Constraint-Logic Object-Oriented Programming with Free Arrays

TL;DR

This paper introduces free arrays, array-typed logic variables with indeterminate lengths and non-deterministic element access, enhancing constraint-logic object-oriented programming by integrating array handling.

Contribution

It conceptualizes free arrays, completing the set of logic variable types and enabling more flexible constraint-logic object-oriented programming with array-typed variables.

Findings

Free arrays have indeterminate lengths.

They support non-deterministic array element access.

Enhance the expressiveness of constraint-logic object-oriented programming.

Abstract

Constraint-logic object-oriented programming provides a useful symbiosis between object-oriented programming and constraint-logic search. The ability to use logic variables, constraints, non-deterministic search, and object-oriented programming in an integrated way facilitates the combination of search-related program parts and other business logic in object-oriented applications. With this work we conceptualize array-typed logic variables ("free arrays"), thus completing the set of types that logic variables can assume in constraint-logic object-oriented programming. Free arrays exhibit interesting properties, such as indeterminate lengths and non-deterministic accesses to array elements.