-------------------------- | Mini Amzi!News, May 97 | -------------------------- Contents -------- Amzi! Prolog + Logic Server 4.0 Finally Final Amzi! Prolog + Logic Server 3.4 Downloading and Upgrading Amzi! Prolog + Logic Server 4.0 Finally Final --------------------------------------------- Amzi! Prolog + Logic Server 4.0 is finally final. Having been caught in the 'just one more feature' trap for a number of months, we've finally declared 4.0 final. We've still gots lots of plans for ongoing work, but they'll come out in 4.0+ releases. The highlights of the 4.0 release are: 1- Internally, the Prolog engine (a Warren Abstract Machine (WAM)) has been re-implemented in C++. (Side Note - The Amzi! Prolog + Logic Server architecture is almost identical to the Java architecture. The WAM is a virtual machine designed for running compiled Prolog byte codes. The Amzi! compiler and linker create binary byte-code files that are platform independent. They can be run on any machine that has an implementation of the Amzi! WAM.) 2- A Prolog engine is now a class, and an application can have as many instances of an engine as desired. In other words, Amzi! 4.0 supports multiple engines running in, optionally, multiple threads. 3- The Logic Server Application Program Interface (LSAPI) is now implemented as a collection of member functions for the class Logic Server. (The Logic Server API is an API on the Amzi! WAM. In other words, it provides a host program with function calls for accessing the services of a Prolog engine.) 4- The LSAPI functions as defined in 3.3 are still supported, as are the wrappers for Delphi, VB and Java. 5- Error handling is now based on an integration between C++ catch/throw constructs and ISO Prolog catch/throw constructs. (This is one of the few changes that will seriously impact existing programs. If you use the 3.3 error handling predicates, you will need to redesign those parts of your application, hopefully for the better.) 6- Internally, Amzi! 4.0 is a pure Unicode release. Externally, it supports ANSI and Multi-byte applications as well as Unicode. 7- The Interactive Development Environment (IDE) takes advantage of the new error handling to provide better error reporting and recovery, including highlighting read errors in the appropriate edit window, separate error dialog boxes, and presentation of call-stack information. 8- The IDE has been enhanced to include Prolog Projects that make developing Prolog easier. New features include buttons for compiling and linking projects, consulting projects, automatic saving of the state of edit windows, definition of the project directory, inclusion of libraries (such as a library of list processing predicates) and ability to define a single file with operator definitions for the project. 9- Predicate library support has been added, and the 4.0 release contains the begins of a few predicate libraries. These come with full source and embedded HTML documentation. We welcome any and all contributions to the libraries. 10- The Windows NT version of the IDE supports both Unicode and non-Unicode Prolog source files. The Windows 95 version of the IDE supports Multi-byte character Prolog source code. In both IDEs the listener supports the same font used by the edit windows. 11- New samples highlight the multithreading and Unicode features. A version of the Rubik's cube program is included that solves simultaneous cubes in mutiple threads. Clocksin & Mellish's Predicate Calculus to Prolog translator (using actual symbols for 'exists' etc.) and a simple Japanese - English translator are included. 12- Amzi! 4.0 is a complete electronic version. The documentation has been completely redone in HTML format. This allows us to easily keep the documentation up to date and to easily make new releases available. (We've tried to make it as accessible as possible with a good index (generated from an Amzi! Prolog program) and table of contents.) 13- Amzi! 4.0 is a pure 32-bit application, running on PCs under Windows 95 and Windows NT. It does not support Windows 3.1 or Win32s. Those platforms are covered by the new Amzi! 3.4 release. Amzi! Prolog + Logic Server 3.4 ------------------------------- We, like all software vendors, find ourselves in the unfortunate position of having many customers pushing the latest technologies and many customers deploying applications that must support users on existing 16- and 32-bit Windows platforms. After quite a bit of effort we decided the forces of change in the Windows world make it impractical to try to support both the rapidly evolving 32-bit development tools and the existing 16-bit world in one product. So, 4.0 is the release designed to support the latest and emerging development platforms and environments. 3.4 is the release intended for supporting either pure 16-bit applications, or applications that must support both 16-bit DOS/Windows and 32-bit Windows. 3.4 is very similar to the existing 3.3 release, but with one major change. It, like 4.0, has been packaged for pure electronic distribution. Downloading and Upgrading ------------------------- Existing subscribers can download both 4.0 and 3.4 from our web site by following the instructions in your subscriber letter. If you need a new copy of the letter e-mailed to you, send your request on www.amzi.com. The following table outlines the cost to upgrade to 4.0 (includes 3.4): 4.0 Professional 4.0 Personal 3.0, 2.0, 1.x users $498 $198 3.3 users before 9/15/96 $349 $149 3.3 users from 9/15/96 to 12/31/96 $198 $98 3.3 users from 1/1/97 to 3/14/97 $98 $49 3.3 users 3/15/97 or later $0 $0 If you want to upgrade from the Personal to the Professional, the cost is $300. If you would like to receive the versions on disk, the cost is $20. Once you have upgraded to 4.0, you will be able to download any new 4.0 releases from our web site. You will also be able to download the 3.4 release (which we do not expect to upgrade further). If you are a current 3.3 user and only wish to acquire 3.4 (but not 4.0), you can do that for $29 (add $20 if you would like to receive it on disks). To order your upgrade, please provide us with the following information: Name: Organization: Address: City: State/Region: Zip/Postal Code: Country: Phone: Fax: EMail (very important): Version/Edition you currently own: Version/Edition you want to upgrade to: Cost to upgrade (from table above): Add $300 if you are going from the Personal to the Professional: Add $20 if you want the product on disks: Credit Card Type: _Visa _MasterCard _AmericanExpress _Discover Card Number: Expiration Date: Cardholder Name: Note: your name and organization are used to unlock the software, so please specify these items as you want them to appear in the software. Thanks!