Satis ability Algorithms and Finite Quanti cation

This paper makes three observations with regard to the application of algorithms such as wsat and relsat to problems of practical interest. First, we identify a speciic calculation (\subsearch") that is performed at each inference step by any existing satissability algorithm. We then show that for realistic problems, the time spent on subsearch can be expected to dominate the computational cost of the algorithm. Finally, we present a spe-ciic modiication to the representation that exploits the structure of naturally occurring problems and leads to exponential reductions in the time needed for subsearch.