On-line 2-satisfiability

Abstract

We deal with the followingon-line 2-satisfiability problemP(m, n): starting fromC(0)=true, consider a sequence ofm Boolean formulasC(k) (inn variables and in conjunctive normal form), each of them being the intersection of the previous one with a single clause which is the union of two literals. Solve the sequence of 2-satisfiability problemsC(k)=true,k=1,...,m. It is well known that a 2-satisfiability problem involvingm clauses can be solved inO(m) time. Thus, by a naive approach one can solveP(m, n) in overallO(m ²) time. We present an algorithm with overallO(nm) time complexity, which for every formula not only checks its satisfiability, but also actually computes a solution (if any), and moreover, detects all forced and all identical variables. Our algorithm makes use of an efficient on-line transitive closure procedure by Italiano. We discuss two applications to the design of integrated electronic circuits and to edge classification in automated perception.