This seems right but I think embedded logic programming in the standard lib is way closer to the right solution than expecting to tackle the appropriate tasks w

This seems right but I think embedded logic programming in the standard lib is way closer to the right solution than expecting to tackle the appropriate tasks with a separate language. Many programs have a sub-problem that is a good fit for logic programming, but it's rare that it be so well encapsulated it's worth deploying an entire separate language for it. Having these tools close at hand the same way we have regex and (more recently) PEGs for grammars definitely makes it more likely that people will reach for them when appropriate, and exposure and familiarity to the practices can grow. I suspect part of the problem is just that minikanren is primarily a learning tool and doesn't prioritize practical ergonomics. I haven't used core.logic but I've used minikanren in this embedded way and it's difficult to do cleanly in ways that have nothing to do with logic programming per se. I may be off but I think it's something that having a high quality professional strength implementation in the stdlib could actually help with.