Using Smodels (declarative logic programming) to verify correctness of certain active rules

Abstract

In this paper we show that the language of declarative logic programming (DLP) with answer sets and its extensions can be used to specify database evolution due to updates and active rules, and to verify correctness of active rules with respect to a specification described using temporal logic and aggregate operators. We classify the specification of active rules into four kind of constraints which can be expressed using a particular extension of DLP called Smodels. Smodels allows us to specify the evolution, to specify the constraints, and to enumerate all possible initial database states and initial updates. Together, these can be used to analyze all possible evolution paths of an active database system to verify if they satisfy a set of given constraints.