Logic programming and deductive databases for genomic computations: a comparison between Prolog and LDL

The artificial intelligence (AI) languages of logic programming and deductive databases are simple, powerful tools for genomic research. Their simplicity and power in solving the restriction mapping problem for probed partial experiments are demonstrated, and the more traditional Prolog language is compared with the newer logical data language (LDL). The comparisons are made with respect to procedural control, declarativeness, ease of code modification, and efficiency. While a Prolog program means logic plus control, an LDL program means logic plus little control because its compiler takes care of most of the control problem. While Prolog works top-down and is more efficient, LDL works bottom-up and is easier to use.