General game players are computer systems able to play strategy games based solely on formal game descriptions supplied at "runtime" (n other words, they don't know the rules until the game starts). Unlike specialized game players, such as Deep Blue, general game players cannot rely on algorithms designed in advance for specific games; they must discover such algorithms themselves. General game playing expertise depends on intelligence on the part of the game player and not just intelligence of the programmer of the game player. GGP is an interesting application in its own right. It is intellectually engaging and more than a little fun. But it is much more than that. It provides a theoretical framework for modeling discrete dynamic systems and defining rationality in a way that takes into account problem representation and complexities like incompleteness of information and resource bounds. It has practical applications in areas where these features are important, e.g., in business and law. More fundamentally, it raises questions about the nature of intelligence and serves as a laboratory in which to evaluate competing approaches to artificial intelligence. This book is an elementary introduction to General Game Playing (GGP). (1) It presents the theory of General Game Playing and leading GGP technologies. (2) It shows how to create GGP programs capable of competing against other programs and humans. (3) It offers a glimpse of some of the real-world applications of General Game Playing.

Data integration is a critical problem in our increasingly interconnected but inevitably heterogeneous world. There are numerous data sources available in organizational databases and on public information systems like the World Wide Web. Not surprisingly, the sources often use different vocabularies and different data structures, being created, as they are, by different people, at different times, for different purposes. The goal of data integration is to provide programmatic and human users with integrated access to multiple, heterogeneous data sources, giving each user the illusion of a single, homogeneous database designed for his or her specific need. The good news is that, in many cases, the data integration process can be automated. This book is an introduction to the problem of data integration and a rigorous account of one of the leading approaches to solving this problem, viz., the relational logic approach. Relational logic provides a theoretical framework for discussing data integration. Moreover, in many important cases, it provides algorithms for solving the problem in a computationally practical way. In many respects, relational logic does for data integration what relational algebra did for database theory several decades ago. A companion web site provides interactive demonstrations of the algorithms. Table of Contents: Preface / Interactive Edition / Introduction / Basic Concepts / Query Folding / Query Planning / Master Schema Management / Appendix / References / Index / Author Biography Don't have access? Recommend our Synthesis Digital Library to your library or purchase a personal subscription. Email [email protected] for details.

Logic Programming is a style of programming in which programs take the form of sets of sentences in the language of Symbolic Logic. Over the years, there has been growing interest in Logic Programming due to applications in deductive databases, automated worksheets, Enterprise Management (business rules), Computational Law, and General Game Playing. This book introduces Logic Programming theory, current technology, and popular applications. In this volume, we take an innovative, model-theoretic approach to logic programming. We begin with the fundamental notion of datasets, i.e., sets of ground atoms. Given this fundamental notion, we introduce views, i.e., virtual relations; and we define classical logic programs as sets of view definitions, written using traditional Prolog-like notation but with semantics given in terms of datasets rather than implementation. We then introduce actions, i.e., additions and deletions of ground atoms; and we define dynamic logic programs as sets of action definitions. In addition to the printed book, there is an online version of the text with an interpreter and a compiler for the language used in the text and an integrated development environment for use in developing and deploying practical logic programs.

This book is a gentle but rigorous introduction to Formal Logic. It is intended primarily for use at the college level. However, it can also be used for advanced secondary school students, and it can be used at the start of graduate school for those who have not yet seen the material. The approach to teaching logic used here emerged from more than 20 years of teaching logic to students at Stanford University and from teaching logic to tens of thousands of others via online courses on the World Wide Web. The approach differs from that taken by other books in logic in two essential ways, one having to do with content, the other with form. Like many other books on logic, this one covers logical syntax and semantics and proof theory plus induction. However, unlike other books, this book begins with Herbrand semantics rather than the more traditional Tarskian semantics. This approach makes the material considerably easier for students to understand and leaves them with a deeper understanding of what logic is all about. In addition to this text, there are online exercises (with automated grading), online logic tools and applications, online videos of lectures, and an online forum for discussion. They are available at http://intrologic.stanford.edu/