Instantiation of SMT problems modulo Integers

Many decision procedures for SMT problems rely more or less implicitly on an instantiation of the axioms of the theories under consideration, and differ by making use of the additional properties of each theory, in order to increase efficiency. We present a new technique for devising complete instantiation schemes on SMT problems over a combination of linear arithmetic with another theory T. The method consists in first instantiating the arithmetic part of the formula, and then getting rid of the remaining variables in the problem by using an instantiation strategy which is complete for T. We provide examples evidencing that not only is this technique generic (in the sense that it applies to a wide range of theories) but it is also efficient, even compared to state-of-the-art instantiation schemes for specific theories.Comment: Research report, long version of our AISC 2010 pape

Set of support, demodulation, paramodulation: a historical perspective

This article is a tribute to the scientific legacy of automated reasoning pioneer and JAR founder Lawrence T. (Larry) Wos. Larry's main technical contributions were the set-of-support strategy for resolution theorem proving, and the demodulation and paramodulation inference rules for building equality into resolution. Starting from the original definitions of these concepts in Larry's papers, this survey traces their evolution, unearthing the often forgotten trails that connect Larry's original definitions to those that became standard in the field

Instantiation Schemes for Nested Theories

Article 11 - 33 pagesInternational audienceThis article investigates under which conditions instantiation-based proof procedures can be combined in a nested way, in order to mechanically construct new instantiation procedures for richer theories. Interesting applications in the field of verification are emphasized, particularly for handling extensions of the theory of arrays

Factor Varieties and Symbolic Computation

We propose an algebraization of classical and non-classical logics, based on factor varieties and decomposition operators. In particular, we provide a new method for determining whether a propositional formula is a tautology or a contradiction. This method can be autom-atized by defining a term rewriting system that enjoys confluence and strong normalization. This also suggests an original notion of logical gate and circuit, where propositional variables becomes logical gates and logical operations are implemented by substitution. Concerning formulas with quantifiers, we present a simple algorithm based on factor varieties for reducing first-order classical logic to equational logic. We achieve a completeness result for first-order classical logic without requiring any additional structure

Automatd generation of models and counterexamples and its application to open questions in Ternary Boolean algebra

The purposes of this paper are to answer certain previously unanswered questions in the field of Ternary Boolean algebra; to describe the method, by use of an automated theorem-proving program as an invaluable aid, by which these answers were obtained; and to give informally the characteristics of those problems to which the method can be successfully applied. The approach under study begins with known facts in the form of axioms and lemmas of the field being investigated, finds by means of certain specified inference rules new facts, and continues to reason from the expanding set of facts until the problem at hand is solved or the procedure is interrupted. The solution often takes the form of a finite model or of a counter-example to the underlying conjecture. The model and/or counterexample is generated with the aid of an already existing automated theorem-proving procedure and without any recourse to any additional programing