Abstract
We define matchings, and show that they capture the essence of context-freeness. More precisely, we show that the class of context-free languages coincides with the class of those sets of strings which can be defined by sentences of the form ∃ bϕ, where ϕ is first order, b is a binary predicate symbol, and the range of the second order quantifier is restricted to the class of matchings. Several variations and extensions are discussed.
Work done while on sabbatical leave at the Universidad Politecnica di Catalunya
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© 1995 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Lautemann, C., Schwentick, T., Thérien, D. (1995). Logics for context-free languages. In: Pacholski, L., Tiuryn, J. (eds) Computer Science Logic. CSL 1994. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 933. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0022257
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0022257
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