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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2011/2012
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Informatics : Informatics

Postgraduate Course: Automated Reasoning (Level 11) (INFR11074)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Informatics CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Course typeStandard AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) Credits10
Home subject areaInformatics Other subject areaNone
Course website http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/teaching/courses/ar Taught in Gaelic?No
Course descriptionThe overall aim of the module is to describe how reasoning can be automated. Its more specific aim is to provide a route into more advanced uses of theorem proving in automated reasoning and in solving challenging problems if mathematics. Major emphases are on: how knowledge can be represented using logic; how these representations can be used as the basis for reasoning and how these reasoning processes can be guided to a successful conclusion. Students are encouraged to develop a deep understanding of automated reasoning from mathematical "first principles" via theorem proving.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Students MUST NOT also be taking Automated Reasoning (Level 10) (INFR10041)
Other requirements For Informatics PG and final year MInf students only, or by special permission of the School. This course assumes prior mathematical knowledge of induction.
Additional Costs None
Course Delivery Information
Delivery period: 2011/12 Semester 1, Not available to visiting students (SS1) WebCT enabled:  No Quota:  None
Location Activity Description Weeks Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
No Classes have been defined for this Course
First Class Week 1, Monday, 16:10 - 17:00, Zone: Central. Chrystal Mac Building Sem Rm 5
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours:Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)2:00
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
1 - represent mathematical and other knowledge using logic.
2 - analyze the behaviour of various reasoning techniques from "first principles" as theorem provign tasks.
3 - formalize informal knowledge and reason rigorously about it, understanding the role of mathematical proof in this process.
4 - compare precisely the tradeoffs between some rival techniques for the same reasoning task.
5 - implement key reasoning techniques in a computer program/theorem prover.
6 - know how to use more sophisticated reasoning techniques implemented in a computer program/theorem prover.
7 - organize their own study to manage project development.
8 - search and read the literature.
9 - conduct exploratory experiments.
10 - critically analyze and evaluate other people's work.
11 - be broadly up-to-date with current research in the field
12 - be up-to-date in detail with at least one significant, specific aspect of current research in the field
Assessment Information
Written Examination 75
Assessed Assignments 25
Oral Presentations 0

The course consists of 2 practical exercises. Students may be asked to reason about particular domains (e.g. geometry) in a theorem prover such as Isabelle or Coq. They may also be asked to verify a program using the SPIN model checker. This version of the course differs from the level 10 one in requiring students to undertake practical exercises demanding deeper analysis of the mathematical theory behind the computational mechanisms. Some aspects of the exercises are thus likely to be open-ended in nature and the students will be expected to analyze various issues to do with their formalization and/or implementation.
Special Arrangements
None
Additional Information
Academic description Not entered
Syllabus The module combines an exposition of theory with the analysis of particular computer programs for reasoning. Topics will be selected from the following list:

# First Order Logic and Higher Order Logic
* Syntax
* HOL: Types and terms, currying and binders
* Unification algorithm
* Natural Deduction

# Model Checking
* Computation Tree Logic: syntax and semantics
* A model checking algorithm
* Model checker: SMV or SPIN
* Fairness
* Alternatives and extensions of CTL: LTL, CTL*

# Interactive Theorem Proving
* Human-oriented methods
* Interactive provers and proof checkers
* LCF style theorem proving
* Proof styles
* Formalized Mathematics

# Decidable Problems and Automation
* Presburger arithmetic
* Geometry theorem proving
* Induction and recursion
* Simplification, proof planning, and rippling

# Program Verification
* Functional programs
* Case studies e.g. sorting algorithms

Relevant QAA Computing Curriculum Sections: Artificial Intelligence
Transferable skills Not entered
Reading list * A. Bundy et al. Rippling: Meta-level Guidance for Mathematical Reasoning, Cambridge Tracts in Theoretical Computer Science (No. 56), 2005
* T. Nipkow, L. C. Paulson, and M. Wenzel. Isabelle/HOL: A Proof Assistant for Higher-Order Logic , Springer-Verlag, 2002
* M. R. A. Ruth and M. D. Ryan. Logic in Computer Science, Cambridge University Press, Second Edition, 2004.
* Y. Bertot and P. Casteran. Interactive Theorem Proving and Program Development: Coq'Art: the Calculus of Inductive Constructions, 2004.
Study Abroad Not entered
Study Pattern Lectures 20
Tutorials 0
Timetabled Laboratories 0
Non-timetabled assessed assignments 30
Private Study/Other 50
Total 100
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Michael Rovatsos
Tel: (0131 6)51 3263
Email: mrovatso@inf.ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Kate Weston
Tel: (0131 6)50 2701
Email: Kate.Weston@ed.ac.uk
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© Copyright 2011 The University of Edinburgh - 16 January 2012 6:17 am