/usr/local/lib/swipl/library/aggregate.pl
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  • swipl
    • library
      • error.pl
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      • broadcast.pl
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      • option.pl
      • thread_pool.pl -- Resource bounded thread management
      • gensym.pl -- Generate unique symbols
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      • readutil.pl -- Read utilities
      • operators.pl
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      • solution_sequences.pl
      • ordsets.pl
      • random.pl
      • base64.pl -- Base64 encoding and decoding
      • aggregate.pl -- Aggregation operators on backtrackable predicates
        • aggregate/3
        • aggregate/4
        • aggregate_all/3
        • aggregate_all/4
        • foldall/4
        • foreach/2
        • free_variables/4
        • safe_meta/2
      • yall.pl
      • sandbox.pl
      • apply_macros.pl -- Goal expansion rules to avoid meta-calling
      • assoc.pl
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      • atom.pl -- Operations on atoms
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      • prolog_xref.pl
      • prolog_colour.pl -- Prolog syntax colouring support.
      • lazy_lists.pl
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      • url.pl
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      • git.pl -- Run GIT commands
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      • dialect.pl
      • system.pl -- System utilities
      • terms.pl
      • date.pl
      • persistency.pl
      • iostream.pl -- Utilities to deal with streams
      • prolog_stack.pl
      • edinburgh.pl
      • prolog_clause.pl
      • prolog_breakpoints.pl
      • wfs.pl
      • prolog_code.pl -- Utilities for reasoning about code
      • sort.pl
      • dicts.pl
      • dif.pl
      • varnumbers.pl
      • pio.pl
      • backcomp.pl
      • increval.pl
      • tables.pl
      • base32.pl
      • charsio.pl
      • codesio.pl
      • coinduction.pl
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      • statistics.pl
      • when.pl
      • check.pl
      • prolog_codewalk.pl -- Prolog code walker
      • strings.pl
      • ctypes.pl -- Character code classification
      • thread.pl
      • listing.pl -- List programs and pretty print clauses
      • prolog_versions.pl
      • prolog_metainference.pl -- Infer meta-predicate properties
      • portray_text.pl
      • threadutil.pl -- Interactive thread utilities
 foreach(:Generator, :Goal)
True when the conjunction of instances of Goal created from solutions for Generator is true. Except for term copying, this could be implemented as below.
foreach(Generator, Goal) :-
    findall(Goal, Generator, Goals),
    maplist(call, Goals).

The actual implementation uses findall/3 on a template created from the variables shared between Generator and Goal. Subsequently, it uses every instance of this template to instantiate Goal, call Goal and undo only the instantiation of the template and not other instantiations created by running Goal. Here is an example:

?- foreach(between(1,4,X), dif(X,Y)), Y = 5.
Y = 5.
?- foreach(between(1,4,X), dif(X,Y)), Y = 3.
false.

The predicate foreach/2 is mostly used if Goal performs backtrackable destructive assignment on terms. Attributed variables (underlying constraints) are an example. Another example of a backtrackable data structure is in library(hashtable). If we care only about the side effects (I/O, dynamic database, etc.) or the truth value of Goal, forall/2 is a faster and simpler alternative. If Goal instantiates its arguments it is will often fail as the argument cannot be instantiated to multiple values. It is possible to incrementally grow an argument:

?- foreach(between(1,4,X), member(X, L)).
L = [1,2,3,4|_].

Note that SWI-Prolog up to version 8.3.4 created copies of Goal using copy_term/2 for each iteration, this makes the current implementation unable to properly handle compound terms (in Goal's arguments) that share variables with the Generator. As a workaround you can define a goal that does not use compound terms, like in this example:

mem(E,L) :-  % mem/2 hides the compound argument from foreach/2
   member(r(E),L).

?- foreach(  between(1,5,N), mem(N,L)).