Historical Review of Variants of Informal Semantics for Logic Programs under Answer Set Semantics: GL'88, GL'91, GK'14, D-V'12
Yuliya Lierler
TL;DR
This note surveys four influential works on informal semantics for logic programs under answer set semantics (GL'88, GL'91, GK'14, D-V'12), framing them within two AI paradigms: ASP and ASP-Prolog. It presents a uniform analysis focusing on three facets for each account: the interpretation of answer sets, the reading of syntactic constructs, and the meaning of the satisfaction relation, then relates these readings to practical ASP methodologies such as generate-define-test and constraint reasoning. The paper highlights how GL'88 and GL'91 establish stable-model semantics and the distinction between basic and extended programs, GK'14 extends these ideas to constraints, and D-V'12 broadens the approach with ASP-FO/GDT theories, thereby linking historical informal semantics to contemporary ASP practices. Overall, it clarifies the historical underpinnings and practical implications of treating answer sets as either possible belief states or constraint-based solution spaces, bridging theory with modern ASP tooling and agent-oriented interpretive views.
Abstract
This note presents a historical survey of informal semantics that are associated with logic programming under answer set semantics. We review these in uniform terms and align them with two paradigms: Answer Set Programming and ASP-Prolog -- two prominent Knowledge Representation and Reasoning Paradigms in Artificial Intelligence. Under consideration in Theory and Practice of Logic Programming (TPLP).