# Operations on Formulas

## Checking Satisfiability

The standard way of checking whether formulas are satisfiable involves the following four steps:

1. Construct a context for the relevant logic
2. Assert the formulas in this context
3. Call check_context
4. Optionally, get a model from the context

Since Yices 2.6.2, the API includes functions that implement these four steps seamlessly. The new functions also gives access to a new feature of Yices 2.6.2, namely, the use of third-party Boolean satisfiability solvers for bit-vector problems.

smt_status_t yices_check_formula(term_t f, const char *logic, model_t **model, const char *delegate)

Check satisfiability of formula f

This returns STATUS_SAT if f is satisfiable, STATUS_UNSAT if f is not satisfiable, or STATUS_ERROR if there is an error.

Parameters

• f must be a Boolean term
• logic must be either NULL or be the name of an SMT logic (like “QF_UFIDL”)
• model must be either NULL or be a pointer to a variable in which to store a model
• delegate mut be either NULL or the name of a delegate, that is, an external SAT solver

The function first checks whether f is trivially satisifiable or unsatisfiable. If that fails, the function performs the four steps listed previously:

1. Construct a context specialized for the given logic.

If logic is NULL, a generic context is used instead with default configuration. This context supports linear arithmetic, bit-vectors, uninterpreted functions, and arrays (see _context_operations).

2. Assert f in this context.

3. Check whether the context is satisfiable.

4. If the context is satisfiable and model is not NULL, the function returns a model of f in the model variable.

This model must be deleted when no-longer needed by calling yices_free_model.

Delegates

A delegate is a SAT solver to use as backend when checking satisfiability of a bit-vector formula. The delegate parameter is ignored and has no effect unless the logic is “QF_BV”. In the latter case, three different delegates can be used:

These three delegates are known to Yices but support for CaDiCaL and CryptoMiniSat is optional. They may or may not be available depending on how the Yices library was configured and compiled. The “y2sat” delegate is always available.

If delegate is NULL, the default SAT solver internal to Yices is used (which can be much slower than state-of-the-art solvers such as CaDiCaL).

Examples

The following code fragment shows how to check satisfiability of a formula f in the QF_LRA theory and obtain a model:

model_t *result;
smt_status_t status = yices_check_formula(f, "QF_LRA", &result, NULL);
if (status == STATUS_SAT) {
// a model is returned in result
yices_pp_model(stdout, result, 100, 100, 0);
...
// delete the model when we don't need it
yices_free_model(result);
}


If the model is not needed, call the function as follows:

smt_status_t status = yices_check_formula(f, "QF_LRA", NULL, NULL);


For a bitvector formula f, we can pass a delegate as follows:

smt_status_t status = yices_check_formula(f, "QF_BV", &result, "cadical");


Error report

smt_status_t yices_check_formulas(const term_t f[], uint32_t n, const char *logic, model_t **model, const char *delegate)

Check satisfiability of an array formula f

This is similar to yices_check_formula except that it checks satisfiability of a conjunction of n formulas.

Parameters

• f must be an array of Boolean term
• n is the size of array f
• logic must be either NULL or be the name of an SMT logic (like “QF_UFIDL”)
• model must be either NULL or be a pointer to a variable in which to store a model
• delegate mut be either NULL or the name of a delegate, that is, an external SAT solver

The last three parameters have the same meaning as in yices_check_formula. The returned value and error codes are as in this function too.

int32_t yices_has_delegate(const char *delegate)

Check whether the given delegate is supported.

Return 0 if delegate is not the name of a known delegate, or if it’s known but not available in this version of the Yices library.

Return 1 if delegate is NULL or if it’s the name of a delegate that’s available in this version of the Yices library.

## Export to DIMACS

It is possible to use Yices to export the results of bit-blasting. Input to this process is a formula or array of formulas in the QF_BV logic. Bit-blasting converts this input into a equisatifiable Boolean formula in Conjunctive Normal Form (CNF). The CNF is exported in the DIMACS format, which is used by all modern SAT solvers.

Bit-blasting starts by applying simplifications and rewriting rules to the input problem. This preprocessing may be sufficient to determnine whether the input is satisfiable or not. In such cases, exporting to DIMACS cannot be performed as no CNF is constructed.

The following two functions process formulas in the QF_BV logic. They first perform preprocessing and simplification. If the formulas are solved by this preprocessing, the functions return the status (either STATUS_SAT or STATUS_UNSAT). Otherwise, the functions construct a CNF formula and write it to a file. Optionally, the functions can perform an extra round of simplification to the CNF formula before exporting it.

int32_t yices_export_formula_to_dimacs(term_t f, const char *filename, int32_t simplify_cnf, smt_status_t *status)

Export a bit-vector formula to CNF

Parameters

• f must be a Boolean term in the QF_BV theory
• filename is the name of a file in which to store the CNF
• simplify_cnf enables CNF simplification using the “y2sat” SAT solver
• staus is a pointer to a variable that will store the formula’s status if no DIMACS file is produced.

Returned Value

The function returns an integer code that indicates whether a DIMACS file was produced, or the formula was solved by preprocessing, or an error occurred:

• a negative code (-1) indicates an error while processing the formula or while writing the DIMACS file.

• the value 0 means that the formula was solved by preprocessing and that no file was created.

In this case, the formula’s status is returned in variable status.

• the value 1 means that a DIMACS file was successfully generated.

Error Reports

Other error codes are possible if f is not in the QF_BV theory

If the error code is OUTPUT_ERROR, it is possible to get more information on the error by using standard functions such as perror and strerror.

int32_t yices_export_formulas_to_dimacs(const term_t f[], uint32_t n, const char *filename, int32_t simplify_cnf, smt_status_t *status)

Export an array of bit-vector formulas to CNF

This is similar to yices_export_formula_to_dimacs except that it processes an array of n bit-vector formulas.

Parameters
• f must be an array of Boolean terms in the QF_BV theory
• n is the size of array f
• filename is the name of a file in which to store the CNF
• simplify_cnf enables CNF simplification using the “y2sat” SAT solver
• staus is a pointer to a variable that will store the formula’s status if no DIMACS file is produced.

The returned code and error reports are the same as yices_export_formula_to_dimacs.