Finite Model Theory and Its Applications

Abstract

"This book gives a broad overview of central topics of finite model theory - expressive power, descriptive complexity, and zero-one laws - together with selected applications relating to database theory and artificial intelligence, especially, constraint databases and constraint satisfaction problems. The final chapter provides a concise modern introduction to modal logic, emphasizing the continuity in spirit and technique with finite model theory." "Students of logic and computer science will find here the tools necessary to embark on research into finite model theory, and all readers will experience the excitement of a vibrant area of the applications of logic to computer science."--Jacket.