What are new in B-Prolog version 7.1

[Neng-Fa Zhou]

Hi,

B-Prolog version 7.1 has been released. I'd like to share with you in this
email some of the new features and improvements in this new version.

First, version 7.1 is about 10% faster than the previous version 7.0 which
was released one year ago. By and large, since version 6.9 B-Prolog's speed
for standard Prolog programs has been boosted on average by 65% on Windows
and over 90% on Linux and Mac, thanks mainly to the adoption of a new
virtual machine named TOAM Jr. B-Prolog has become one of the fastest Prolog
implementations (see benchmark results at
http://probp.com/performance.htm ).

Second, version 7.1 incorporates an improvement of the memory manager that
lightens expansion of the stack, heap, and table area. This improvement is
crucial for memory-demanding applications and also for programs that may
cause garbage collection and stack expansion due to looping. The interrupt
event (ctl-c) is handled with significantly shorter delays than before.

Third, new propagators are deployed in version 7.1 for non-linear, global,
and disjunctive constraints. A test on the problem instances from the second
CSP Solver Competition shows that version 7.1 solves more than double the
number of problem instances than version 7.0 in the 2-INT category where
non-linear and disjunctive constraints are used heavily.

Last but not least, several new examples are added into
'BProlog/Examples/java_interface' and 'BProlog/Examples/cg', including an
example that links B-Prolog with MySQL through the JIPL and JDBC interfaces
and a scheduling example that uses CGLIB. As in early versions, JIPL and
CGLIB work on the Windows platform only.

There are several other improvements and bug fixes. Please visit
http://probp.com/updates.htm for the detailed updates.

B-Prolog is available (term & function unlimited and free of charge) for
evaluation, learning, and non-profit research purposes only, and a license
is needed for any other uses.

Best regards,
Neng-Fa Zhou

[Chip Eastham]

On Jun 26, 4:12 pm, "Neng-Fa Zhou" <nz...@acm.org> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> B-Prolog version 7.1 has been released. I'd like to share with you in this
> email some of the new features and improvements in this new version.

Thanks, Neng-Fa.

Is it recommended to uninstall version 7.0 prior to
installing the new version 7.1 B-Prolog?

regards, chip

[Neng-Fa Zhou]

"Chip Eastham" <hard...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:6d69c035-cee8-47bf...@a1g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...

>Is it recommended to uninstall version 7.0 prior to
>installing the new version 7.1 B-Prolog?

There is no need to unstall the older version if you choose the default
setting (answer yes to every question the installer asks). Of course,
uninstalling the older version never hurts.

Cheers,
Neng-Fa