/usr/local/lib/swipl/library/aggregate.pl
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  • swipl
    • library
      • error.pl
      • debug.pl -- Print debug messages and test assertions
      • apply.pl -- Apply predicates on a list
      • lists.pl -- List Manipulation
      • broadcast.pl -- Event service
      • shlib.pl -- Utility library for loading foreign objects (DLLs, shared objects)
      • option.pl -- Option list processing
      • thread_pool.pl
      • gensym.pl -- Generate unique symbols
      • settings.pl -- Setting management
      • arithmetic.pl -- Extensible arithmetic
      • main.pl
      • readutil.pl -- Read utilities
      • operators.pl
      • pairs.pl
      • prolog_source.pl -- Examine Prolog source-files
      • record.pl
      • predicate_options.pl
      • sandbox.pl
      • apply_macros.pl -- Goal expansion rules to avoid meta-calling
      • yall.pl
      • assoc.pl
      • prolog_format.pl -- Analyse format specifications
      • quasi_quotations.pl -- Define Quasi Quotation syntax
      • pure_input.pl -- Pure Input from files and streams
      • solution_sequences.pl
      • ordsets.pl -- Ordered set manipulation
      • random.pl
      • base64.pl
      • 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
      • csv.pl
      • pprint.pl
      • atom.pl -- Operations on atoms
      • modules.pl
      • occurs.pl -- Finding and counting sub-terms
      • prolog_xref.pl -- Prolog cross-referencer data collection
      • prolog_colour.pl -- Prolog syntax colouring support.
      • lazy_lists.pl -- Lazy list handling
      • ugraphs.pl -- Graph manipulation library
      • url.pl -- Analysing and constructing URL
      • www_browser.pl -- Open a URL in the users browser
      • prolog_pack.pl
      • git.pl
      • utf8.pl
      • dialect.pl
      • system.pl
      • terms.pl -- Term manipulation
      • date.pl -- Process dates and times
      • persistency.pl -- Provide persistent dynamic predicates
      • iostream.pl -- Utilities to deal with streams
      • prolog_stack.pl
      • edinburgh.pl
      • prolog_clause.pl
      • prolog_breakpoints.pl -- Manage Prolog break-points
      • wfs.pl -- Well Founded Semantics interface
      • prolog_code.pl
      • sort.pl
      • dicts.pl -- Dict utilities
      • dif.pl -- The dif/2 constraint
      • varnumbers.pl -- Utilities for numbered terms
      • pio.pl -- Pure I/O
      • base32.pl
      • charsio.pl -- I/O on Lists of Character Codes
      • codesio.pl -- I/O on Lists of Character Codes
      • coinduction.pl
      • heaps.pl -- heaps/priority queues
      • rbtrees.pl -- Red black trees
      • statistics.pl -- Get information about resource usage
      • when.pl -- Conditional coroutining
      • backcomp.pl -- Backward compatibility
      • ctypes.pl -- Character code classification
      • quintus.pl
      • tables.pl -- XSB interface to tables
      • writef.pl
      • prolog_qlfmake.pl -- Compile the library to QLF format
      • ansi_term.pl -- Print decorated text to ANSI consoles
      • prolog_trace.pl
      • prolog_metainference.pl
      • prolog_codewalk.pl -- Prolog code walker
      • prolog_coverage.pl -- Coverage analysis tool
      • listing.pl -- List programs and pretty print clauses
      • threadutil.pl -- Interactive thread utilities
      • hashtable.pl
      • nb_set.pl -- Non-backtrackable sets
      • qsave.pl
      • zip.pl -- Access resource ZIP archives
      • macros.pl -- Macro expansion
      • strings.pl -- String utilities
      • prolog_versions.pl
      • make.pl -- Reload modified source files
      • increval.pl -- Incremental dynamic predicate modification
      • thread.pl -- High level thread primitives
      • explain.pl
      • shell.pl
      • prolog_jiti.pl
      • prolog_debug.pl
      • prolog_profile.pl
      • rwlocks.pl -- Read/write locks
      • check.pl -- Consistency checking
      • prolog_config.pl
      • optparse.pl
      • prolog_wrap.pl -- Wrapping predicates
      • fastrw.pl
      • intercept.pl -- Intercept and signal interface
      • edit.pl
      • portray_text.pl -- Portray text
      • prolog_history.pl
      • exceptions.pl -- Exception classification
      • files.pl
      • tty.pl -- Terminal operations
      • streams.pl -- Manage Prolog streams
      • prolog_autoload.pl
      • oset.pl
      • readln.pl
 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)).