Abstract We report on the new ARI infrastructure that supports tools and competitions in term rewriting. It offers ARI-COPS, a database for confluence problems and competition results, and ARIWeb, a convenient web interface for tools that participate in the annual confluence competition. These are built on top of the new ARI format for rewrite systems, a format converter, certifiers for competition results, and a duplicate checker.

Abstract We present a variant of the multiset path order for untyped applicative term rewriting. Compared to existing work, our variant incorporates two distinctive features, dubbed arity assignment and reification, to overcome difficulties in handling partial and variable application.

Abstract We present a simple criterion for combining reduction pairs lexicographically. The criterion is applicable to arbitrary classes of reduction pairs, such as the polynomial interpretation, the matrix interpretation, and the Knuth–Bendix order. In addition, we investigate a variant of the matrix interpretation where the lexicographic order is employed instead of the usual component-wise order. Effectiveness is demonstrated by experiments and examples, including Touzet’s Hydra Battle.

We present a new encoding of the Battle of Hercules and Hydra as a rewrite system with AC symbols. Unlike earlier term rewriting encodings, it faithfully models any strategy of Hercules to beat Hydra. To prove the termination of our encoding, we employ type introduction in connection with many-sorted semantic labeling for AC rewriting and AC-MPO, a new AC compatible reduction order that can be seen as a much weakened version of AC-RPO.

We revisit completion modulo equational theories for left-linear term rewrite systems where unification modulo the theory is avoided and the normal rewrite relation can be used in order to decide validity questions. To that end, we give a new correctness proof for finite runs and establish a simulation result between the two inference systems known from the literature. Given a concrete reduction order, novel canonicity results show that the resulting complete systems are unique up to the representation of their rules' right-hand sides. Furthermore, we show how left-linear AC completion can be simulated by general AC completion. In particular, this result allows us to switch from the former to the latter at any point during a completion process.

Parallel critical pairs (PCPs) have been used to design sufficient criteria for confluence of term rewrite systems. In this work we formalize PCPs and the criteria of Gramlich, Toyama, and Shintani and Hirokawa in the proof assistant Isabelle. In order to reduce the amount of bureaucracy we deviate from the paper-definition of PCPs, i.e., we switch from a position-based definition to a context-based definition. This switch not only simplifies the formalization task, but also gives rise to a simple recursive algorithm to compute PCPs. We further generalize all mentioned criteria from confluence to commutation and integrate them in the certifier CeTA, so that it can now validate confluence- and commutation-proofs based on PCPs. Because of our results, CeTA is now able to certify proofs by the automatic confluence tool Hakusan, which makes heavy use of PCPs. These proofs include term rewrite systems for which no previous certified confluence proof was known.

We show how confluence criteria based on decreasing diagrams are generalized to ones composable with other criteria. For demonstration of the method, the confluence criteria of orthogonality, rule labeling, and critical pair systems for term rewriting are recast into composable forms. We also show how such a criterion can be used for a reduction method that removes rewrite rules unnecessary for confluence analysis. In addition to them, we prove that Toyama's parallel closedness result based on parallel critical pairs subsumes his almost parallel closedness theorem.

Abstract We revisit AC completion for left-linear term rewrite systems where AC unification is avoided and the normal rewrite relation can be used in order to decide validity questions. To that end, we give a new correctness proof for finite runs and establish a simulation result between the two inference systems known from the literature. Furthermore, we show how left-linear AC completion can be simulated by general AC completion. In particular, this result allows us to switch from the former to the latter at any point during a completion process. Finally, we present experimental results for our implementation of left-linear AC completion in the tool .

We show how confluence criteria based on decreasing diagrams are generalized to ones composable with other criteria. For demonstration of the method, the confluence criteria of orthogonality, rule labeling, and critical pair systems for term rewriting are recast into composable forms. We also show how such a criterion can be used for a reduction method that removes rewrite rules unnecessary for confluence analysis. In addition to them, we prove that Toyama's parallel closedness result based on parallel critical pairs subsumes his almost parallel closedness theorem.

Abstract Equational theories that contain axioms expressing associativity and commutativity (AC) of certain operators are ubiquitous. Theorem proving methods in such theories rely on well-founded orders that are compatible with the AC axioms. In this paper, we consider various definitions of AC-compatible Knuth-Bendix orders. The orders of Steinbach and of Korovin and Voronkov are revisited. The former is enhanced to a more powerful version, and we modify the latter to amend its lack of monotonicity on non-ground terms. We further present new complexity results. An extension reflecting the recent proposal of subterm coefficients in standard Knuth-Bendix orders is also given. The various orders are compared on problems in termination and completion.

We present an elementary proof of the classical result that the leftmost outermost strategy is normalizing for left-normal orthogonal rewrite systems. Our proof is local and extends to hyper-normalization and weakly orthogonal systems. Based on the new proof, we study basic normalization, i.e., we study normalization if the set of considered starting terms is restricted to basic terms. This allows us to weaken the left-normality restriction. We show that the leftmost outermost strategy is hyper-normalizing for basically left-normal orthogonal rewrite systems. This shift of focus greatly extends the applicability of the classical result, as evidenced by the experimental data provided.

First-order applicative rewrite systems provide a natural framework for modeling higher-order aspects. In this article we present a transformation from untyped applicative term rewrite systems to functional term rewrite systems that preserves and reflects termination. Our transformation is less restrictive than other approaches. In particular, head variables in right-hand sides of rewrite rules can be handled. To further increase the applicability of our transformation, we study the method for innermost rewriting and derivational complexity, and present a version for dependency pairs.