ESmodels: An Inference Engine of Epistemic Specifications

Epistemic specification (ES for short) is an extension of answer set programming (ASP for short). The extension is built around the introduction of modalities K and M, and then is capable of representing incomplete information in the presence of multiple belief sets. Although both syntax and semantics of ES are up in the air, the need for this extension has been illustrated with several examples in the literatures. In this paper, we present a new ES version with only modality K and the design of its inference engine ESmodels that aims to be efficient enough to promote the theoretical research and also practical use of ES. We first introduce the syntax and semantics of the new version of ES and show it is succinct but flexible by comparing it with existing ES versions. Then, we focus on the description of the algorithm and optimization approaches of the inference engine. Finally, we conclude with perspectives.