It is well known that problems in Logic, Automated Deduction and Artificial Intelligence are very much demanding from the computational point of view. Two of the techniques that have been proposed for addressing such computational difficulties are Knowledge Compilation and Knowledge Approximation. The central idea of the former technique is to split the goal of answering to the question whether a query is logically entailed by a knowledge base in two phases: In the first one the knowledge base is preprocessed, thus obtaining an appropriate data structure (such a phase is sometimes called off-line reasoning); in the second phase, the query is actually answered using the output of the first phase (such a phase is sometimes called on-line reasoning). The goal of preprocessing is to make on-line reasoning computationally easier wrt query answering in the case when no preprocessing at all is done. In Knowledge Approximation the central idea is to give up either soundness or completeness whe...

In this article, we characterize in terms of analytic tableaux the repairs of inconsistent relational databases, that is databases that do not satisfy a given set of integrity constraints. For this purpose we provide closing and opening criteria for branches in tableaux that are built for database instances and their integrity constraints. We use the tableaux based characterization as a basis for consistent query answering, that is for retrieving from the database answers to queries that are consistent v't the integrity constraints.

. We first define general domain circumscription (GDC) and provide it with a semantics. GDC subsumes existing domain circumscription proposals in that it allows varying of arbitrary predicates, functions, or constants, to maximize the minimization of the domain of a theory. We then show that for the class of semi-universal theories without function symbols, that the domain circumscription of such theories can be constructively reduced to logically equivalent first-order theories by using an extension of the DLS algorithm, previously proposed by the authors for reducing second-order formulas. We also show that for a certain class of domain circumscribed theories, that any arbitrary second-order circumscription policy applied to these theories is guaranteed to be reducible to a logically equivalent first-order theory. In the case of semi-universal theories with functions and arbitrary theories which are not separated, we provide additional results, which although not guarantee...

The approach presented in this overview paper exploits that modal logics can be seen to be fragments of first-order logic and deductive methods can be developed and studied within the framework of first-order resolution. We focus on a class of extended modal logics very similar in spirit to propositional dynamic logic and closely related to description logics. We review and discuss the development of decision procedures for decidable extended modal logics and look at methods for automatically generating models.

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Abstract. We rst de ne general domain circumscription (GDC) and provide it with a semantics. GDC subsumes existing domain circumscription proposals in that it allows varying of arbitrary predicates, functions, or constants, to maximize the minimization of the domain of a theory. We then show that for the class of semi-universal theories without function symbols, that the domain circumscription of such theories can be constructively reduced to logically equivalent rst-order theories by using an extension of the DLS algorithm, previously proposed by the authors for reducing second-order formulas. We also isolate a class of domain circumscribed theories, such thatanyarbitrary second-order circumscription policy applied to these theories is guaranteed to be reducible to a logically equivalent rst-order theory. In the case of semi-universal theories with functions and arbitrary theories which are not separated, we provide additional results, which although not guaranteed to provide reductions in all cases, do provide reductions in some cases. These results are based on the use of xpoint reductions. 1

Abstract. SCAN is an algorithm for reducing monadic existential second-order logic formulae to equivalent simpler formulae, often first-order logic formulae. It is provably impossible for such a reduction to first-order logic to be always successful, even if there is an equivalent first-order formula for a second-order logic formula. In this paper we show that SCAN successfully computes the first-order equivalents of all Sahlqvist formulae in the classical (multi-)modal language. 1

A positive first-order formula is bounded if the sequence of its stages converges to the least fixed point of the formula within a fixed finite number of steps independent of the input structure. The boundedness problem for a fragment L of first-order logic is the following decision problem: given a positive formula in L, is it bounded? In this paper, we investigate the boundedness problem for two-variable first-order logic FO 2. As a general

We introduce the notion of a meta-query on relational databases and a technique which can be used to represent and solve a number of interesting problems from the area of knowledge representation using logic. The technique is based on the use of quantifier elimination and may also be used to query relational databases using a declarative query language called SHQL (Semi-Horn Query Language), introduced in [6]. SHQL is a fragment of classical firstorder predicate logic and allows us to define a query without supplying its explicit definition. All SHQL queries to the database can be processed in polynomial time (both on the size of the input query and the size of the database). We demonstrate the use of the technique in problem solving by structuring logical puzzles from the Knights and Knaves domain as SHQL meta-queries on relational databases. We also provide additional examples demonstrating the flexibility of the technique. We conclude with a description of a newly develope...

The computation of literal projection generalizes predicate quantifier elimination by permitting, so to speak, quantifying upon an arbitrary sets of ground literals, instead of just (all ground literals with) a given predicate symbol. Literal projection allows, for example, to express predicate quantification upon a predicate just in positive or negative polarity. Occurrences of the predicate in literals with the complementary polarity are then considered as unquantified predicate symbols. We present a formalization of literal projection and related concepts, such as literal forgetting, for first-order logic with a Herbrand semantics, which makes these notions easy to access, since they are expressed there by means of straightforward relationships between sets of literals. With this formalization, we show properties of literal projection which hold for formulas that are free of certain links, pairs of literals with complementary instances, each in a different conjunct of a conjunction, both in the scope of a universal first-order quantifier, or one in a subformula and the other in its context formula. These properties can justify the application of methods that construct formulas without such links to the computation of literal projection. Some tableau methods and direct methods for second-order quantifier elimination can be understood in this way.