Using assertions for preprocessing programs

Assertions

Predicate assertions can be used to declare properties of the execution states at the time of calling a predicate and upon predicate success. Also, properties of the computation of the calls to a predicate can be declared.

Assertions may be qualified by keywords check or trust. Assertions qualified with the former---or not qualifed---are known as check assertions; those qualified with the latter are known as trust assertions. Check assertions state the programmer's intention about the program and are used by the debugger to check for program inconsistencies. On the contrary, trust assertions are “trusted” by CiaoPP tools.

:- success Goal => Postcond.

:- success Goal : Precond => Postcond.

:- calls Goal : Cond.

:- comp Goal : Precond + Comp-prop.

:- pred Pred : Precond => Postcond + Comp-prop.

:- success Pred : Precond => Postcond.

:- comp Pred : Precond + Comp-prop.

:- calls Pred : ( Precond1 ; ... ; Precondn ).

:- success qsort(A,B) => list(B).

:- success qsort(A,B) : list(A) => list(B).

:- calls qsort(A,B) : list(A).

:- comp qsort(A,B) : (list(A) , var(B)) + does_not_fail.

:- pred qsort(A,B) : (list(A) , var(B)) => list(B) + does_not_fail.

:- calls qsort(A,B) : (list(A), var(B)).
:- success qsort(A,B) : (list(A), var(B)) => list(B).
:- comp qsort(A,B) : (list(A) , var(B)) + does_not_fail.

:- pred qsort(A,B) : list(A) => list(B).

:- calls qsort(A,B) : ((list(A), var(B)) ; list(A)).

Properties

Whereas each kind of assertion indicates when, i.e., in which states or sequences of states, to check the given properties, the properties themselves define what to check. Properties are used to say things such as “X is a list of integers,” “Y is ground,” “p(X) does not fail,” etc. and in Ciao they are logic predicates, in the sense that the evaluation of each property either succeeds or fails. The failure or success of properties typically needs to be determined at the time when the assertions in which they appear are checked. Assertions can be checked both at compile-time by CiaoPP and at run-time by Ciao itself (after the instrumentation of the program by CiaoPP). In this section we will concentrate exclusively on run-time checking.

A property may be a predefined predicate in the language (such as integer(X)) or constraint (such as X>5). Properties may include extra-logical predicates such as var(X)). Also, expressions built using conjunctions of properties,

Note: Although disjunctions are also supported, we restrict our attention to only conjunctions.

or, in principle, any predicate defined by the user, using the full underlying (C)LP language. As an example, consider defining the predicate sorted(B) and using it as a postcondition to check that a more involved sorting algorithm such as qsort(A,B) produces correct results.

While user-defined properties allow for properties that are as general as allowed by the full source language syntax, some limitations are useful in practice. Essentially, the behaviour of the program should not change in a fundamental way depending on whether the run-time tests are being performed or not. For example, turning on run-time checking should not introduce non-termination in a program which terminates without run-time checking. To this end, it is required that the user ensure that the execution of properties terminate for any possible initial state. Also, checking a property should not change the answers computed by the program or produce unexpected side-effects. Regarding computed answers, in principle properties are not allowed to further instantiate their arguments or add new constraints. Regarding side-effects, it is required that the code defining the property does not perform input/output, add/delete clauses, etc. which may interfere with the program behaviour. It is the user's responsibility to only use predicates meeting these conditions as properties. The user is required to identify in a special way the predicates which he or she has determined to be legal properties. This is done by means of a declaration of the form

:- prop Spec.

Given the classes of assertions presented previously, there are two fundamental classes of properties. The properties used in the Cond of calls assertions, Postcond of success assertions, and Precond of success and comp assertions refer to a particular execution state and we refer to them as properties of execution states. The properties used in the Comp-prop part of comp assertions refer to a sequence of states and we refer to them as properties of computations.

Basic properties, including instantiation and compatibility state properties, types, and properties of computations (all discussed in Declaring regular types) are documented in Basic data types and properties.

Preprocessing units

The preprocessing unit is the piece of code that is made available to CiaoPP at a given preprocessing session. Normally, this is a file, but not all the code of a program is necessarily contained in one single file: in order to statically manipulate the code in a file, CiaoPP needs to know the interactions of this code with other pieces of the program---probably scattered over other files---, as well as what the user's interaction with the code will be upon execution. This is also done through the use of assertions.

If the preprocessing unit is self-contained the only interaction of its code (apart from calling the builtin predicates of the language) is with the user. The user's interaction with the program consists in querying the program. The predicates that may be directly queried by the user are entry points to the preprocessing unit.

Entry points can be declared in two ways: using a module declaration specifying the entry points, or using one entry declaration for each entry point. If entry declarations are used, instead of, or in addition to, the module declaration, they can also state properties which will hold at the time the predicate is called.

However, if the preprocessing unit is not self-contained, but only part of a larger program, then other interactions may occur. The interactions of the preprocessing unit include: the user's queries, calls from other parts of the program to the unit code, calls to the unit code from unit code which does not appear explicitely in the unit text, and calls from the unit code to other parts of the program.

First, other parts of the program can call predicates defined in the preprocessing unit. CiaoPP needs to know this information. It must be declared by specifying additional entry points, together with those corresponding to the user's queries.

Second, the preprocessing unit itself may contain meta-calls which may call any unspecified predicate. All predicates that may be called in such a way should be declared also as entry points. Additional entry points also occur when there are predicates defined in the preprocessing unit which can be dynamically modified. In this case the code dynamically added can contain new predicate calls. These calls should be declared also as entry points.

Note that all entry points to the preprocessing unit should be declared: entry points including query calls that the user may issue to the program, or another part of the program can issue to the unit, but also dynamic calls: goals that may be run within the unit which do not appear explicitely in the unit text, i.e., from meta-predicates or from dynamic clauses which may be asserted during execution. In all cases, entry declarations are used to declare entry points.

Note: When the language supports a module system, entry points are implicitely declared by the exported predicates. In this case entry declarations are only used for local predicates if there are dynamic calls.

Third, the unit code may call predicates defined in other parts of the program. The code defining such predicates is termed foreign code, since it is foreign to the preprocessing unit. It is important that CiaoPP knows information about how calls to foreign code will succeed (if they succeed), in order to improve its accuracy. This can be done using trust declarations.

Also, trust declarations can be used to provide the preprocessor with extra information. They can be used to describe calls to predicates defined within the preprocessing unit, in addition to those describing foreign code. This can improve the information available to the preprocessor and thus help it in its task. Trust declarations state properties that the programmer knows to hold of the program.

The builtin predicates is one particular case of predicates the definitions of which are never contained in the program itself. Therefore, preprocessing units never contain code to define the builtins that they use. However, the Ciao Program Precompiler makes no assumptions on the underlying language (except that it is constraint logic programming). Thus, all information on the behaviour of the language builtins should be made available to it by means of assertions (although this does not concern the application programmer who is going to preprocess a unit, rather it concerns the system programmer when installing the Ciao Program Precompiler ).

The rest of this document summarizes how assertions can be used to declare the preprocessing unit interactions. It shows the use of entry and trust declarations in preprocessing programs with CiaoPP.

Note: This manual concentrates on one particular use of the declarations for solving problems related to compile-time program analysis. However, there are other possible solutions. For a complete discussion of these see [BCHP96].

Foreign code

A program preprocessing unit may make use of predicates defined in other parts of the program. Such predicates are foreign to the preprocessing unit, i.e., their code is not in the unit itself. In this case, CiaoPP needs to know which is the effect that such predicates may cause on the execution of the predicates defined in the unit. For this purpose, trust declarations are used.

Foreign code includes predicates defined in other modules which are used by the preprocessing unit, predicates defined in other files which do not form part of the preprocessing unit but which are called by it, builtin predicates

Note: However, builtin predicates are usually taken care of by the system programmer, and the preprocessor, once installed, already “knows” them.

used by the code in the preprocessing unit, and code written in a foreign language which will be linked with the program. All foreign calls (except to builtin predicates) need to be declared.

Note: However, if the language supports a module system, and the preprocessor is used in modular analysis operation mode, trust declarations are imported from other modules and do not need to be declared in the preprocessing unit.

Trust declarations have the following form:

:- trust success Goal : ( Prop, ..., Prop )
                     => ( Prop, ..., Prop ).

The first list of properties states the information at the time of calling the goal and the second one at the time of success of the goal. Thus, such a trust assertion declares that for any call to the predicate where the properties in the first list hold, those of the second will also hold upon success of the call.

Simplified versions of trust assertions can also be used, much the same as with entry declarations. See Assertions.

Trust declarations are a means to provide the preprocessor with extra information about the program states. This information is guaranteed to hold, and for this reason the preprocessor trusts it. Therefore, it should be used with great care, since if it is wrong the precompilation of your program will possibly be wrong.

:- trust success p/2 : def * free => def * def.
:- trust success p/2 : free * def => free * def.

Dynamic predicates

Predicate definitions can be augmented, reduced, and modified during program execution. This is done through the database manipulation builtins, which include assert, retract, abolish, and clause. These builtins (with the exception of clause) dynamically manipulate the program itself by adding to or removing clauses from it. Predicates that can be affected by such builtins are called dynamic predicates.

There are at least two possible classes of dynamic predicates which behave differently from the point of view of static manipulation. First, clauses can be asserted and/or retracted to maintain an information database that the program uses. In this case, usually only facts are asserted. Second, full clauses can be asserted for predicates which are also called within the program.

The first class of dynamic predicates are declared by data declarations. The second class by dynamic declarations. The form of both declarations is as follows:

:- data Spec, ..., Spec.
:- dynamic Spec, ..., Spec.

Of course, the preprocessor cannot know of the effect that dynamic clauses added to the definition of a predicate may cause in the execution of that predicate. However, this effect can be described to the preprocessor by adding trust declarations for the dynamic predicates.

Entry points

In a preprocessing session (at least) one entry point to the preprocessing unit is required. It plays a role during preprocessing similar to that of the query that is given to the program to run. Several entry points may be given. Entry points are given to the preprocessor by means of entry or module declarations.

If the preprocessing unit is a module, only the exported predicates can be queried. If the preprocessing unit is not a module, all of its predicates can be queried: all the unit predicates may be entry points to it. Entry declarations can then be used by the programmer to specify additional information about the properties that hold of the arguments of a predicate call when that predicate is queried.

Note that if the unit is not a module all of its predicates are considered entry points to the preprocessor. However, if the unit incorporates some entry declarations the preprocessor will act as if the predicates declared were the only entry points (the preprocessing session being valid for a particular use of the unit code---that specified by the entry declarations given).

The entry declaration has the following form:

:- entry Goal : ( Prop, ..., Prop ).

where Goal is an atom of the predicate that may be called, with all arguments single distinct variables, and Prop is an atom which declares a property of one (or several) of the goal variables. The list of properties is optional.

There are alternative formats in which the properties can be given: as the arguments of Goal itself, or as keywords of the declaration. For a complete reference of the syntax of assertions, see Assertions.

append([], L, L).
append([H|T], L, [H|R]) :- append(T, L, R).

:- entry append(X,Y,Z) : ( list(X), list(Y), var(Z) ).
:- entry append/3 : list * list * var.
:- entry append(list,list,var).

p(X,Y):- q(X,Y,Z).
q(X,Y,Z):- X = f(Y,Z), Y + Z = 3.

:- entry p/2.

:- entry p(X,Y).

:- entry p(X,Y) : ( def(X), free(Y) ).
:- entry p(def,free).

:- entry p(X,Y) : ( X=f(A,B), def(A), free(B), free(Y) ).

:- entry p(X,Y) : free(Y).
:- entry p(X,free).

Modules

Modules provide for encapsulation of code, in such a way that (some) predicates defined in a module can be used by other parts of the program (possibly other modules), but other (auxiliary) predicates can not. The predicates that can be used are exported by the module defining them and imported by the module(s) which use(s) them. Thus, modules provide for a natural declaration of the allowed entry points to a piece of a program.

A module is identified by a module declaration at the beginning of the file defining that module. The module declaration has the following form:

:- module(Name, [ Spec,...,Spec ] ).

Note that such a module declaration is equivalent, for the purpose of static preprocessing, to as many entry declarations of the form:

:- entry Spec.

Dynamic calls

In addition to entry points there are other calls that may occur from within a piece of code which do not explicitely appear in the code itself. Among these are metacalls, callbacks, and calls from clauses which are asserted during program execution.

Metacalls are literals which call one of their arguments at run-time, converting at the time of the call a term into a goal. Predicates in this class are not only call, but also bagof, findall, setof, negation by failure, and once (single solution).

Metacalls may be static, and this kind of calls need not be declared. A static metacall is, for example, once(p(X)), where the predicate being called is statically identifiable (since it appears in the code). On the other hand, metacalls of the form call(Y) are dynamic, since the predicate being called will only be determined at runtime.

Note: However, sometimes analysis techniques can be used to transform dynamic metacalls into static ones.

Callbacks are also metacalls. A callback occurs when a piece of a program uses a different program module (or object) in such a way that it provides to that module the call that it should issue upon return. Callbacks, much the same as metacalls, can be either dynamic or static. Only the predicates of the preprocessing unit which can be dynamically called-back need be declared.

Clauses that are asserted during program execution correspond to code which is dynamically created; thus, the preprocessor cannot be aware of such code during a (compile-time) preprocessing session. The calls that may appear from the body of a clause which is dynamically created and asserted are also dynamic calls.

p(X,...) :- ..., bagof(P,X,L), ...

:- entry p(def,def).
:- entry q(def,def,def).

top :- ..., menu_create(Menu,0,Items,Callback,[]), ...

:- entry app_menu(gnd,app_item).
:- entry edit_menu(gnd,edit_item).

:- entry p/2.
:- entry q/3.

An overview

To process programs with the Ciao Program Precompiler the following guidelines might be useful:

1. Add

   :- use_package(assertions).
   

   to your program.
2. Declare your specification of the program using calls, success, comp, or pred assertions.
3. Use entry declarations to declare all entry points to your program.
4. The preprocessor will notify you during the session of certain program points where a meta-call appears that may call unknown (at compile-time) predicates.

   Add entry declarations for all the predicates that may be dynamically called at such program points.

5. Use data or dynamic declarations to declare all predicates that may be dynamically modified.
6. Add entry declarations for the dynamic calls that may occur from the code that the program may dynamically assert.
7. Optionally, you can interact with the preprocessor using trust assertions.

   For example, the preprocessor will notify you during the session of certain program points where a call appears to an unknown (at compile-time) predicate.

   Add trust declarations for such predicates.