to write one predicate that does everything.
I might approach it like this:
Slurp in the entire file as a list of characters.
Traverse that list and tally the vowels it contains.
Write the tally.
Something like
findall(C, ( get0(V) , V \= -1 , char_code(C,V) ), Cs).
should suffice for slurping the text.
And then, something along these lines:
count_vowels :-
findall(C, ( get0(V) , V \= -1 , char_code(C,V) ), Cs),
count_vowels(Cs,N),
writeln( total_vowels : N )
.
count_vowels( S , N ) :- string(S), !, string_chars(S,Cs), count_vowels(Cs,N) .
count_vowels( Cs , N ) :- count_vowels(Cs,0,N) .
count_vowels( [] , N , N ) .
count_vowels( [C|Cs] , T , N ) :- tally(C,T,T1), count_vowels(Cs,T1,N).
tally( C , M , N ) :- vowel(C), !, N is M+1 .
tally( _ , N , N ) .
vowel( a ).
vowel( e ).
vowel( i ).
vowel( o ).
vowel( u ).

Prolog: Splitting a number into a sequence of increasing integers

After doing some Prolog in uni and doing some exercises I decided to go along somewhat further although I got to admit I don't understand recursion that well, I get the concept and idea but how to code it, is still a question for me. So that's why I was curious if anyone knows how to help tackle this problem.
The idea is given a number e.g. 45, check whether it is possible to make a list starting with 1 going n+1 into the list and if the sum of the list is the same as the given number.
So for 45, [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9] would be correct.
So far I tried looking at the [sum_list/2][1] implemented in Prolog itself but that only checks whether a list is the same as the number it follows.
So given a predicate lijstSom(L,S) (dutch for listSum), given
?- lijstSom(L, 45)
L = [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9];
False
My Idea was something along the line of for example if S = 45, doing steps of the numbers (increasing by 1) and subtracting it of S, if 0 is the remainder, return the list, else return false.
But for that you need counters and I find it rather hard to grasp that in recursion.
EDIT:
Steps in recursion.
Base case empty list, 0 (counter nr, that is minus S), 45 (S, the remainder)
[1], 1, 44
[1,2], 2, 42
[1,2,3], 3, 39
I'm not sure how to read the example
?- lijstSom(L, 45)
L = [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9],
False
...but think of the predicate lijstSom(List, Sum) as relating certain lists of integers to their sum, as opposed to computing the sum of lists of integers. Why "certain lists"? Because we have the constraint that the integers in the list of integers must be monotonically increasing in increments of 1, starting from 1.
You can thus ask the Prolog Processor the following:
"Say something about the relationship between the first argument of lijstSom/2 and the second argument lijstSom/2 (assuming the first is a list of monotonically increasing integers, and the second an integer):
lijstSom([1,2,3], Sum)
... should return true (because yes, there is at least one solution) and give Sum = 6 (because it constructs the solution, too ... we are some corner of Construtivism here.
lijstSom(L, 6)
... should return true (because yes, there is at least one solution) and give the solution [1,2,3].
lijstSom([1,2,3], 6)
... should return true (because yes, [1,2,3] has a sum 6); no further information is needed.
lijstSom(L, S)
... should an infinite series of true and pairs of solution ("generate the solutions").
L = [1], S = 1;
L = [1,2], S = 3;
L = [1,2,3], S = 6;
...
lijstSom([1,2,3], 7)
...should return false ("fail") because 7 is not in a relation lijstSom with [1,2,3] as 7 =/= 1+2+3.
One might even want things to have Prolog Processor say something interesting about:
lijstSom([1,2,X], 6)
X = 3
or even
lijstSom([1,2,X], S)
X = 3
S = 6
In fact, lijstSom/2 as near to mathematically magical as physically possible, which is to say:
Have unrestricted access to the full table of list<->sum relationships floating somewhere in Platonic Math Space.
Be able to find the correct entry in seriously less than infinite number of steps.
And output it.
Of course we are restricted to polynomial algorithms of low exponent and finite number of dstinguishable symbols for eminently practical reasons. Sucks!
So, first define lijstSom(L,S) using an inductive definition:
lijstSom([a list with final value N],S) ... is true if ... lijstSom([a list],S-N and
lijstSom([],0) because the empty list has sum 0.
This is nice because it gives the recipe to reduce a list of arbitrary length down to a list of size 0 eventually while keeping full knowledge its sum!
Prolog is not good at working with the tail of lists, but good with working with the head, so we cheat & change our definition of lijstSom/2 to state that the list is given in reverse order:
lijstSom([3,2,1], 6)
Now some code.
#= is the "constain to be equal" operator from library(clpfd). To employ it, we need to issue use_module(library(clpfd)). command first.
lijstSom([],0).
lijstSom([K|Rest],N) :- lijstSom([Rest],T), T+K #= N.
The above follows the mathematical desiderate of lijstSom and allows the Prolog Processor to perform its computation: in the second clause, it can compute the values for a list of size A from the values of a list of size A-1, "falling down" the staircase of always decreasing list length until it reaches the terminating case of lijstSom([],0)..
But we haven't said anything about the monotonically decreasing-by-1 list.
Let's be more precise:
lijstSom([],0) :- !.
lijstSom([1],1) :- ! .
lijstSom([K,V|Rest],N) :- K #= V+1, T+K #= N, lijstSom([V|Rest],T).
Better!
(We have also added '!' to tell the Prolog Processor to not look for alternate solutions past this point, because we know more about the algorithm than it will ever do. Additionally, the 3rd line works, but only because I got it right after running the tests below and having them pass.)
If the checks fail, the Prolog Processor will says "false" - no solution for your input. This is exactly what we want.
But does it work? How far can we go in the "mathematic-ness" of this eminently physical machine?
Load library(clpfd) for constraints and use library(plunit) for unit tests:
Put this into a file x.pl that you can load with [x] alias consult('x') or reload with make on the Prolog REPL:
:- use_module(library(clpfd)).
lijstSom([],0) :-
format("Hit case ([],0)\n"),!.
lijstSom([1],1) :-
format("Hit case ([1],1)\n"),!.
lijstSom([K,V|Rest],N) :-
format("Called with K=~w, V=~w, Rest=~w, N=~w\n", [K,V,Rest,N]),
K #= V+1,
T+K #= N,
T #> 0, V #> 0, % needed to avoid infinite descent
lijstSom([V|Rest],T).
:- begin_tests(listsom).
test("0 verify") :- lijstSom([],0).
test("1 verify") :- lijstSom([1],1).
test("3 verify") :- lijstSom([2,1],3).
test("6 verify") :- lijstSom([3,2,1],6).
test("0 construct") :- lijstSom(L,0) , L = [].
test("1 construct") :- lijstSom(L,1) , L = [1].
test("3 construct") :- lijstSom(L,3) , L = [2,1].
test("6 construct") :- lijstSom(L,6) , L = [3,2,1].
test("0 sum") :- lijstSom([],S) , S = 0.
test("1 sum") :- lijstSom([1],S) , S = 1.
test("3 sum") :- lijstSom([2,1],S) , S = 3.
test("6 sum") :- lijstSom([3,2,1],S) , S = 6.
test("1 partial") :- lijstSom([X],1) , X = 1.
test("3 partial") :- lijstSom([X,1],3) , X = 2.
test("6 partial") :- lijstSom([X,2,1],6) , X = 3.
test("1 extreme partial") :- lijstSom([X],S) , X = 1, S = 1.
test("3 extreme partial") :- lijstSom([X,1],S) , X = 2, S = 3.
test("6 extreme partial") :- lijstSom([X,2,1],S) , X = 3, S = 6.
test("6 partial list") :- lijstSom([X|L],6) , X = 3, L = [2,1].
% Important to test the NOPES
test("bad list", fail) :- lijstSom([3,1],_).
test("bad sum", fail) :- lijstSom([3,2,1],5).
test("reversed list", fail) :- lijstSom([1,2,3],6).
test("infinite descent from 2", fail) :- lijstSom(_,2).
test("infinite descent from 9", fail) :- lijstSom(_,9).
:- end_tests(listsom).
Then
?- run_tests(listsom).
% PL-Unit: listsom ...................... done
% All 22 tests passed
What would Dijkstra say? Yeah, he would probably bitch about something.

Prolog - Printing Result After Two Recursive Rules | Sum of Squares

I am brand new to prolog and I feel like there is a concept that I am failing to understand, which is preventing me from grasping the concept of recursion in prolog. I am trying to return S, which is the sum of the square of each digit, taken as a list from an integer that is entered by the user in a query. E.g The user enters 12345, I must return S = (1^2)+(2^2)+(3^2)+(4^2)+(5^2) = 55.
In my program below, I understand why the each segment of the calculation of S is printed multiple time as it is part of the recursive rule. However, I do not understand how I would be able to print S as the final result. I figured that I could set a variable = to the result from sos in the second rule and add it as a parameter for intToList but can't seem to figure this one out. The compiler warns that S is a singleton variable in the intToList rule.
sos([],0).
sos([H|T],S) :-
sos(T, S1),
S is (S1 + (H * H)),
write('S is: '),write(S),nl.
intToList(0,[]).
intToList(N,[H|T]) :-
N1 is floor(N/10),
H is N mod 10,
intToList(N1,T),
sos([H|T],S).
The issue with your original code is that you're trying to handle your call to sos/2 within your recursive clause for intToList/2. Break it out (and rename intToList/2 to something more meaningful):
sosDigits(Number, SoS) :-
number_digits(Number, Digits),
sos(Digits, SoS).
Here's your original sos/2 without the write, which seems to work fine:
sos([], 0).
sos([H|T], S) :-
sos(T, S1),
S is (S1 + (H * H)).
Or better, use an accumulator for tail recursion:
sos(Numbers, SoS) :-
sos(Numbers, 0, SoS).
sos([], SoS, SoS).
sos([X|Xs], A, SoS) :-
A1 is A + X*X,
sos(Xs, A1, SoS).
You can also implement sos/2 using maplist/3 and sumlist/2:
square(X, S) :- S is X * X.
sos(Numbers, SoS) :- maplist(square, Numbers, Squares), sumlist(Squares, SoS).
Your intToList/2 needs to be refactored using an accumulator to maintain correct digit order and to get rid of the call to sos/2. Renamed as explained above:
number_digits(Number, Digits) :-
number_digits(Number, [], Digits).
number_digits(Number, DigitsSoFar, [Number | DigitsSoFar]) :-
Number < 10.
number_digits(Number, DigitsSoFar, Digits) :-
Number >= 10,
NumberPrefix is Number div 10,
ThisDigit is Number mod 10,
number_digits(NumberPrefix, [ThisDigit | DigitsSoFar], Digits).
The above number_digits/2 also handles 0 correctly, so that number_digits(0, Digits) yields Digit = [0] rather than Digits = [].
You can rewrite the above implementation of number_digits/3 using the -> ; construct:
number_digits(Number, DigitsSoFar, Digits) :-
( Number < 10
-> Digits = [Number | DigitsSoFar]
; NumberPrefix is Number div 10,
ThisDigit is Number mod 10,
number_digits(NumberPrefix, [ThisDigit | DigitsSoFar], Digits)
).
Then it won't leave a choice point.
Try this:
sos([],Accumulator,Accumulator).
sos([H|T],Accumulator,Result_out) :-
Square is H * H,
Accumulator1 is Accumulator + Square,
sos(T,Accumulator1,Result_out).
int_to_list(N,R) :-
atom_chars(N,Digit_Chars),
int_to_list1(Digit_Chars,Digits),
sos(Digits,0,R).
int_to_list1([],[]).
int_to_list1([Digit_Char|Digit_Chars],[Digit|Digits]) :-
atom_number(Digit_Char,Digit),
int_to_list1(Digit_Chars,Digits).
For int_to_list I used atom_chars which is built-in e.g.
?- atom_chars(12345,R).
R = ['1', '2', '3', '4', '5'].
And then used a typical loop to convert each character to a number using atom_number e.g.
?- atom_number('2',R).
R = 2.
For sos I used an accumulator to accumulate the answer, and then once the list was empty moved the value in the accumulator to the result with
sos([],Accumulator,Accumulator).
Notice that there are to different variables for the accumulator e.g.
Accumulator1 is Accumulator + Square,
sos(T,Accumulator1,Result_out).
this is because in Prolog variables are immutable, so one can not keep assigning new values to the same variable.
Here are some example runs
?- int_to_list(1234,R).
R = 30.
?- int_to_list(12345,R).
R = 55.
?- int_to_list(123456,R).
R = 91.
If you have any questions just ask in the comments under this answer.

How does these Pascal Triangle functions work?

I'm reading Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming, and there's a code at the beginning that I just cannot understand no matter how hard I try.
declare Pascal AddList ShiftLeft ShiftRight
fun {Pascal N}
if N==1 then [1]
else
L in
L = {Pascal N-1} % Recursion
{AddList {ShiftLeft L}
{ShiftRight L}}
end
end
fun {ShiftLeft L}
case L of H|T then
H|{ShiftLeft T} % Recursion
else [0]
end
end
fun {ShiftRight L}
0 | L
end
fun {AddList L1 L2}
case L1 of H1|T1 then
case L2 of H2|T2
then
H1+H2|{AddList T1 T2} % Recursion
end
else nil
end
end
I kind of get the language constructs (this is the introduction to it), but the thing that really stands in my way is the recursion.
I'm trying to put a label on each recursion call that will abstractly say what goes in here, but I just can't figure it out.
What I ask for is a clear and easy explanations of how these functions work.
Start with N == 1: This is simple. The result is just [1].
Now check for N == 2:
First we calculate L = {Pascal N-1} = {Pascal 2-1} = {Pascal 1} = [1]
Now shifted to the left: [1 0]
Shifted to the right: [0 1]
AddList just adds elementwise. So the result for {Pascal 2} is [1 1].
Now for for N == 3:
{Pascal 2} = [1 1]
Shifted left: [1 1 0]
Shifted right: [0 1 1]
Added: [1 2 1]
Of course the program works the other way around: It starts with some larger N. But at the beginning of the Pascal function the program recurses repeatedly until the parameter N has become 1. Something like this:
{Pascal 3}
{Pascal 2}
{Pascal 1}
[1]
[1 1]
[1 2 1]
Edit: There are actually to kinds of recursion in the program. The first one in Pascal starts with some integer N and recurses down to 1.
The other (in the helper methods) starts with a list consisting of a head and a tail and stops as soon as the list is empty, i.e. cannot be split anymore. (This is using so-called cons lists, an intrinsically recursive data type.)
wmeyer's explanation is very nice. I just want to add a possibly helpful 'visualization' -->
First of all, I'm using the original version of the book (PDF), I beleive, and the functions look like this -->
declare Pascal AddList ShiftLeft ShiftRight
fun {Pascal N}
if N==1 then [1]
else
{AddList {ShiftLeft {Pascal N-1}} {ShiftRight {Pascal N-1}}}
end
end
fun {ShiftLeft L}
case L of H|T then
H|{ShiftLeft T}
else [0] end
end
fun {ShiftRight L} 0|L end
fun {AddList L1 L2}
case L1 of H1|T1 then
case L2 of H2|T2 then
H1+H2|{AddList T1 T2}
end
else nil end
end
Imagine that you want to see row eight of Pascal's triangle. You are going to enter:
{Browse {Pascal 8}}
i.e. you want to display the result of feeding 8 to the function Pascal as defined in the book/here.
First the function tests to see if the value it was just passed is 1 (which will not be true until the LAST iteration of the recursion (or the final recursive call(s)) at which time that [1] (from if N==1) will be returned as the output of THAT CALL OF Pascal and passed back up the 'chain' of executions (of Pascal) to the next most recent call first (where that result, [1], is added to the result of the matching ShiftLeft or ShiftRight, and then THAT result is sent back up the chain, and on and on, until it reaches the first one (Pascal 8). So the calls go 8 levels deep, then pass the answers back up those levels until you get the final answer... but I've jumped ahead.
Ok, since you fed an 8, the test N==1 fails, and therefore instead of being able to shift 'the lists' and add them together in the else clause right away, the function not being able to do that with undefined terms in the 'equations' says "I'll try N - 1! Maybe THAT will be the final answer!!" (for ShiftLeft AND ShiftRight - so this branching occurs each time the recursino happens)
So, the function waits for that answer from Pascal N-1 inside ShiftLeft and ShiftRight... waiting, waiting...
Well, {Pascal 7} won't be true for N==1 either, so the newer calls ("calls", 2nd AND 3rd calls, left and right!) of Pascal will BOTH also ask "What is Pascal N - 1" (7-1 this time) and they will both wait for the answer...
This goes on and on and on and on.... oh wait, until N==1!
Then [1], a list, is returned BACK UP THE CHAIN... so, each successive waiting function call, most recent first (keep in mind all these happen more and more on the way down to get here to the 'bottom' where N==1 as the splits increase (by calling ShiftLeft and ShiftRight at one time each call)) can finally make it's AddList calculation with the answers it has been waiting on from it's own personal, private calls to ShiftLeft and ShiftRight.
Everything goes all the way down to the bottom, splitting into more and more function calls, then we come back to the top and finally can get an answer returned. That final answer is the else clause of the first call to the Pascal function, {Pascal 8}, which now, inside, (since the 8th row of Pascal's triangle is [1 7 21 35 35 21 7 1]) will look like:
{AddList [1 7 21 35 35 21 7 0] [0 7 21 35 35 21 7 1]} <-- at least I think that's what the final lists to be added look like
Which once added is the one list returned as the final answer and displayed: [1 7 21 35 35 21 7 1]

Prolog parse postfix math expressions

I solved this my self. I'll post the solution when were past due date for my homework.
Okay, I'm going to build a parser or an evaluator. The de facto standard when parsing with prefix notation is to just use a stack. Add to the stack if input is a number, if it is an operator you can pop twice apply operator and put the result back on the stack.
The stack here would be a list, so I need to know how I can apply the operators. The input would be a string. "(11+2*)" This would 1+1=2*2=4. First it would read 1, and 1 to the stack. Read another 1 and add it to the stack. Now it reads "+", so it removes(pop) twice from the stack and apply + and puts the result back. Read 2, put 2 on the stack. Read *, pop twice and apply *.
Hope this makes sense. How would the predicate look like? I need one variable for the input string, one to maintain the stack, and one for the result? Three?
I'm especially wondering about push and pop on the stack as well as removing as I go from the input string.
I'll post the teacher's solution:
% Løsning oblig 3, INF121, Høsten 2009.
% Skrevet av: Dag Hovland
% Opphavsrett: Universitetet i Bergen
% Lisensiert under GPL v3, www.gnu.org. Etter tillatelse fra administrasjonen.
% Oppgave 1
alignment([],[],[]).
alignment([X|Xs],[X|Ys],[X|A]) :- alignment(Xs,Ys,A).
alignment(Xs,[_|Ys],A) :- alignment(Xs,Ys,A).
alignment([_|Xs],Ys,A) :- alignment(Xs,Ys,A).
maximum([X|Xs],Max) :- maximum(Xs,X,Max).
maximum([],(X,_),X).
maximum([X|Xs],(_,LM),MX) :- length(X,LX), LX > LM, !, maximum(Xs, (X,LX), MX).
maximum([X|Xs],(M,LM),MX) :- length(X,LX), LX < LM, !, maximum(Xs, (M,LM), MX).
% Pga. kuttene over vet vi at dersom tilfellene under brukes, så er
% X akkurat like lang som lengste sett så langt
maximum([X|Xs],_,MX) :- length(X,LX), maximum(Xs, (X,LX), MX).
maximum([_|Xs],M,MX) :- maximum(Xs, M, MX).
maxAlignment(Xs,Ys,A) :- findall((N,A),alignment(Xs,Ys,N,A),All),!,
maximum(All,(_,A)).
% Oppgave 2
path(S,S,_).
path(S,End,Edges) :- select((S,Next),Edges,EdgesRest),
path(Next, End, EdgesRest).
% select er innebygd. Skriv "listing(select) for å se definisjonen:
%select(A, [A|B], B).
%select(B, [A|C], [A|D]) :-
% select(B, C, D).
% polish(I,V,S) evaluates expression I to value V with stack S.
polish([],V,[V]).
polish(I,V,S) :- append(" ",I1,I),polish(I1,V,S).
polish([NC|I],V,S) :- name(N,[NC]),integer(N),polish(I,V,[N|S]).
polish(I,V,[F1,F2|S]) :- append("+",I1,I),Sum is F1+F2,polish(I1,V,[Sum|S]).
polish(I,V,[F1,F2|S]) :- append("-",I1,I),Sum is F2-F1,polish(I1,V,[Sum|S]).
polish(I,V,[F1,F2|S]) :- append("/",I1,I),Sum is F2/F1,polish(I1,V,[Sum|S]).
polish(I,V,[F1,F2|S]) :- append("*",I1,I),Sum is F1*F2,polish(I1,V,[Sum|S]).
evalPost(S,E) :- polish(S,E,[]).
I'm posting the whole file as it is. The following shows how it works:
?- evalPost("1 2 3 * +", V).
V = 7
?- evalPost("1 3 2 * 2 + +",V).
V = 9
?- evalPost("1 2 3 * 4 + +",V).
V = 11
?- evalPost("1 2 3 * 4 + -",V).
V = -9
?- evalPost("4 2 / 1 +",V).
V = 3

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