Both OWL-DL and function-free Horn rules are decidable fragments of first-order logic with interesting, yet orthogonal expressive power. A combination of OWL-DL and rules is desirable for the Semantic Web; however, it might easily lead to the undecidability of interesting reasoning problems. Here, we present a decidable such combination where rules are required to be DL-safe: each variable in the rule is required to occur in a non-DL-atom in the rule body. We discuss the expressive power of such a combination and present an algorithm for query answering in the related logic SHIQ extended with DL-safe rules, based on a reduction to disjunctive programs.

. In this article we show that the three equations known as commutativity, associativity, and the Robbins equation are a basis for the variety of Boolean algebras. The problem was posed by Herbert Robbins in the 1930s. The proof was found automatically by EQP, a theorem-proving program for equational logic. We present the proof and the search strategies that enabled the program to find the proof. Key words: Associative-commutative unification, Boolean algebra, EQP, equational logic, paramodulation, Robbins algebra, Robbins problem. 1. Introduction This article contains the answer to the Robbins question of whether all Robbins algebras are Boolean. The answer is yes, all Robbins algebras are Boolean. The proof that answers the question was found by EQP, an automated theoremproving program for equational logic. In 1933, E. V. Huntington presented the following three equations as a basis for Boolean algebra [6, 5]: x + y = y + x, (commutativity) (x + y) + z = x + (y + z), (associativit...

As applications of description logics proliferate, efficient reasoning with large ABoxes (sets of individuals with descriptions) becomes ever more important. Motivated by the prospects of reusing optimization techniques from deductive databases, in this paper, we present a novel approach to checking consistency of ABoxes, instance checking and query answering, w.r.t. ontologies formulated using a slight restriction of the description logic SHIQ. Our approach proceeds in three steps: (i) the ontology is translated into firstorder clauses, (ii) TBox and RBox clauses are saturated using a resolution-based decision procedure, and (iii) the saturated set of clauses is translated into a disjunctive datalog program. Thus, query answering can be performed using the resulting program, while applying all existing optimization techniques, such as join-order optimizations or magic sets. Equally important, the resolution-based decision procedure we present is for unary coding of numbers worst-case optimal, i.e. it runs in EXPTIME.

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Data complexity of reasoning in description logics (DLs) estimates the performance of reasoning algorithms measured in the size of the ABox only. We show that, even for the very expressive DL SHIQ, satisfiability checking is data complete for NP. For applications with large ABoxes, this can be a more accurate estimate than the usually considered combined complexity, which is EXPTIMEcomplete. Furthermore, we identify an expressive fragment, Horn-SHIQ, which is data complete for P, thus being very appealing for practical usage.

Abstract. Many modern applications of description logics (DLs) require answering queries over large data quantities, structured according to relatively simple ontologies. For such applications, we conjectured that reusing ideas of deductive databases might improve scalability of DL systems. Hence, in our previous work, we developed an algorithm for reducing a DL knowledge base to a disjunctive datalog program. To test our conjecture, we implemented our algorithm in a new DL reasoner KAON2, which we describe in this paper. Furthermore, we created a comprehensive test suite and used it to conduct a performance evaluation. Our results show that, on knowledge bases with large ABoxes but with simple TBoxes, our technique indeed shows good performance; in contrast, on knowledge bases with large and complex TBoxes, existing techniques still perform better. This allowed us to gain important insights into strengths and weaknesses of both approaches. 1

A minimal and complete unification procedure for a theory with individual and sequence variables, free constants and free fixed and flexible arity function symbols is described and a brief overview of an extension with pattern-terms is given.

Abstract. Resolution-based calculi are among the most widely used calculi for theorem proving in first-order logic. Numerous refinements of resolution are nowadays available, such as e.g. basic superposition, a calculus highly optimized for theorem proving with equality. However, even such an advanced calculus does not restrict inferences enough to obtain decision procedures for complex logics, such as SHIQ. In this paper, we present a new decomposition inference rule, which can be combined with any resolution-based calculus compatible with the standard notion of redundancy. We combine decomposition with basic superposition to obtain three new decision procedures: (i) for the description logic SHIQ, (ii) for the description logic ALCHIQb, and (iii) for answering conjunctive queries over SHIQ knowledge bases. The first two procedures are worst-case optimal and, based on the vast experience in building efficient theorem provers, we expect them to be suitable for practical usage. 1

Introduction Many researchers who study the theoretical aspects of inference systems believe that if inference rule A is complete and more restrictive than inference rule B, then the use of A will lead more quickly to proofs than will the use of B. The literature contains statements of the sort "our rule is complete and it heavily prunes the search space; therefore it is efficient". 2 These positions are highly questionable and indicate that the authors have little or no experience with the practical use of automated inference systems. Restrictive rules (1) can block short, easy-to-find proofs, (2) can block proofs involving simple clauses, the type of clause on which many practical searches focus, (3) can require weakening of redundancy control such as subsumption and demodulation, and (4) can require the use of complex checks in deciding whether such rules should be applied. The only way to determ

A term rewrite system (TRS) terminates iff its rules are contained in a reduction ordering ?. In order to deal with any set of equations, including inherently non-terminating ones (like commutativity), TRS have been generalised to ordered TRS (E; ?), where equations of E are applied in whatever direction agrees with ?. The confluence of terminating TRS is well-known to be decidable, but for ordered TRS the decidability of confluence has been open. Here we show that the confluence of ordered TRS is decidable if ordering constraints for ? can be solved in an adequate way, which holds in particular for the class of LPO orderings. For sets E of constrained equations, confluence is shown to be undecidable. Finally, ground reducibility is proved undecidable for ordered TRS. 1 Introduction Term rewrite systems (TRS) have been applied to many problems in symbolic computation, automated theorem proving, program synthesis and verification, and logic programming among others. Two fundamental pr...