Foreword

This chapter presents the prolog of the book Principle of logic and logic programming. In logic, propositions are elementary statement and conclusion units; they are analyzed both as to the form, namely their syntax, and as the interpretation, namely their semantics. The relation between the syntax and the semantics is also examined in the book. The first steps in logic are credited to the Ionian and Elean philosophers and to the sophists. It is however Aristotle who is considered as the founder of logic as a science. The basic steps toward a general method based on logic that allow the statement procedures as well as manipulation of symbols, are first accomplished with the use of the resolution method, and with the use of logic directly as a logic programming language. The chapter discusses logic's basic elements, and explores the relation of and the transition from logic to logic programming.