The SeaLion has Landed: An IDE for Answer-Set Programming---Preliminary Report

TL;DR

SeaLion is an Eclipse-based IDE designed to support answer-set programming by providing syntax highlighting, debugging, visualization, and external solver integration, aiming to improve developer productivity and practical applicability.

Contribution

This paper introduces SeaLion, a new IDE tailored for answer-set programming, with features supporting writing, debugging, and visualizing answer-set programs, based on recent research.

Findings

Supports syntax highlighting and checking for Gringo and DLV.

Provides visualization and editing of answer sets.

Integrates external solvers for answer-set computation.

Abstract

We report about the current state and designated features of the tool SeaLion, aimed to serve as an integrated development environment (IDE) for answer-set programming (ASP). A main goal of SeaLion is to provide a user-friendly environment for supporting a developer to write, evaluate, debug, and test answer-set programs. To this end, new support techniques have to be developed that suit the requirements of the answer-set semantics and meet the constraints of practical applicability. In this respect, SeaLion benefits from the research results of a project on methods and methodologies for answer-set program development in whose context SeaLion is realised. Currently, the tool provides source-code editors for the languages of Gringo and DLV that offer syntax highlighting, syntax checking, and a visual program outline. Further implemented features are support for external solvers and visualisation as well as visual editing of answer sets. SeaLion comes as a plugin of the popular Eclipse platform and provides itself interfaces for future extensions of the IDE.