We propose a novel formalism, called Frame Logic (abbr., F-logic), that accounts in a clean and declarative fashion for most of the structural aspects of object-oriented and frame-based languages. These features include object identity, complex objects, inheritance, polymorphic types, query methods, encapsulation, and others. In a sense, F-logic stands in the same relationship to the objectoriented paradigm as classical predicate calculus stands to relational programming. F-logic has a model-theoretic semantics and a sound and complete resolution-based proof theory. A small number of fundamental concepts that come from object-oriented programming have direct representation in F-logic; other, secondary aspects of this paradigm are easily modeled as well. The paper also discusses semantic issues pertaining to programming with a deductive object-oriented language based on a subset of F-logic.

In this chapter, we summarize the research on querying inconsistent databases we have been conducting over the last five years. The formal framework we have used is based on two concepts: repair and consistent query answer. We describe different approaches to the issue of computing consistent query answers: query transformation, logic programming, inference in annotated logics, and specialized algorithms. We also characterize the computational complexity of this problem. Finally, we discuss related research in artificial intelligence, databases, and logic programming.

We describe a novel logic, called HiLog, and show that it provides a more suitable basis for logic programming than does traditional predicate logic. HiLog has a higher-order syntax and allows arbitrary terms to appear in places where predicates, functions and atomic formulas occur in predicate calculus. But its semantics is first-order and admits a sound and complete proof procedure. Applications of HiLog are discussed, including DCG grammars, higher-order and modular logic programming, and deductive databases.

Of all scientific investigations into reasoning with uncertainty and chance, probability theory is perhaps the best understood paradigm. Nevertheless, all studies conducted thus far into the semantics of quantitative logic programming (cf. van Emden [51], Fitting [18, 19, 20], Blair and Subrahmanian [5, 6, 49, 50], Kifer et al [29, 30, 31]) have restricted themselves to non-probabilistic semantical characterizations. In this paper, we take a few steps towards rectifying this situation. We define a logic programming language that is syntactically similar to the annotated logics of [5, 6], but in which the truth values are interpreted probabilistically. A probabilistic model theory and fixpoint theory is developed for such programs. This probabilistic model theory satisfies the requirements proposed by Fenstad [16] for a function to be called probabilistic. The logical treatment of probabilities is complicated by two facts: first, that the connectives cannot be interpreted truth function...

Most known computational approaches to reasoning have problems when facing inconsistency, so they assume that a given logical system is consistent. Unfortunately, the latter is difficult to verify and very often is not true. It may happen that addition of data to a large system makes it inconsistent, and hence destroys the vast amount of meaningful information. We present a logic, called APC (annotated predicate calculus; cf. annotated logic programs of [3], that treats any set of clauses, either consistent or not, in a uniform way. In this logic, consequences of a contradiction are not nearly as damaging as in the standard predicate calculus, and meaningful information can still be extracted from an inconsistent set of formulae. APC has a resolution-based sound and complete proof procedure. We also introduce a novel notion of "epistemic entailment" and show its importance for investigating inconsistency in predicate calculus as well as its application to nonmonotonic reasoning. Most importantly, our claim that a logical theory is an adequate model of human perception of inconsistency, is actually backed by rigorous arguments.

The precise probability of a compound event (e.g. e1 e2 ; e1 e2) depends upon the known relationships (e.g. independence, mutual exclusion, ignorance of any relationship, etc.) between the primitive events that constitute the compound event. To date, most research on probabilistic logic programming [20, 19, 22, 23, 24] has assumed that we are ignorant of the relationship between primitive events. Likewise, most research in AI (e.g. Bayesian approaches) have assumed that primitive events are independent. In this paper, we propose a hybrid probabilistic logic programming language in which the user can explicitly associate, with any given probabilistic strategy, a conjunction and disjunction operator, and then write programs using these operators. We describe the syntax of hybrid probabilistic programs, and develop a model theory and fixpoint theory for such programs. Last, but not least, we develop three alternative procedures to answer queries, each of which is guaranteed to be sound ...

In previous work, we developed Transaction Logic (or T R), which deals with state changes in deductive databases. T R provides a logical framework in which elementary database updates and queries can be combined into complex database transactions. T R accounts not only for the updates themselves, but also for important related problems, such as the order of update operations, non-determinism, and transaction failure and rollback. In the present paper, we propose Concurrent Transaction Logic (or CT R), which extends Transaction Logic with connectives for modeling the concurrent execution of complex processes. Concurrent processes in CT R execute in an interleaved fashion and can communicate and synchronize themselves. Like classical logic, CT R has a "Horn" fragment that has both a procedural and a declarative semantics, in which users can program and execute database transactions. CT R is thus a deductive database language that integrates concurrency, communication, and updates. All th...

Knowledge-base (KB) systems must typically deal with imperfection in knowledge, e.g. in the form of imcompleteness, inconsistency, uncertainty, to name a few. Currently KB system development is mainly based on the expert system technology. Expert systems, through their support for rule-based programming, uncertainty, etc., offer a convenient framework for KB system development. But they require the user to be well versed with the low level details of system implementation. The manner in which uncertainty is handled has little mathematical basis. There is no decent notion of query optimization, forcing the user to take the responsibility for an efficient implementation of the KB system. We contend KB system development can and should take advantage of the deductive database technology, which overcomes most of the above limitations. An important problem here is to extend deductive databases into providing a systematic basis for rule-based programming with imperfect knowledge. In this paper, we are interested in an exension handling probabilistic knowledge.

Abstract. Flora-2 is a rule-based object-oriented knowledge base system designed for a variety of automated tasks on the Semantic Web, ranging from meta-data management to information integration to intelligent agents. The Flora-2 system integrates F-logic, HiLog, and Transaction Logic into a coherent knowledge representation and inference language. The result is a flexible and natural framework that combines rule-based and object-oriented paradigms. This paper discusses the principles underlying the design of the Flora-2 system and describes its salient features, including meta-programming, reification, logical database updates, encapsulation, and support for dynamic modules. 1

In this paper we define the rather general framework of Monotonic Logic Programs, where the main results of (definite) logic programming are validly extrapolated. Whenever defining new logic programming extensions, we can thus turn our attention to the stipulation and study of its intuitive algebraic properties within the very general setting. Then, the existence of a minimum model and of a monotonic immediate consequences operator is guaranteed, and they are related as in classical logic programming. Afterwards we study the more restricted class of residuated logic programs which is able to capture several quite distinct logic programming semantics. Namely: Generalized Annotated Logic Programs, Fuzzy Logic Programming, Hybrid Probabilistic Logic Programs, and Possibilistic Logic Programming. We provide the embedding of possibilistic logic programming.