Why not adopt me?
NAME
Math::Logic - Provides pure 2, 3 or multi-value logic.
SYNOPSIS
use Math::Logic qw( $TRUE $FALSE $UNDEF $STR_TRUE $STR_FALSE $STR_UNDEF ) ;
# 1 0 -1 'TRUE' 'FALSE' 'UNDEF'
use Math::Logic ':NUM' ; # $TRUE $FALSE $UNDEF -- what you normally want
use Math::Logic ':ALL' ; # All the constants
use Math::Logic ':STR' ; # $STR_TRUE $STR_FALSE $STR_UNDEF
# 2-degree logic
my $true = Math::Logic->new( -value => $TRUE, -degree => 2 ) ;
my $false = Math::Logic->new( -value => $FALSE, -degree => 2 ) ;
my $x = Math::Logic->new_from_string( 'TRUE,2' ) ;
print "true" if $true ;
# 3-degree logic (non-propagating)
my $true = Math::Logic->new( -value => $TRUE, -degree => 3 ) ;
my $false = Math::Logic->new( -value => $FALSE, -degree => 3 ) ;
my $undef = Math::Logic->new( -value => $UNDEF, -degree => 3 ) ;
my $x = Math::Logic->new_from_string( 'FALSE,3' ) ;
print "true" if ( $true | $undef ) == $TRUE ;
# 3-degree logic (propagating)
my $true = Math::Logic->new( -value => $TRUE, -degree => 3, -propagate => 1 ) ;
my $false = Math::Logic->new( -value => $FALSE, -degree => 3, -propagate => 1 ) ;
my $undef = Math::Logic->new( -value => $UNDEF, -degree => 3, -propagate => 1 ) ;
my $x = Math::Logic->new_from_string( '( UNDEF, 3, -propagate )' ) ;
print "undef" if ( $true | $undef ) == $UNDEF ;
# multi-degree logic
my $True = 100 ; # Define our own true
my $False = $FALSE ;
my $true = Math::Logic->new( -value => $True, -degree => $True ) ;
my $very = Math::Logic->new( -value => 67, -degree => $True ) ;
my $fairly = Math::Logic->new( -value => 33, -degree => $True ) ;
my $false = Math::Logic->new( -value => $False, -degree => $True ) ;
my $x = Math::Logic->new_from_string( "25,$True" ) ;
print "maybe" if ( $very | $fairly ) > 50 ;
# We can have arbitrarily complex expressions; the result is a Math::Logic
# object; all arguments must be Math::Logic objects or things which can be
# promoted into such and must all be compatible. The outcome depends on
# which kind of logic is being used.
my $xor = ( $x | $y ) & ( ! ( $x & $y ) ) ;
# This is identical to:
my $xor = $x ^ $y ;DESCRIPTION
Perl's built-in logical operators, and, or, xor and not support 2-value logic. This means that they always produce a result which is either true or false. In fact perl sometimes returns 0 and sometimes returns undef for false depending on the operator and the order of the arguments. For "true" Perl generally returns the first value that evaluated to true which turns out to be extremely useful in practice. Given the choice Perl's built-in logical operators are to be preferred -- but when you really want pure 2-degree logic or 3-degree logic or multi-degree logic they are available through this module.
The only 2-degree logic values are 1 (TRUE) and 0 (FALSE).
The only 3-degree logic values are 1 (TRUE), 0 (FALSE) and -1 (UNDEF). Note that UNDEF is -1 not undef!
The only multi-degree logic values are 0 (FALSE)..-degree -- the value of TRUE is equal to the degree, usually 100.
The -degree is the maximum value (except for 2 and 3-degree logic); i.e. logic of n-degree is n+1-value logic, e.g. 100-degree logic has 101 values, 0..100.
Although some useful constants may be exported, this is an object module and the results of logical comparisons are Math::Logic objects.
2-degree logic
2-degree logic has one simple truth table for each logical operator.
Perl Logic Perl Logic Perl Logic
A B and and A B or or A B xor xor
- - --- --- - - -- -- - - --- ---
F F F F F F F F F F F F
T T T T T T T T T T F F
T F F F T F T T T F T T
F T F F F T T T F T T T
Perl Logic
A not not
- --- ---
F T T
T F FIn the above tables when dealing with Perl's built-in logic T and F are any true and any false value respectively; with Math::Logic they are objects whose values are 1 and 0 respectively. Note that whilst Perl may return 0 or undef for false and any other value for true, Math::Logic returns an object whose value is either 0 (FALSE) or 1 (TRUE) only.
my $true = Math::Logic->new( -value => $TRUE, -degree => 2 ) ;
my $false = Math::Logic->new( -value => $FALSE, -degree => 2 ) ;
my $result = $true & $false ; # my $result = $true->and( $false ) ;
print $result if $result == $FALSE ; 3-degree logic
3-degree logic has two different truth tables for "and" and "or"; this module supports both. In the Perl column F means false or undefined; and T, F and U under Math::Logic are objects with values 1 (TRUE), 0 (FALSE) and -1 (UNDEF) respectively. The + signifies propagating nulls (UNDEFs).
Perl Logic Perl Logic Perl Logic
A B and and+ and A B or or+ or A B xor xor+ xor(same)
- - --- --- --- - - -- -- -- - - --- --- ---
U U F U U U U F U U U U F U U
U F F U F U F F U U U F F U U
F U F U F F U F U U F U F U U
F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F
U T F U U U T T U T U T T U U
T U F U U T U T U T T U T U U
T T T T T T T T T T T T F F F
T F F F F T F T T T T F T T T
F T F F F F T T T T F T T T T
Perl Logic
A not not+ not(same)
- --- --- ---
U T U U
U T U U
F T T T
T F F F
# 3-degree logic (non-propagating)
my $true = Math::Logic->new( -value => $TRUE, -degree => 3 ) ;
my $false = Math::Logic->new( -value => $FALSE, -degree => 3 ) ;
my $undef = Math::Logic->new( -value => $UNDEF, -degree => 3 ) ;
my $result = $undef & $false ; # my $result = $undef->and( $false ) ;
print $result if $result == $FALSE ;
# 3-degree logic (propagating)
my $true = Math::Logic->new( -value => $TRUE, -degree => 3, -propagate => 1 ) ;
my $false = Math::Logic->new( -value => $FALSE, -degree => 3, -propagate => 1 ) ;
my $undef = Math::Logic->new( -value => $UNDEF, -degree => 3, -propagate => 1 ) ;
my $result = $undef & $false ; # my $result = $undef->and( $false ) ;
print $result if $result == $UNDEF ; multi-degree logic
This is used in `fuzzy' logic. Typically we set the -degree to 100 representing 100% likely, i.e. true; 0 represents 0% likely, i.e. false, and any integer in-between is a probability.
The truth tables for multi-degree logic work like this:
and lowest value is the result;
or highest value is the result;
xor by truth table xor(a,b) == and(or(a,b),not(and(a,b)))
not degree minus the value is the result.
Logic
A B and or xor
--- --- --- --- ---
0 0 0 0 0
0 100 0 100 100
100 0 0 100 100
100 100 100 100 0
0 33 0 33 33
33 0 0 33 33
33 100 33 100 67
33 33 33 33 33
100 33 33 100 67
0 67 0 67 67
67 0 0 67 67
67 100 67 100 33
67 67 67 67 33
100 67 67 100 33
33 67 33 67 67
67 33 33 67 67
A not
--- ---
0 100
33 67
67 33
100 0
# multi-degree logic
my $True = 100 ; # Define our own TRUE and FALSE
my $False = $FALSE ;
$true = Math::Logic->new( -value => $True, -degree => $True ) ;
$very = Math::Logic->new( -value => 67, -degree => $True ) ;
$fairly = Math::Logic->new( -value => 33, -degree => $True ) ;
$false = Math::Logic->new( -value => $False, -degree => $True ) ;
my $result = $fairly & $very ; # my $result = $fairly->and( $very ) ;
print $result if $result == $fairly ; Public methods
new class object (also used for assignment)
new_from_string class object
value object
degree object
propagate object
incompatible object
compatible object (deprecated)
as_string object
and object (same as &)
or object (same as |)
xor object (same as ^)
not object (same as !)
"" object (see as_string)
0+ object (automatically handled)
<=> object (comparisons)
& object (logical and)
| object (logical or)
^ object (logical xor)
! object (logical not)new (class and object method)
my $x = Math::Logic->new ;
my $y = Math::Logic->new( -value => $FALSE, -degree => 3, -propagate => 0 );
my $a = $x->new ;
my $b = $y->new( -value => $TRUE ) ;This creates new Math::Logic objects. new should never fail because it will munge any arguments into something `sensible'; in particular if the value is set to -1 (UNDEF) for 2 or multi-degree logic it is silently converted to 0 (FALSE). In all other cases anything that is true in Perl is converted to 1 (TRUE) and everything else to 0 (FALSE).
If used as an object method, e.g. for assignment then the settings are those of the original object unless overridden. If used as a class method with no arguments then default values are used.
-degree an integer indicating the number of possible truth values; typically set to 2, 3 or 100 (to represent percentages). Minimum value is 2.
-propagate a true/false integer indicating whether NULLs (UNDEF) should propagate; only applicable for 3-degree logic where it influences which truth table is used.
-value an integer representing the truth value. For 2-degree logic only 1 and 0 are valid (TRUE and FALSE); for 3-degree logic 1, 0, and -1 are valid (TRUE, FALSE and UNDEF); for multi-degree logic any positive integer less than or equal to the -degree is valid.
new_from_string (class and object method)
my $x = Math::Logic->new_from_string( '1,2' ) ;
my $y = Math::Logic->new_from_string( 'TRUE,3,-propagate' ) ;
my $z = Math::Logic->new_from_string( '( FALSE, 3, -propagate )' ) ;
my $m = Math::Logic->new_from_string( '33,100' ) ;
my $n = Math::Logic->new_from_string( '67%,100' ) ;This creates new Math::Logic objects. The string must include the first two values, which are -value and -degree respectively.
True values can be expressed as 1, T or any word beginning with T, e.g. TRUE or -true; the pattern is /^-?[tT]/. False values can be expressed as 0, F or any word beginning with F, e.g. FALSE or -false; the pattern is /^-?[fF]/. Undef values can be expressed as -1, U or any word beginning with U, e.g. UNDEF or -undef; the pattern is /^-?[uU]/. Propagate is set to true by adding a third parameter matching /^-?[tTpP1]/, e.g. -propagate. To set propagate to false either don't include a third parameter or include it as 0 (zero).
value (object method)
print $x->value ;
print $x ;This returns the numeric value of the object. For 2-degree logic this will always be 1 or 0; for 3-degree logic the value will be 1, 0 or -1; for multi-degree logic the value will be a positive integer <= -degree.
degree (object method)
print $x->degree ;This returns the degree of the object, i.e. the number of possible truth values the object may hold; it is always 2 or more.
propagate (object method)
print $x->propagate ;This returns whether or not the object propagates NULLs (UNDEF). Objects using 2 or multi-degree logic always return FALSE; 3-degree logic objects may return TRUE or FALSE.
incompatible (object method)
print $x & $y unless $x->incompatible( $y ) ; Returns FALSE if the objects are compatible; returns an error string if incompatible (which Perl treats as TRUE), e.g.:
$x = Math::Logic->new_from_string('1,2') ;
$y = Math::Logic->new_from_string('0,3') ;
# The above are incompatible because the first uses 2-degree logic and the
# second uses 3-degree logic.
print $x->incompatible( $y ) if $x->incompatible( $y ) ;
# This will print something like:
Math::Logic(2,0) and Math::Logic(3,0) are incompatible at ./logic.t line 2102
# The first number given is the degree and the second the propagate settingObjects are compatible if they have the same -degree and in the case of 3-degree logic the same -propagate. Logical operators will only work on compatible objects, there is no type-coersion (but see typecasting later).
compatible DEPRECATED (object method)
print $x->compatible( $y ) ;Returns TRUE or FALSE depending on whether the two objects are compatible. Objects are compatible if they have the same -degree and in the case of 3-degree logic the same -propagate. Logical operators will only work on compatible objects, there is no type-coersion (but see typecasting later).
as_string and "" (object method) # output: print $x->as_string ; # TRUE print $x->as_string( 1 ) ; # (TRUE,2) print $x->as_string( -full ) ; # (TRUE,2)
print $x ; # TRUE
print $x->value ; # 1
print $m ; # 33
print $m->value ; # 33
print $m->as_string( 1 ) ; # (33%,100)Usually you won't have to bother using as_string since Perl will invoke it for you as necessary; however if you want a string that can be saved, (perhaps to be read in using new_from_string later), you can pass an argument to as_string.
and and & (object method)
print "true" if ( $y & $z ) == $TRUE ;
print "yes" if $y & 1 ;
print "yes" if $TRUE & $y ;
$r = $y & $z ; # Creates a new Math::Logic object with the resultant truth value
print "true" if $y->and( $z ) == $TRUE ;Applies logical and to two objects. The truth table used depends on the object's -degree (and in the case of 3-degree logic on the -propagate). (See the truth tables above.)
or and | (object method)
print "true" if ( $y | $z ) == $TRUE ;
print "yes" if $y | 1 ;
print "yes" if $TRUE | $y ;
$r = $y | $z ; # Creates a new Math::Logic object with the resultant truth value
print "true" if $y->or( $z ) == $TRUE ;Applies logical or to two objects. The truth table used depends on the object's -degree (and in the case of 3-degree logic on the -propagate). (See the truth tables above.)
xor and ^ (object method)
print "true" if ( $y ^ $z ) == $TRUE ;
print "yes" if $y ^ 0 ;
print "yes" if $TRUE ^ $y ;
$r = $y ^ $z ; # Creates a new Math::Logic object with the resultant truth value
print "true" if $y->xor( $z ) == $TRUE ;Applies logical xor to two objects. The truth table used depends on the object's -degree. (See the truth tables above.)
not and ! (object method)
print "true" if ! $y == $TRUE ;
$r = ! $y ; # Creates a new Math::Logic object with the resultant truth value
print "true" if $y->not == $TRUE ;Applies logical not to the object. The truth table used depends on the object's -degree. (See the truth tables above.)
comparisons and <=> (object method)
All the standard (numeric) comparison operators may be applied to Math::Logic objects, i.e. <, <=, >, =>, ==, != and <=>.
typecasting
The only typecasting that appears to make sense is between 2 and 3-degree logic. There is no direct support for it but it can be achieved thus:
my $x = Math::Logic->new_from_string( '1,2' ) ; # TRUE 2-degree
my $y = Math::Logic->new_from_string( '0,3' ) ; # FALSE 3-degree
my $z = Math::Logic->new_from_string( '-1,3' ) ; # UNDEF 3-degree
$x3 = $x->new( -degree => 3 ) ;
$y2 = $y->new( -degree => 2 ) ;
$z2 = $y->new( -degree => 2 ) ; # UNDEF converted silently to FALSEBUGS
Multi-degree logic has a minimum degree of 4, i.e. 5-value, 0..4.
If you use & on two incompatible Math::Logic objects perl dies; I believe that this is due to a problem with overload: it does not occur with perl 5.6.0.
CHANGES
2000/05/25
No changes; just corrected an error in the tarball that meant the test would fail in some cases due to permissions problem.
2000/05/22
Dropped use of readonly pragma.
2000/04/26
Deleted quite a lot of internal error checks to improve speed.
Class is now inheritable.
2000/04/15
Have switched constants to readonly scalars, i.e. $TRUE instead of TRUE etc. This makes them easier to use for certain things, e.g. string interpolation and as array indexes or hash keys. The (now deprecated) constants still work but you are recommended to use the constant scalars instead. You will need to install readonly.pm which should be available from wherever you got Math::Logic.
The bugs with overload do not occur with perl 5.6.0. Added two tests which are run if perl's version is > 5.005.
2000/02/27
Numerous minor documentation changes to clarify terminology.
Two bugs noted.
More tests added.
2000/02/23
Corrected multi-degree xor to match the truth table equivalence, i.e.
xor(a,b) == and(or(a,b),not(and(a,b)))which can be expressed in Math::Logic as
$a->xor( $b ) == $a->or( $b )->and( $a->and( $b )->not )or as
$a ^ $b == ( $a | $b ) & ( ! ( $a & $b ) )2000/02/22
Minor correction to _croak so that error messages don't list filename and line twice; plus other minor cleanups to improve error output.
Changed the way new_from_string handles string truth values; numeric truth values operate as before.
2000/02/21
Added incompatible method and now deprecate compatible method; this provides better error messages; updated test script.
2000/02/20
Minor documentation fixes. Also eliminated a warning that occurred under 5.005.
2000/02/19
First version. Ideas taken from my Math::Logic3 and (unpublished) Math::Fuzzy; this module is intended to supercede both.
AUTHOR
Mark Summerfield. I can be contacted as <summer@perlpress.com> - please include the word 'logic' in the subject line.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) Mark Summerfield 2000. All Rights Reserved.
This module may be used/distributed/modified under the LGPL.