Lesson plan
SAT solver
In computer science and formal methods, a SAT solver is a computer program which aims to solve the Boolean satisfiability problem (SAT). On input a formula over Boolean variables, such as "(x or y) and (x or not y)", a SAT solver outputs whether the formula is satisfiable, meaning that there are possible values of x and y which make the formula true, or unsatisfiable, meaning that there are no such values of x and y. In this case, the formula is satisfiable when x is true, so the solver should return "satisfiable". Since the introduction of algorithms for SAT in the 1960s, modern SAT solvers have grown into complex software artifacts involving a large number of heuristics and program optimizations to work efficiently. By a result known as the Cook–Levin theorem, Boolean satisfiability is an NP-complete problem in general. As a result, only algorithms with exponential worst-case complexity are known. In spite of this, efficient and scalable algorithms for SAT were developed during the 2000s, which have contributed to dramatic advances in the ability to automatically solve problem instances involving tens of thousands of variables and millions of constraints. SAT solvers often begin by converting a formula to conjunctive normal form. They are often based on core algorithms such as the DPLL algorithm, but incorporate a number of extensions and features.…
Article summary
In computer science and formal methods, a SAT solver is a computer program which aims to solve the Boolean satisfiability problem (SAT). On input a formula over Boolean variables, such as "(x or y) and (x or not y)", a SAT solver outputs whether the formula is satisfiable, meaning that there are possible values of x and y which make the formula true, or unsatisfiable, meaning that there are no such values of x and y. In this case, the formula is satisfiable when x is true, so the solver should return "satisfiable". Since the introduction of algorithms for SAT in the 1960s, modern SAT solvers have grown into complex software artifacts involving a large number of heuristics and program optimizations to work efficiently. By a result known as the Cook–Levin theorem, Boolean satisfiability is an NP-complete problem in general. As a result, only algorithms with exponential worst-case complexity are known. In spite of this, efficient and scalable algorithms for SAT were developed during the 2000s, which have contributed to dramatic advances in the ability to automatically solve problem instances involving tens of thousands of variables and millions of constraints. SAT solvers often begin by converting a formula to conjunctive normal form. They are often based on core algorithms such as the DPLL algorithm, but incorporate a number of extensions and features.…
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.