Answer Set Programming

Description

Answer set programming (ASP) is a programming methodology oriented towards combinatorial search problems. In such a problem, the goal is to find a solution among a large but finite number of possibilities. The idea of ASP came from research on artificial intelligence and computational logic. ASP is a form of declarative programming: an ASP program describes what is counted as a solution to the problem, but does not specify an algorithm for solving it. Search is performed by sophisticated software systems called answer set solvers. Combinatorial search problems often arise in science and technology, and ASP has found applications in diverse areas—in historical linguistic, in bioinformatics, in robotics, in space exploration, in oil and gas industry, and many others. The importance of this programming method was recognized by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence in 2016, when AI Magazine published a special issue on answer set programming. The book will introduce the reader to the theory and practice of ASP. It will describe the input language of the answer set solver CLINGO, which was designed at the University of Potsdam in Germany and is used today by ASP programmers in many countries. It will include numerous examples of ASP programs and present the mathematical theory that ASP is based on. There will be many exercises with complete solutions. Front Matter ....Pages i-xi Introduction (Vladimir Lifschitz)....Pages 1-5 Input Language of clingo (Vladimir Lifschitz)....Pages 7-28 Combinatorial Search (Vladimir Lifschitz)....Pages 29-50 Propositional Programs and Minimal Models (Vladimir Lifschitz)....Pages 51-70 Programs with Negation (Vladimir Lifschitz)....Pages 71-91 Mathematics of Stable Models (Vladimir Lifschitz)....Pages 93-107 More About the Language of clingo (Vladimir Lifschitz)....Pages 109-127 Dynamic Systems (Vladimir Lifschitz)....Pages 129-146 Conclusion (Vladimir Lifschitz)....Pages 147-147 Correction to: Propositional Programs and Minimal Models (Vladimir Lifschitz)....Pages C1-C1 Back Matter ....Pages 149-190