Logic and some Applications to Computer Science

Abstract

The study of logic has made two important contributions to computer science in general and artificial intelligence in particular. These contributions are logical programming languages and automated reasoning. This paper will introduce both areas. The first section will introduce some appropriate concepts of logic. The next two sections will provide a discussion of predicate calculus, which provides the formal language needed to express problems, and a discussion of the resolution principle, which is the basis of the deduction process. Then, the paper will take a side journey into PROLOG (PROgramming in LOGic) and conclude with a discussion of a program developed at Argonne National Laboratory to aid in the research of automated reasoning.