Actions and Specificity

A solution to the problem of specificity in a resource–oriented deductive approach to actions and change is presented. Specificity originates in the problem of overloading methods in object oriented frameworks but can be observed in general applications of actions and change in logic. We give a uniform solution to the problem of specificity culminating in a completed equational logic program with an equational theory. We show the soundness and completeness of SLDENF–resolution, ie. SLD–resolution augmented by negation–as–failure and by an equational theory, wrt the completed program. Finally, the expressiveness of our approach for performing general reasoning about actions, change, and causality is demonstrated.