Automated Reasoning: Real Uses and Potential Uses

Abstract

An automated reasoning program has provided invaluable assistance in answering certain pre-viously open questions in mathematics and in formal logic. These questions would not have been answered, at least by those who obtained the results, were it not for the program's contribution. Others have used such a program to design logic circuits, many of which proved superior (with respect to transistor count) to the existing designs, and to validate the design of other circuits. These successes establish the value of an automated reasoning program for research and suggest the value for practical applications. We thus conclude that the field of automated reasoning is on the verge of becoming one of the more significant branches of computer science. Further, we conclude that the field has already advanced from stage 1, that of potential usefulness, to stage 2, that of actual usefulness. To pass to stage 3, that of wide acceptance and use, requires, among other things, easy access to an automated reasoning program and an understanding of the various aspects of automated reasoning. In fact, an automated reasoning program is available that is portable and can be run on relatively inexpensive machines. Moreover, a system exists for producing a reasoning program tailored to given specifications. As for the requirement of understanding the aspects of automated reasoning, much research remains--researchaided by access to a reasoning program. A large obstacle has thus been removed, permitting many to experiment with and find uses for a computer program that can be relied upon as a most valuable automated reasoning assistant.