The production computer runs exactly the same Prolog implementation that was used for programming, too. And there are two or three other systems that are perhaps not as showy, but do useful work for real applications, such as oil drilling in the North Sea, or estimating the risks of life insurance for one of the largest insurance companies in the world. Certainly this is one reason for the preference of Prolog in commercial applications. These virtues are certainly reason enough to base not only systems, but textbooks, on this language. Dennis Merritt has done this in an admirable manner.
Nothing is farther from the truth.
Its relational data base model and its underlying unification mechanism adapt easily and naturally to virtually any programming paradigm one cares to use. Merritt shows how this works using a copious variety of examples. His book will certainly be of particular value for the professional developer of industrial knowledge-based applications, as well as for the student or programmer interested in learning about or building expert systems. I am, therefore, happy to have served as his editor. A number of people have helped make this book possible.