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Deciding Effectively Propositional Logic Using DPLL and Substitution Sets

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Abstract

We introduce a DPLL calculus that is a decision procedure for the Bernays-Schönfinkel class, also known as EPR. Our calculus allows combining techniques for efficient propositional search with data-structures, such as Binary Decision Diagrams, that can efficiently and succinctly encode finite sets of substitutions and operations on these. In the calculus, clauses comprise of a sequence of literals together with a finite set of substitutions; truth assignments are also represented using substitution sets. The calculus works directly at the level of sets, and admits performing simultaneous constraint propagation and decisions, resulting in potentially exponential speedups over existing approaches.

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  1. Microsoft Research, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA, 98074, USA

    Ruzica Piskac, Leonardo de Moura & Nikolaj Bjørner

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  1. Ruzica Piskac
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  2. Leonardo de Moura
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  3. Nikolaj Bjørner
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Correspondence to Nikolaj Bjørner.

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Piskac, R., de Moura, L. & Bjørner, N. Deciding Effectively Propositional Logic Using DPLL and Substitution Sets. J Autom Reasoning 44, 401–424 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10817-009-9161-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10817-009-9161-6

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