The Classical Decision Problem

Egon Börger ist Professor für Informatik an der Universität Pisa (Italien) und Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschungspreisträger.

1. Introduction: The Classical Decision Problem.- 1.1 The Original Problem.- 1.2 The Transformation of the Classical Decision Problem.- 1.3 What Is and What Isn't in this Book.- I. Undecidable Classes.- 2. Reductions.- 3. Undecidable Standard Classes for Pure Predicate Logic.- 4. Undecidable Standard Classes with Functions or Equality.- 5. Other Undecidable Cases.- II. Decidable Classes and Their Complexity.- 6. Standard Classes with the Finite Model Property.- 7. Monadic Theories and Decidable Standard Classes with Infinity Axioms.- 8. Other Decidable Cases.- A. Appendix: Tiling Problems.- A.1 Introduction.- A.2 The Origin Constrained Domino Problem.- A.3 Robinson's Aperiodic Tile Set.- A.4 The Unconstrained Domino Problem.- A.5 The Periodic Problem and the Inseparability Result.- Annotated Bibliography.

From the reviews of the first edition:

"The authors ... describe their effort as that of 'combining the features of a research monograph and a textbook.' They suggest that the book - or selected chapters of it - might be used for an introductory course on decision problems, undecidability, and the complexity of decision procedures. ... So there is usually a lot to think about in making sense of the author's arguments. This is part of what makes this book so enjoyable." (R. Gregory Taylor, The Review of Modern Logic, Vol. 9 (3-4), 2004)

"This is the most comprehensive treatment available in book form of the classical decision problem of mathematical logic and of the role of the classical decision problem in modern computer science. A revealing analysis of the natural order of decidable and undecidable cases is given. ... Many cases are treated here for the first time, and a great number of simple proofs and exercises have been included." (L'Enseignement Mathematique, Vol. 48 (1-2), 2002)

"The book is dedicated to a comprehensive presentation of the classical decision problem of first-order logic. ... This book is an essential reference for any researcher in logic, complexity, and artificial intelligence. ... Historical references that are placed at the end of each chapter are very enjoyable and help the reader follow the literature and gain a perspective of the field. ... an excellent reference book for researchers in the field, and for advanced doctoral students in theoretical computer science and logic." (Dan A. Simovici, SIGACT News, Vol. 35 (1), 2004)