51,687 research outputs found
Termination of rewriting strategies: a generic approach
We propose a generic termination proof method for rewriting under strategies,
based on an explicit induction on the termination property. Rewriting trees on
ground terms are modeled by proof trees, generated by alternatively applying
narrowing and abstracting steps. The induction principle is applied through the
abstraction mechanism, where terms are replaced by variables representing any
of their normal forms. The induction ordering is not given a priori, but
defined with ordering constraints, incrementally set during the proof.
Abstraction constraints can be used to control the narrowing mechanism, well
known to easily diverge. The generic method is then instantiated for the
innermost, outermost and local strategies.Comment: 49 page
On Quasi-Interpretations, Blind Abstractions and Implicit Complexity
Quasi-interpretations are a technique to guarantee complexity bounds on
first-order functional programs: with termination orderings they give in
particular a sufficient condition for a program to be executable in polynomial
time, called here the P-criterion. We study properties of the programs
satisfying the P-criterion, in order to better understand its intensional
expressive power. Given a program on binary lists, its blind abstraction is the
nondeterministic program obtained by replacing lists by their lengths (natural
numbers). A program is blindly polynomial if its blind abstraction terminates
in polynomial time. We show that all programs satisfying a variant of the
P-criterion are in fact blindly polynomial. Then we give two extensions of the
P-criterion: one by relaxing the termination ordering condition, and the other
one (the bounded value property) giving a necessary and sufficient condition
for a program to be polynomial time executable, with memoisation.Comment: 18 page
A General Framework for Automatic Termination Analysis of Logic Programs
This paper describes a general framework for automatic termination analysis
of logic programs, where we understand by ``termination'' the finitenes s of
the LD-tree constructed for the program and a given query. A general property
of mappings from a certain subset of the branches of an infinite LD-tree into a
finite set is proved. From this result several termination theorems are
derived, by using different finite sets. The first two are formulated for the
predicate dependency and atom dependency graphs. Then a general result for the
case of the query-mapping pairs relevant to a program is proved (cf.
\cite{Sagiv,Lindenstrauss:Sagiv}). The correctness of the {\em TermiLog} system
described in \cite{Lindenstrauss:Sagiv:Serebrenik} follows from it. In this
system it is not possible to prove termination for programs involving
arithmetic predicates, since the usual order for the integers is not
well-founded. A new method, which can be easily incorporated in {\em TermiLog}
or similar systems, is presented, which makes it possible to prove termination
for programs involving arithmetic predicates. It is based on combining a finite
abstraction of the integers with the technique of the query-mapping pairs, and
is essentially capable of dividing a termination proof into several cases, such
that a simple termination function suffices for each case. Finally several
possible extensions are outlined
Size-Change Termination, Monotonicity Constraints and Ranking Functions
Size-Change Termination (SCT) is a method of proving program termination
based on the impossibility of infinite descent. To this end we may use a
program abstraction in which transitions are described by monotonicity
constraints over (abstract) variables. When only constraints of the form x>y'
and x>=y' are allowed, we have size-change graphs. Both theory and practice are
now more evolved in this restricted framework then in the general framework of
monotonicity constraints. This paper shows that it is possible to extend and
adapt some theory from the domain of size-change graphs to the general case,
thus complementing previous work on monotonicity constraints. In particular, we
present precise decision procedures for termination; and we provide a procedure
to construct explicit global ranking functions from monotonicity constraints in
singly-exponential time, which is better than what has been published so far
even for size-change graphs.Comment: revised version of September 2
Automatic Termination Analysis of Programs Containing Arithmetic Predicates
For logic programs with arithmetic predicates, showing termination is not
easy, since the usual order for the integers is not well-founded. A new method,
easily incorporated in the TermiLog system for automatic termination analysis,
is presented for showing termination in this case.
The method consists of the following steps: First, a finite abstract domain
for representing the range of integers is deduced automatically. Based on this
abstraction, abstract interpretation is applied to the program. The result is a
finite number of atoms abstracting answers to queries which are used to extend
the technique of query-mapping pairs. For each query-mapping pair that is
potentially non-terminating, a bounded (integer-valued) termination function is
guessed. If traversing the pair decreases the value of the termination
function, then termination is established. Simple functions often suffice for
each query-mapping pair, and that gives our approach an edge over the classical
approach of using a single termination function for all loops, which must
inevitably be more complicated and harder to guess automatically. It is worth
noting that the termination of McCarthy's 91 function can be shown
automatically using our method.
In summary, the proposed approach is based on combining a finite abstraction
of the integers with the technique of the query-mapping pairs, and is
essentially capable of dividing a termination proof into several cases, such
that a simple termination function suffices for each case. Consequently, the
whole process of proving termination can be done automatically in the framework
of TermiLog and similar systems.Comment: Appeared also in Electronic Notes in Computer Science vol. 3
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