Symbolic constraint handling through unification in finite algebras

Abstract

Abstract. The constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) over finite domains is reduced to unification in finite algebras. A CSP defines a unification problem with a most general unifier that naturally expresses the solution of the given CSP in symbolic form. The approach is based on a unitary unification algorithm for arbitrary finite algebras, which is presented. The unification algorithm has been incorporated in the experimental Prolog system PROLOG-XT, which has been successfully applied to the verification of large combinatorial digital circuits, and is now in use in an industrial circuit development environment.