Introduction to Mathematics of Satisfiability (Chapman & Hall/CRC Studies in Informatics Series) - Hardcover

Marek, Victor W.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1439801673 ISBN 13: 9781439801673

Publisher: Chapman and Hall/CRC, 2009

Synopsis

Although this area has a history of over 80 years, it was not until the creation of efficient SAT solvers in the mid-1990s that it became practically important, finding applications in electronic design automation, hardware and software verification, combinatorial optimization, and more. Exploring the theoretical and practical aspects of satisfiability, Introduction to Mathematics of Satisfiability focuses on the satisfiability of theories consisting of propositional logic formulas. It describes how SAT solvers and techniques are applied to problems in mathematics and computer science as well as important applications in computer engineering.

The book first deals with logic fundamentals, including the syntax of propositional logic, complete sets of functors, normal forms, the Craig lemma, and compactness. It then examines clauses, their proof theory and semantics, and basic complexity issues of propositional logic. The final chapters on knowledge representation cover finite runs of Turing machines and encodings into SAT. One of the pioneers of answer set programming, the author shows how constraint satisfaction systems can be worked out by satisfiability solvers and how answer set programming can be used for knowledge representation.

About this title

About the Author

Victor W. Marek is a professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Kentucky.

Review

This interesting book covers the satisfiability problem with a strong focus on its mathematical background. It includes the famous theorems on the problem as well as some exotic results. ... To improve understanding, the book offers plenty of insightful examples, elegant proofs, and each chapter ends with about a dozen exercises. ... What I like most about the book is the wide variety of ideas of which the usefulness to solve many problems is almost tangible ... the book covers more potentially powerful techniques, such as the cutting plane rule and various autarky detection methods, than those used in the latest state-of-the-art solvers. ... apart from the collection of elegant proofs ― from major theorems to exotic lemmas ― Introduction to Mathematics of Satisfiability is also a source of inspiration for students and researchers in the field of satisfiability.
―Theory and Practice of Logic Programming, Vol. 11, Issue 1

... Through very current material at the heart of the book, the author presents and analyzes general algorithms that work better than exhaustive search ... Marek also covers important special cases of the problem that turn out vulnerable to clever special attacks. ... Summing Up: Recommended.
―CHOICE, September 2010

... an invaluable reference for anyone who is interested in issues ranging from theoretical mathematical logic to computational logic. The book maintains a nice tradeoff between formalism and clarity. ... The author excels at relating his expositions to the current state of the art, and he recognizes when his discussions are only the tip of the iceberg. ... its most significant contribution is its accessible explanations of how and why algorithms and ideas expose work.
―Carlos Linares Lopez, Computing Reviews, March 2010

Edition details

• Publisher: Chapman and Hall/CRC
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1439801673
• ISBN 13: 9781439801673
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 364