Abstract
Computer-generated proofs are usually difficult to grasp for a human reader. In this paper we present an approach to understanding resolution proofs through Herbrand’s theorem and the implementation of a tool based on that approach.
The information we take as primitive is which instances have been chosen for which quantifiers, in other words: an expansion tree. After computing an expansion tree from a resolution refutation, the user is presented this information in a graphical user interface that allows flexible folding and unfolding of parts of the proof.
This interface provides a convenient way to focus on the relevant parts of a computer-generated proof. In this paper, we describe the proof-theoretic transformations, the implementation and demonstrate its usefulness on several examples.
Supported by the joint ANR/FWF-project STRUCTURAL, the joint ANR/FWF-project ASAP, the FWF-project ASCOP, the WWTF-project VRG12-04 and the Vienna PhD school in Informatics.
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Hetzl, S., Libal, T., Riener, M., Rukhaia, M. (2013). Understanding Resolution Proofs through Herbrand’s Theorem. In: Galmiche, D., Larchey-Wendling, D. (eds) Automated Reasoning with Analytic Tableaux and Related Methods. TABLEAUX 2013. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 8123. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40537-2_15
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