2.1 Getting started quickly
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  • Documentation
    • Reference manual
      • Overview
        • Getting started quickly
          • Starting SWI-Prolog
          • Adding rules from the console
          • Executing a query
          • Examining and modifying your program
          • Stopping Prolog
    • Packages

2.1.2 Adding rules from the console

Although we strongly advice to put your program in a file, optionally edit it and use make/0 to reload it (see section 2.1.4), it is possible to manage facts and rules from the terminal. The most convenient way to add a few clauses is by consulting the pseudo file user. The input is ended using the system end-of-file character.

?- [user].
|: hello :- format('Hello world~n').
|: ^D
true.

?- hello.
Hello world
true.

The predicates assertz/1 and retract/1 are alternatives to add and remove rules and facts.