The Logic of Typed Feature Structures: With Applications to Unification Grammars, Logic Programs and Constraint Resolution (Cambridge Tracts in Theoretical Computer Science) [Hardcover]

Robert L. Carpenter (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521419328 | ISBN-13: 978-0521419321 | Publication Date: June 26, 1992

This book develops the theory of typed feature structures, a new form of data structure that generalizes both the first-order terms of logic programs and feature-structures of unification-based grammars to include inheritance, typing, inequality, cycles and intensionality. It presents a synthesis of many existing ideas into a uniform framework, which serves as a logical foundation for grammars, logic programming and constraint-based reasoning systems. Throughout the text, a logical perspective is adopted that employs an attribute-value description language along with complete equational axiomatizations of the various systems of feature structures. Efficiency concerns are discussed and complexity and representability results are provided. The application of feature structures to phrase structure grammars is described and completeness results are shown for standard evaluation strategies. Definite clause logic programs are treated as a special case of phrase structure grammars. Constraint systems are introduced and an enumeration technique is given for solving arbitrary attribute-value logic constraints. This book with its innovative approach to data structures will be essential reading for researchers in computational linguistics, logic programming and knowledge representation. Its self-contained presentation makes it flexible enough to serve as both a research tool and a textbook.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...well and clearly written....can be used as a textbook as well as a monograph." Peter Bachmann, Mathematical Reviews

"...an indispensable compendium for the researcher or graduate student working on constraint-based grammatical formalisms, and they also make it a very useful reference work for researchers in object-oriented databases and logic programming." Fernando Pereira, Computational Linguistics

Book Description

This book develops the theory of typed feature structures, a data structure that generalizes both first-order terms and feature structures of unification-based grammars to include inheritance, typing, inequality, cycles and intensionality. The resulting synthesis serves as a logical foundation for grammars, logic programming and constraint-based reasoning systems.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (June 26, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521419328
• ISBN-13: 978-0521419321
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,568,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is like coolymundo, man!, July 1, 2000

By 

Lars Wessman - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Logic of Typed Feature Structures: With Applications to Unification Grammars, Logic Programs and Constraint Resolution (Cambridge Tracts in Theoretical Computer Science) (Hardcover)

An excellent introduction to the logic underlying typed feature structures which is also the logic underlying formal linguistic theories such as HPSG or LFG. This book is a bible for computational linguists!

And Bob Carpenter is a supah kool guy, too...