OPS5 Programming Language Help For Students

Introduction to OPS5

OPS5 is a rule-based or production system computer language, notable as the first such language to be used in a successful expert system, the R1/XCON system used to configure VAX computers. An OPS5 program consists of a set of production rules. Each rule has a precedent, or set of conditions which govern application of the rule, and an antecedent which define actions to take upon triggering the rule. OPS5 supports both forward-chaining and backward-chaining control models.

Example: Hello World!

{`
(object-className request
^action)
(startup
(strategy MEA)
(make request ^action hello)
)
(rule hello
(request ^action hello)
(write |Hello, world!| (crlf))
)
`}

Compiler Download

To get started, see Download and install Opal and follow the instructions.