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Partial Fixed-point Logic
In mathematical logic, fixed-point logics are extensions of classical predicate logic that have been introduced to express recursion. Their development has been motivated by descriptive complexity theory and their relationship to database query languages, in particular to Datalog. Least fixed-point logic was first studied systematically by Yiannis N. Moschovakis in 1974, and it was introduced to computer scientists in 1979, when Alfred Aho and Jeffrey Ullman suggested fixed-point logic as an expressive database query language. Partial fixed-point logic For a relational signature ''X'', FO FP''X'') is the set of formulas formed from ''X'' using first-order connectives and predicates, second-order variables as well as a partial fixed point operator \operatorname used to form formulas of the form operatorname_ \varphivec, where P is a second-order variable, \vec a tuple of first-order variables, \vec a tuple of terms and the lengths of \vec and \vec coincide with the arity of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematical Logic
Mathematical logic is the study of Logic#Formal logic, formal logic within mathematics. Major subareas include model theory, proof theory, set theory, and recursion theory (also known as computability theory). Research in mathematical logic commonly addresses the mathematical properties of formal systems of logic such as their expressive or deductive power. However, it can also include uses of logic to characterize correct mathematical reasoning or to establish foundations of mathematics. Since its inception, mathematical logic has both contributed to and been motivated by the study of foundations of mathematics. This study began in the late 19th century with the development of axiomatic frameworks for geometry, arithmetic, and Mathematical analysis, analysis. In the early 20th century it was shaped by David Hilbert's Hilbert's program, program to prove the consistency of foundational theories. Results of Kurt Gödel, Gerhard Gentzen, and others provided partial resolution to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moshe Vardi
Moshe Ya'akov Vardi () is an Israeli theoretical computer scientist. He is the Karen Ostrum George Distinguished Service Professor in Computational Engineering at Rice University, United States. and a faculty advisor for the Ken Kennedy Institute. His interests focus on applications of logic to computer science, including database theory, finite model theory, knowledge of multi-agent systems, computer-aided verification and reasoning, and teaching logic across the curriculum. He is an expert in model checking, constraint satisfaction and database theory, common knowledge (logic), and theoretical computer science. Vardi has authored or co-authored over 700 technical papers as well as editing several collections. He has authored the books ''Reasoning About Knowledge'' with Ronald Fagin, Joseph Halpern, and Yoram Moses, and ''Finite Model Theory and Its Applications'' with Erich Grädel, Phokion G. Kolaitis, Leonid Libkin, Maarten Marx, Joel Spencer, Yde Venema, and Scott Weins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Descriptive Complexity
Descriptive complexity is a branch of computational complexity theory and of finite model theory that characterizes complexity classes by the type of logic needed to express the formal language, languages in them. For example, PH (complexity), PH, the union of all complexity classes in the polynomial hierarchy, is precisely the class of languages expressible by statements of second-order logic. This connection between complexity and the logic of finite structures allows results to be transferred easily from one area to the other, facilitating new proof methods and providing additional evidence that the main complexity classes are somehow "natural" and not tied to the specific abstract machines used to define them. Specifically, each logical system produces a set of query (complexity), queries expressible in it. The queries – when restricted to finite structures – correspond to the computational problems of traditional complexity theory. The first main result of descriptive com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AC (complexity)
In circuit complexity, AC is a complexity class hierarchy. Each class, ACi, consists of the languages recognized by Boolean circuits with depth O(\log^i n) and a polynomial number of unlimited fan-in AND and OR gates. The name "AC" was chosen by analogy to NC, with the "A" in the name standing for "alternating" and referring both to the alternation between the AND and OR gates in the circuits and to alternating Turing machines. The smallest AC class is AC0, consisting of constant-depth unlimited fan-in circuits. The total hierarchy of AC classes is defined as \mbox = \bigcup_ \mbox^i Relation to NC The AC classes are related to NC, ACC, and TC classes. For each ''i'', we have, p. 437; , p. 118. :\mathsf^i \subseteq \mathsf^i \subseteq \mathsf^ \subseteq \mathsf^ \subseteq \mathsf^. As an immediate consequence of this, we have that NC = AC = ACC = TC. We have \mathsf^0 \subsetneq \mathsf^0 \subsetneq \mathsf^. Specifically, PARITY is in \mathsf^0 but not in \math ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
L (complexity)
In computational complexity theory, L (also known as LSPACE, LOGSPACE or DLOGSPACE) is the complexity class containing decision problems that can be solved by a deterministic Turing machine using a logarithmic amount of writable memory space. Formally, the Turing machine has two tapes, one of which encodes the input and can only be read, whereas the other tape has logarithmic size but can be written as well as read. Logarithmic space is sufficient to hold a constant number of pointers into the input and a logarithmic number of Boolean flags, and many basic logspace algorithms use the memory in this way. Complete problems and logical characterization Every non-trivial problem in L is complete under log-space reductions, so weaker reductions are required to identify meaningful notions of L-completeness, the most common being first-order reductions. A 2004 result by Omer Reingold shows that USTCON, the problem of whether there exists a path between two vertices in a given u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syntactic Sugar
In computer science, syntactic sugar is syntax within a programming language that is designed to make things easier to read or to express. It makes the language "sweeter" for human use: things can be expressed more clearly, more concisely, or in an alternative style that some may prefer. Syntactic sugar is usually a shorthand for a common operation that could also be expressed in an alternate, more verbose, form: The programmer has a choice of whether to use the shorter form or the longer form, but will usually use the shorter form since it is shorter and easier to type and read. For example, many programming languages provide special syntax for referencing and updating array elements. Abstractly, an array reference is a procedure of two arguments: an array and a subscript vector, which could be expressed as get_array(Array, vector(i,j)). Instead, many languages provide syntax such as Array ,j/code>. Similarly an array element update is a procedure consisting of three arguments, fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NL (complexity)
In computational complexity theory, NL (Nondeterministic Logarithmic-space) is the complexity class containing decision problems that can be solved by a nondeterministic Turing machine using a logarithmic amount of memory space. NL is a generalization of L, the class for logspace problems on a deterministic Turing machine. Since any deterministic Turing machine is also a nondeterministic Turing machine, we have that L is contained in NL. NL can be formally defined in terms of the computational resource nondeterministic space (or NSPACE) as NL = NSPACE(log ''n''). Important results in complexity theory allow us to relate this complexity class with other classes, telling us about the relative power of the resources involved. Results in the field of algorithms, on the other hand, tell us which problems can be solved with this resource. Like much of complexity theory, many important questions about NL are still open (see Unsolved problems in computer science). Occasionally N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transitive Closure
In mathematics, the transitive closure of a homogeneous binary relation on a set (mathematics), set is the smallest Relation (mathematics), relation on that contains and is Transitive relation, transitive. For finite sets, "smallest" can be taken in its usual sense, of having the fewest related pairs; for infinite sets is the unique minimal element, minimal transitive superset of . For example, if is a set of airports and means "there is a direct flight from airport to airport " (for and in ), then the transitive closure of on is the relation such that means "it is possible to fly from to in one or more flights". More formally, the transitive closure of a binary relation on a set is the smallest (w.r.t. ⊆) transitive relation on such that ⊆ ; see . We have = if, and only if, itself is transitive. Conversely, transitive reduction adduces a minimal relation from a given relation such that they have the same closure, that is, ; however, many differen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arity
In logic, mathematics, and computer science, arity () is the number of arguments or operands taken by a function, operation or relation. In mathematics, arity may also be called rank, but this word can have many other meanings. In logic and philosophy, arity may also be called adicity and degree. In linguistics, it is usually named valency. Examples In general, functions or operators with a given arity follow the naming conventions of ''n''-based numeral systems, such as binary and hexadecimal. A Latin prefix is combined with the -ary suffix. For example: * A nullary function takes no arguments. ** Example: f()=2 * A unary function takes one argument. ** Example: f(x)=2x * A binary function takes two arguments. ** Example: f(x,y)=2xy * A ternary function takes three arguments. ** Example: f(x,y,z)=2xyz * An ''n''-ary function takes ''n'' arguments. ** Example: f(x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_n)=2\prod_^n x_i Nullary A constant can be treated as the output of an operation o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
P (complexity)
In computational complexity theory, P, also known as PTIME or DTIME(''n''O(1)), is a fundamental complexity class. It contains all decision problems that can be solved by a deterministic Turing machine using a polynomial amount of computation time, or polynomial time. Cobham's thesis holds that P is the class of computational problems that are "efficiently solvable" or " tractable". This is inexact: in practice, some problems not known to be in P have practical solutions, and some that are in P do not, but this is a useful rule of thumb. Definition A language ''L'' is in P if and only if there exists a deterministic Turing machine ''M'', such that * ''M'' runs for polynomial time on all inputs * For all ''x'' in ''L'', ''M'' outputs 1 * For all ''x'' not in ''L'', ''M'' outputs 0 P can also be viewed as a uniform family of Boolean circuits. A language ''L'' is in P if and only if there exists a polynomial-time uniform family of Boolean circuits \, such that * For all n \in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neil Immerman
Neil Immerman (born 24 November 1953, Manhasset, New York) is an American theoretical computer science, theoretical computer scientist, a professor of computer science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.Faculty directory: Neil Immerman Computer Science Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst, retrieved 2010-01-23. He is one of the key developers of descriptive complexity, an approach he is currently applying to research in model checking, database theory, and computational complexity theory. Professor Immerman is an editor of the ''SIAM Journal on Computing'' and of ''Logical Methods in Computer Science''. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from Yale University in 1974 and his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1980 under the supervision of Juris Hartmanis, a Turing Award winner at Cornell. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Descriptive Complexity Theory
Descriptive complexity is a branch of computational complexity theory and of finite model theory that characterizes complexity classes by the type of logic needed to express the languages in them. For example, PH, the union of all complexity classes in the polynomial hierarchy, is precisely the class of languages expressible by statements of second-order logic. This connection between complexity and the logic of finite structures allows results to be transferred easily from one area to the other, facilitating new proof methods and providing additional evidence that the main complexity classes are somehow "natural" and not tied to the specific abstract machines used to define them. Specifically, each logical system produces a set of queries expressible in it. The queries – when restricted to finite structures – correspond to the computational problems of traditional complexity theory. The first main result of descriptive complexity was Fagin's theorem, shown by Ronald Fagi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
