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On the Role of Negation in Choice Logic Programs

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Logic Programming and Nonmonotonic Reasoning (LPNMR 1999)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 1730))

Abstract

We introduce choice logic programs as negation-free datalog programs that allow rules to have exclusive-only (possibly empty) disjunctions in the head. Such programs naturally model decision problems where, depending on a context, agents must make a decision, i.e. an exclusive choice out of several alternatives. It is shown that such a choice mechanism is in a sense equivalent with negation as supported in semi-negative (“normal”) datalog programs. We also discuss an application where strategic games can be naturally formulated as choice programs: it turns out that the stable models of such programs capture exactly the set of Nash equilibria.We then consider the effect of choice on “negative information” that may be implicitly derived from a program. Based on an intuitive notion of unfounded set for choice programs, we show that several results from (seminegative) disjunctive programs can be strengthened; characterizing the position of choice programs as an intermediate between simple positive programs and programs that allow for the explicit use of negation in the body of a rule.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Computer Science, Free University of Brussels, VUB Pleinlaan 2, Brussels, 1050, Belgium

    Marina De Vos & Dirk Vermeir

Authors
  1. Marina De Vos
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  2. Dirk Vermeir
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, 79916, USA

    Michael Gelfond

  2. Institut für Informationssysteme 184/2, Technische Universität Wien, Favoritenstrβe 9-11, A-1040, Vienna, Austria

    Nicola Leone  & Gerald Pfeifer  & 

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© 1999 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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De Vos, M., Vermeir, D. (1999). On the Role of Negation in Choice Logic Programs. In: Gelfond, M., Leone, N., Pfeifer, G. (eds) Logic Programming and Nonmonotonic Reasoning. LPNMR 1999. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 1730. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-46767-X_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-46767-X_17

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-66749-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-46767-0

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