Miscellaneous Operations

This section describes functions for assigning names to terms and types and for building terms and types by parsing expressions in the Yices language. It also documents term substitutions and support for garbage collection.

Names

It is possible to assign names to terms and types, and later retrieve a term or a type by its name.

For each term and type, Yices stores a base name that’s used for pretty printing. Initially, the base name is NULL. It is set on the first call to yices_set_term_name or yices_set_type_name.

In addition, Yices maintains two symbol tables that map names to terms and names to types, respectively. The name spaces for types and terms are disjoint. The term or type to which a name refers can be changed, and Yices provides a scoping mechanism:

  • When function yices_set_term_name(t, name) is called, then the previous mapping for name (if any) is hidden and now name refers to term t.
  • If function yices_remove_term_name(name) is called, then the current mapping for name is removed and the previous mapping (if any) is restored.

Functions yices_set_type_name and yices_remove_type_name behave in the same way.

File examples/names.c included in the distributions illustrates these functions. You can also download it here.

Type Names

int32_t yices_set_type_name(type_t tau, const char *name)

Attaches a name to a type.

Parameters

  • tau can be any valid type
  • name must be a '\0'-terminated string.

If tau does not have a base name yet, then name is stored as base name for tau.

If name currently refers to a type, then this current mapping is hidden, then the mapping from name to tau is recorded in the symbol table for types.

Yices makes an internal copy of the string name.

Returned value

  • If tau is not valid, the function returns -1 and sets the error report. Otherwise, the function returns 0.
const char* yices_get_type_name(type_t tau)

Retrieves the base name of a type.

This function returns NULL if the type tau is invalid or has no base name. Otherwise it returns the base name of tau.

type_t yices_get_type_by_name(const char *name)

Gets a type by its name.

This function returns the type mapped to name or NULL_TYPE if nothing is mapped to name in the symbol table.

void yices_remove_type_name(const char *name)

Removes the current mapping of name from the symbol table for types.

This function has no effect if name does not refer to any type.

Otherwise, the current mapping of name is removed. If name was previously mapped to another type, then this previous mapping is restored.

int32_t yices_clear_type_name(type_t tau)

Removes the base name of a type.

If tau is not a valid type, this function returns -1, and sets the error report. Otherwise, it returns 0.

If type tau does not have a base name, this function does nothing and returns 0.

Otherwise, the mapping from tau’s base name to tau is removed from the symbol table and tau’s base name is removed.

Term Names

int32_t yices_set_term_name(term_t t, const char *name)

Attaches a name to a term.

Parameters

  • t can be any valid term
  • name must be a '\0'-terminated string.

If t does not have a base name yet, then name is stored as base name for t.

If name currently refers to a term, then this current mapping is hidden.

Then the mapping from name to t is recorded in the symbol table for terms.

Yices makes an internal copy of the string name.

Returned value

  • If t is not valid, the function returns -1 and sets the error report. Otherwise, the function returns 0.
const char* yices_get_term_name(term_t t)

Retrieves the base name of a term.

This function returns NULL if the term t is invalid or has no base name. Otherwise it returns the base name of t.

term_t yices_get_term_by_name(const char *name)

Gets a term by its name.

This function returns the term mapped to name or NULL_TERM if nothing is mapped to name in the symbol table.

void yices_remove_term_name(const char *name)

Removes the current mapping of name from the symbol table for terms.

This function has no effect if name does not refer to any term.

Otherwise, the current mapping of name is removed. If the name was previously mapped to another term, then this previous mapping is restored.

int32_t yices_clear_term_name(term_t t)

Removes the base name of a term.

If t is not a valid term, then this function returns -1, and sets the error report. Otherwise, it returns 0.

If term t does not have a base name, this function does nothing and returns 0.

Otherwise, the mapping from t’s base name to t is removed from the symbol table then t’s base name is removed.

Parsing

Parsing functions convert a string into a term or a type. The string must be a type or term expression in the Yices language (cf. Yices Input Language). The input string must be terminated by '\0'. If a symbol occurs in the string, its value (either as a term or a type, depending on the context) is retrieved in the symbol table for terms or types.

The parsing functions return NULL_TYPE or NULL_TERM if there’s an error, including a syntax error. The line and column fields of the error report give information about the error location in the string.

type_t yices_parse_type(const char *s)

Parses string s as a type.

term_t yices_parse_term(const char *s)

Parses string s as a term.

Substitutions

A substitution replaces one or more variables or uninterpreted terms by other terms. A substitution is defined by two term arrays of the same size:

  • var must be an array of variables or uninterpreted terms.

    This array defines the domain of the substitution. It is allowed to mix variables and uninterpreted terms in the array.

  • map specifies the replacement terms.

    The variable or uninterpreted term in var[i] is replaced by the term map[i].

The types must be consistent: map[i]’s type must be a subtype of var[i]’s type.

If the same term occurs several times in var[i] then the last occurrence counts. For example, if v[0] = x and v[1] = x then x is mapped to map[1] in the substitution, not to map[0] (unless x occurs in the rest of the array var).

term_t yices_subst_term(uint32_t n, const term_t var[], const term_t map[], term_t t)

Applies a substitution to a term.

Parameters

  • n is the size of arrays var and map.
  • var and map define the substitution.
  • t is the term to which the substitution is applied.

Every element of var must be either a variable (cf. yices_new_variable) or an uninterpreted term (cf. yices_new_uninterpreted_term).

Every (free) occurrence of var[i] in t is replaced by term map[i].

It’s allowed to have n=0, in which case this operation returns t unchanged.

The function returns NULL_TERM if there’s an error.

Error report

  • if var[i] or map[i] is not a valid term:

    – error code: INVALID_TERM

    – term1 := the invalid term

  • if var[i] is not a variable or uninterpreted term:

    – error code: VARIABLE_REQUIRED

    – term1 := var[i]

  • if map[i]’s type is wrong:

    – error code: TYPE_MISMATCH

    – term1 := map[i]

    – type1 := type of var[i]

  • if the substitution creates a term of too high degree:

    – error code: DEGREE_OVERFLOW

int32_t yices_subst_term_array(uint32_t n, const term_t var[], const term_t map[], uint32_t m, term_t t[])

Applies a substitution to an array of terms.

Parameters

  • n is the size of arrays var and map.
  • var and map define the substitution.
  • t is an array of m terms.

The constraints on var and map are the same as in function yices_subst_term.

This function applies the substitution defined by var and map to the m terms of t. The result is stored in place in array t. Assuming there’s no error, this function has the same effect as the loop:

for (i=0; i<m; i++) {
  t[i] = yices_subst_term(n, var, map, t[i]);
}

But it is more efficient to call yices_subst_term_array than to use such a loop in your code.

The function returns -1 if there’s an error or 0 otherwise.

The possible error reports are the same as for function yices_subst_term.

Garbage Collection

By default, Yices never deletes any terms or types. All the terms and types returned by the constructors can always be used by the application. There’s no explicit term or type deletion function.

If you want to delete terms or types that are no longer useful, you must make an explicit call to the garbage collector by calling function yices_garbage_collect.

Yices uses a mark-and-sweep garbage collector. Given a set of root terms and types that must be preserved, Yices marks the roots then recursively marks all the terms and types on which the roots depend. After this marking phase, all unmarked terms and types are deleted.

The set of roots is constructed as follows:

  1. First, every term or type that is used in a live context or model is a root. For example, all the formulas asserted in a context are preserved by the garbage collector until the context is deleted.

  2. In addition, more roots can be specified using any of the following mechanisms (they can be combined).

    • Give a list of root terms and types as arguments to yices_garbage_collect.

    • Set parameter keep_named to true when calling yices_garbage_collect.

      If this flag is true, all the terms and types that are stored in the symbol tables are added to the set of roots.

    • Maintain reference counts for individual terms and types, using the functions:

      When yices_garbage_collect is called, all the terms or types with a positive reference counter are added to the set of roots. If the functions above are never called, then all the terms and types are considered to have a reference count of zero.

      Just decrementing a reference counter to zero does not delete anything. The terms and types are not deleted until function yices_garbage_collect is called.

uint32_t yices_num_types(void)

Returns the number of types internally stored in Yices.

uint32_t yices_num_terms(void)

Returns the number of terms internally stored in Yices.

int32_t yices_incref_type(type_t tau)

Increments the reference counter of a type.

This function returns -1 if tau is not a valid type, or 0 otherwise.

int32_t yices_decref_type(type_t tau)

Decrements the reference counter of a type.

The type tau must be valid and its reference counter must be positive. If tau’s reference count is zero, the function keeps it unchanged and reports an error.

The function returns -1 if there’s an error, or 0 otherwise.

Error report

int32_t yices_incref_term(term_t t)

Increments the reference counter of a term.

This function returns -1 if t is not a valid term, or 0 otherwise.

int32_t yices_decref_term(term_t t)

Decrements the reference counter of a term.

The term t must be valid and its reference counter must be positive. If t’s reference count is zero, the function leaves it unchanged and reports an error.

The function returns -1 if there’s an error, or 0 otherwise.

Error report

uint32_t yices_num_posref_types(void)

Returns the number of types that havee a positive reference count. This number is 0 if no call to yices_incref_type was made.

uint32_t yices_num_posref_terms(void)

Returns the number of temrs that havee a positive reference count. This number is 0 if no call to yices_incref_term was made.

void yices_garbage_collect(const term_t t[], uint32_t nt, const type_t tau[], uint32_t ntau, int32_t keep_named)

Calls the garbage collector.

Parameters

  • t: optional array of terms to preserve
  • nt: number of terms in array t
  • tau: optional array of types to preserve
  • ntau: number of types in array tau
  • keep_named: indicates whether named terms and types should be preserved

If t is not NULL, then all the elements t[0 … nt-1] are added to the set of roots and will not be deleted.

If tau is not NULL, then all the elements tau[0 … ntau-1] are added to the set of roots and will not be deleted.

If keep_named is non-zero (i.e., true) then all the terms and types accessible via the symbol tables are also preserved. See Names.

In addition, as explained above, all the terms and types with a positive reference count and all the terms used in a model or context are preserved.

This function silently ignore any element of array t and tau that’s not a valid term or type.