Decision Procedures: An Algorithmic Point of View (Texts in Theoretical Computer Science. An EATCS Series) [Hardcover]

Daniel Kroening (Author), Ofer Strichman (Author), R.E. Bryant (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 3540741046 | ISBN-13: 978-3540741046 | Publication Date: July 7, 2008 | Edition: 1

A decision procedure is an algorithm that, given a decision problem, terminates with a correct yes/no answer. Here, the authors focus on theories that are expressive enough to model real problems, but are still decidable. Specifically, the book concentrates on decision procedures for first-order theories that are commonly used in automated verification and reasoning, theorem-proving, compiler optimization and operations research. The techniques described in the book draw from fields such as graph theory and logic, and are routinely used in industry. The authors introduce the basic terminology of satisfiability modulo theories and then, in separate chapters, study decision procedures for each of the following theories: propositional logic; equalities and uninterpreted functions; linear arithmetic; bit vectors; arrays; pointer logic; and quantified formulas.

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the reviews: "This book has two topics as main points: ‘decision procedures’ and ‘algorithms to be applied for these decisions’. … Such an approach is very useful for graduate students or students in year four or five … . Each chapter introduces and explains a lot of different concepts and presents good examples, some problems and exercises with algorithm-based solutions, and a glossary at its end, which makes the book very applicable and readable. … The book is very well written and interesting to read." (Christian Posthoff, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1149, 2008) "There are a number of things that I like about the book. Although the material is often complex, the exposition is extremely clear, precise and meticulous. A definition is almost always followed by a clarifying example. As noted above, Kroening and Strichman go to great efforts to explain the notations used. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to think of another text on an advanced subject that does so much to make the material accessible to the reader." (K. Harrow, ACM Computing Reviews, September 2008) "This book is a developed version of classroom notes for a course on decision procedures, intended for undergraduate and graduate students … . The developments are intended for programmers who need to know about the algorithms that solve their particular problems, as well as for students and researchers who need to know how to define such algorithms in the framework of appropriate logics. … Overall, the book is well structured … ." (Siva Anantharaman, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2009 m)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (July 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3540741046
• ISBN-13: 978-3540741046
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,901,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, August 4, 2008

By 

Husam Abu-Haimed (California, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Decision Procedures: An Algorithmic Point of View (Texts in Theoretical Computer Science. An EATCS Series) (Hardcover)

I am very familiar with the field of decision procedures, but I bought this book to use it as a quick reference and a refresher in certain areas. However, when I read the book I was very disappointed. The only good thing about the book is the table of contents and the list of references. Many important results and theorems are missing. No explanations or derivations of any of the presented results are provided.

I was hoping that this book would be a good introduction (or reference) to the field of decision procedures, but unfortunately, going directly to the research papers is a much better investment of your time (and money).

The following references provide an excellent coverage of the field:

1. "Constraint Processing", by Rina Dechter. This is an excellent reference on Constraint Solving, which is similar to decision procedures, but focuses more on finite-domain problems.
2. "Decision Procedures for Bit-Vectors, Arrays and Integers", Ph.D. Thesis by Vijay Ganesh, 2007.
3. "Searching for Truth: Techniques for Satisfiability of Boolean Formulas", Ph.D. Thesis by Lintao Zhang, 2003.
4. "Efficient Algorithms for Clause-Learning SAT Solvers", M.Sc. Thesis by Lawrence Ryan, 2003.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what I needed, August 28, 2008

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Seth (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Decision Procedures: An Algorithmic Point of View (Texts in Theoretical Computer Science. An EATCS Series) (Hardcover)

I'm in the EDA business, and the book gave me exactly what I needed, and in a very accessible way, too. In my case I needed to learn about SAT and about algorithms for handling bitvectors (I will probably need arrays and pointers at some point later on, given the project I am involved in). Many of the things there I assumed I knew (I read some papers in this field and I discuss it regularly with colleagues at work. I also looked at code of a SAT solver), but reading it really organized things for me very well.