An Informal Discussion Of Issues In Mechanically-assisted Reasoning

Abstract

But anyhow, the purpose of this note/@& is to draw attention to a number of features of computer programs that support formal reasoning, and especially to share some observations regarding the importance of these features. My hope is that the occasional consideration of the differences among various such programs, and their ramifications, has beneficial effects on the development and enhancement of such systems. I’ll consider here various mechanized reasoning systems, i.e. computer programs that support formal (or even seemingly formal) reasoning. These can be either what are generally called “proof-checkers’’ or else “theorem provers,” though it seems to me that these terms are just vague descriptions of the amount of automated reasoning and user control allowed by the system. (Note that these are not necessarily opposites! -more on that later.)