An overview of the ciao multiparadigm language and program development environment and its design philosophy

We describe some of the novel aspects and motivations behind the design and implementation of the Ciao multiparadigm programming system. An important aspect of Ciao is that it provides the programmer with a large number of useful features from different programming paradigms and styles, and that the use of each of these features can be turned on and off at will for each program module. Thus, a given module may be using e.g. higher order functions and constraints, while another module may be using objects, predicates, and concurrency. Furthermore, the language is designed to be extensible in a simple and modular way. Another important aspect of Ciao is its programming environment, which provides a powerful preprocessor (with an associated assertion language) capable of statically finding non-trivial bugs, verifying that programs comply with specifications, and performing many types of program optimizations. Such optimizations produce code that is highly competitive with other dynamic languages or, when the highest levéis of optimization are used, even that of static languages, all while retaining the interactive development environment of a dynamic language. The environment also includes a powerful auto-documenter. The paper provides an informal overview of the language and program development environment. It aims at illustrating the design philosophy rather than at being exhaustive, which would be impossible in the format of a paper, pointing instead to the existing literature on the system.

Some issues in analysis and specialization of modular ciao-prolog programs

Separating programs into modules is a well-known technique which has proven very useful in program development and maintenance. Starting by introducing a number of possible scenarios, in this paper we study different issues which appear when developing analysis and specialization techniques for modular logic programming. We discuss a number of design alternatives and their consequences for the different scenarios considered and describe where applicable the decisions made in the Ciao system analyzer and specializer. In our discussion we use the module system of Ciao Prolog. This is both for concreteness and because Ciao Prolog is a second-generation Prolog system which has been designed with global analysis and specialization in mind, and which has a strict module system. The aim of this work is not to provide a theoretical basis on modular analysis and specialization, but rather to discuss some interesting practical issues.

The ciao modular, standalone compiler and its generic program processing library

Ciao Prolog incorporates a module system which allows sepárate compilation and sensible creation of standalone executables. We describe some of the main aspects of the Ciao modular compiler, ciaoc, which takes advantage of the characteristics of the Ciao Prolog module system to automatically perform sepárate and incremental compilation and efficiently build small, standalone executables with competitive run-time performance, ciaoc can also detect statically a larger number of programming errors. We also present a generic code processing library for handling modular programs, which provides an important part of the functionality of ciaoc. This library allows the development of program analysis and transformation tools in a way that is to some extent orthogonal to the details of module system design, and has been used in the implementation of ciaoc and other Ciao system tools. We also describe the different types of executables which can be generated by the Ciao compiler, which offer different tradeoffs between executable size, startup time, and portability, depending, among other factors, on the linking regime used (static, dynamic, lazy, etc.). Finally, we provide experimental data which illustrate these tradeoffs.

An overview of ciao and its design philosophy

We provide an overall description of the Ciao multiparadigm programming system emphasizing some of the novel aspects and motivations behind its design and implementation. An important aspect of Ciao is that, in addition to supporting logic programming (and, in particular, Prolog), it provides the programmer with a large number of useful features from different programming paradigms and styles and that the use of each of these features (including those of Prolog) can be turned on and off at will for each program module. Thus, a given module may be using, e.g., higher order functions and constraints, while another module may be using assignment, predicates, Prolog meta-programming, and concurrency. Furthermore, the language is designed to be extensible in a simple and modular way. Another important aspect of Ciao is its programming environment, which provides a powerful preprocessor (with an associated assertion language) capable of statically finding non-trivial bugs, verifying that programs comply with specifications, and performing many types of optimizations (including automatic parallelization). Such optimizations produce code that is highly competitive with other dynamic languages or, with the (experimental) optimizing compiler, even that of static languages, all while retaining the flexibility and interactive development of a dynamic language. This compilation architecture supports modularity and separate compilation throughout. The environment also includes a powerful autodocumenter and a unit testing framework, both closely integrated with the assertion system. The paper provides an informal overview of the language and program development environment. It aims at illustrating the design philosophy rather than at being exhaustive, which would be impossible in a single journal paper, pointing instead to previous Ciao literature.

Independence and search space preservation in dynamically scheduled constraint logic languages

This paper performs a further generalization of the notion of independence in constraint logic programs to the context of constraint logic programs with dynamic scheduling. The complexity of this new environment made necessary to first formally define the relationship between independence and search space preservation in the context of CLP languages. In particular, we show that search space preservation is, in the context of CLP languages, not only a sufficient but also a necessary condition for ensuring that both the intended solutions and the number of transitions performed do not change. These results are then extended to dynamically scheduled languages and used as the basis for the extension of the concepts of independence. We also propose several a priori sufficient conditions for independence and also give correctness and efficiency results for parallel execution of constraint logic programs based on the proposed notions of independence.

New ICT Literacies and Holistic Approaches for the Effective Learning of Languages in Tertiary Education

Abstract: This paper summarizes the evolution of different subjects of English for Specific Purposes and English for Academic and Professional Purposes. The aim here is to show a continuum of changes that have not started and nished in one subject alone but affect the whole curriculum. After the discussion section where advantages and drawbacks of the changes introduced are analyzed, we arrive at some conclusions regarding this ve year period of development in the approach to the teaching and learning of the specific or academic English language in the Escuela Universitaria de Ingeniería Técnica de Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Resumen: Este trabajo resume la evolución que han experimentado distintas asignaturas de Inglés para Fines Especí cos e Inglés para Fines Académicos y Profesionales. El objetivo principal es mostrar cómo el esfuerzo por mejorar las asignaturas afecta al currículo como un todo y no sólo a cada una de las asignaturas. Tras el análisis de algunas de las ventajas e inconvenientes de los cambios introducidos, se alcanzan algunas conclusiones sobre la evolución que han sufrido este tipo de asignaturas durante los últimos cinco años en la Escuela Universitaria de Ingeniería Técnica de Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

The Ciao clp(FD) library. A modular CLP extension for Prolog

We present a new free library for Constraint Logic Programming over Finite Domains, included with the Ciao Prolog system. The library is entirely written in Prolog, leveraging on Ciao's module system and code transformation capabilities in order to achieve a highly modular design without compromising performance. We describe the interface, implementation, and design rationale of each modular component. The library meets several design goals: a high level of modularity, allowing the individual components to be replaced by different versions; highefficiency, being competitive with other TT> implementations; a glass-box approach, so the user can specify new constraints at different levels; and a Prolog implementation, in order to ease the integration with Ciao's code analysis components. The core is built upon two small libraries which implement integer ranges and closures. On top of that, a finite domain variable datatype is defined, taking care of constraint reexecution depending on range changes. These three libraries form what we call the TT> kernel of the library. This TT> kernel is used in turn to implement several higher-level finite domain constraints, specified using indexicals. Together with a labeling module this layer forms what we name the TT> solver. A final level integrates the CLP (J7©) paradigm with our TT> solver. This is achieved using attributed variables and a compiler from the CLP (J7©) language to the set of constraints provided by the solver. It should be noted that the user of the library is encouraged to work in any of those levels as seen convenient: from writing a new range module to enriching the set of TT> constraints by writing new indexicals.

Using modular neural networks to model self-consciousness and self-representation for artificial entities

Self-consciousness implies not only self or group recognition, but also real knowledge of one’s own identity. Self-consciousness is only possible if an individual is intelligent enough to formulate an abstract self-representation. Moreover, it necessarily entails the capability of referencing and using this elf-representation in connection with other cognitive features, such as inference, and the anticipation of the consequences of both one’s own and other individuals’ acts. In this paper, a cognitive architecture for self-consciousness is proposed. This cognitive architecture includes several modules: abstraction, self-representation, other individuals'representation, decision and action modules. It includes a learning process of self-representation by direct (self-experience based) and observational learning (based on the observation of other individuals). For model implementation a new approach is taken using Modular Artificial Neural Networks (MANN). For model testing, a virtual environment has been implemented. This virtual environment can be described as a holonic system or holarchy, meaning that it is composed of autonomous entities that behave both as a whole and as part of a greater whole. The system is composed of a certain number of holons interacting. These holons are equipped with cognitive features, such as sensory perception, and a simplified model of personality and self-representation. We explain holons’ cognitive architecture that enables dynamic self-representation. We analyse the effect of holon interaction, focusing on the evolution of the holon’s abstract self-representation. Finally, the results are explained and analysed and conclusions drawn.

Diseño e implementación de un sintetizador analógico modular

Este documento desarrolla todas las consideraciones, decisiones y acciones que se han llevado a cabo para diseñar y construir desde cero un sintetizador musical analógico y modular, similar en comportamiento al primer sintetizador existente (Moog Modular) pero aprovechando las ventajas de los nuevos componentes electrónicos y circuitos integrados, con el fin de mejorar las características, rendimiento y tamaño del producto final. El proyecto repasará los conceptos básicos de síntesis musical y las distinta partes (módulos) que conforman un sistema de estas características, a continuación empieza la toma de decisiones necesarias en cualquier proyecto electrónico, con el fin de poner limitaciones al comportamiento de cada parte y del sistema en conjunto, obteniendo un objetivo a cumplir. Una vez decidido ese objetivo se procederá al diseño electrónico del interior del aparato. Se complementa el documento con capítulos adicionales en los que se desglosan los resultados obtenidos en distintas medidas y un posible presupuesto de construcción. Se incluyen además anexos con los resultados de algunos de los resultados intermedios obtenidos (placas de circuito impreso y diseños de los frontales) para ser usados en el caso de que este proyecto sea continuado en el futuro.

Topological measure locating the effective crossover between segregation and integration in a modular network

We introduce an easily computable topological measure which locates the effective crossover between segregation and integration in a modular network. Segregation corresponds to the degree of network modularity, while integration is expressed in terms of the algebraic connectivity of an associated hypergraph. The rigorous treatment of the simplified case of cliques of equal size that are gradually rewired until they become completely merged, allows us to show that this topological crossover can be made to coincide with a dynamical crossover from cluster to global synchronization of a system of coupled phase oscillators. The dynamical crossover is signaled by a peak in the product of the measures of intracluster and global synchronization, which we propose as a dynamical measure of complexity. This quantity is much easier to compute than the entropy (of the average frequencies of the oscillators), and displays a behavior which closely mimics that of the dynamical complexity index based on the latter. The proposed topological measure simultaneously provides information on the dynamical behavior, sheds light on the interplay between modularity and total integration, and shows how this affects the capability of the network to perform both local and distributed dynamical tasks.

ARGoS: a modular, multi-engine simulator for heterogeneous swarm robotics

We present ARGoS, a novel open source multi-robot simulator. The main design focus of ARGoS is the real-time simulation of large heterogeneous swarms of robots. Existing robot simulators obtain scalability by imposing limitations on their extensibility and on the accuracy of the robot models. By contrast, in ARGoS we pursue a deeply modular approach that allows the user both to easily add custom features and to allocate computational resources where needed by the experiment. A unique feature of ARGoS is the possibility to use multiple physics engines of different types and to assign them to different parts of the environment. Robots can migrate from one engine to another transparently. This feature enables entirely novel classes of optimizations to improve scalability and paves the way for a new approach to parallelism in robotics simulation. Results show that ARGoS can simulate about 10,000 simple wheeled robots 40% faster than real-time.

Assortative and modular networks are shaped by adaptive synchronization processes

Modular organization and degree-degree correlations are ubiquitous in the connectivity structure of biological, technological, and social interacting systems. So far most studies have concentrated on unveiling both features in real world networks, but a model that succeeds in generating them simultaneously is needed. We consider a network of interacting phase oscillators, and an adaptation mechanism for the coupling that promotes the connection strengths between those elements that are dynamically correlated. We show that, under these circumstances, the dynamical organization of the oscillators shapes the topology of the graph in such a way that modularity and assortativity features emerge spontaneously and simultaneously. In turn, we prove that such an emergent structure is associated with an asymptotic arrangement of the collective dynamical state of the network into cluster synchronization.

Nonlocal analysis of modular roles

We introduce a new methodology to characterize the role that a given node plays inside the community structure of a complex network. Our method relies on the ability of the links to reduce the number of steps between two nodes in the network, which is measured by the number of shortest paths crossing each link, and its impact on the node proximity. In this way, we use node closeness to quantify the importance of a node inside its community. At the same time, we define a participation coefficient that depends on the shortest paths contained in the links that connect two communities. The combination of both parameters allows to identify the role played by the nodes in the network, following the same guidelines introduced by Guimerà et al. [Guimerà & Amaral, 2005] but, in this case, considering global information about the network. Finally, we give some examples of the hub characterization in real networks and compare our results with the parameters most used in the literature.

Dreams: A tool for the design of dynamically reconfigurable embedded and modular systems

Dynamically Reconfigurable Systems are attracting a growing interest, mainly due to the emergence of novel applications based on this technology. However, commercial tools do not provide enough flexibility to design solutions, while keeping an acceptable design productivity. In this paper, a novel design flow is proposed, targeting dynamically reconfigurable systems. It is fully supported by a tool called Dreams, which is able to implement flexible systems, starting from a set of netlists corresponding to the modules, as well as a system description provided by the user. The tool automatically post-processes the nets, implementing a solution for the communications between reconfigurable regions, as well as the handling of routing conflicts, by means of a custom router. Since the design process of every module and the static system are independent, the proposed flow is compatible with system upgrade at run-time. In this paper, a use case corresponding to the design of a highly regular and parallel mesh-type architecture is described, in order to show the architectural flexibility offered by the tool.

Contribución al diseño automático de sistemas digitales modulares mediante un sistema software modular y jerárquico

La diversidad de propiedades que tienen los actuales sistemas digitales es tan amplia —su complejidad tan creciente— que el uso del ordenador resulta obligado tanto para su diseño como para su simulación y puesta a punto. La organización modular de un sistema simplifica notablemente su diseño y reconfiguración (Alabau, 1973). Hoy no resulta grave en principio, el desaprovechar un cierto número de componentes básicos de un circuito integrado. Sin embargo adquiere especial importancia como tema de futuro el diseño concreto de esos módulos en el contexto de un enfoque nuevo del diseño de complejos sistemas digitales y hasta renace el escrupuloso planteamiento de los antiguos criterios de diseño (Harrison, 1965) dirigidos a minimizar el número de componentes.