Constraints for predicate invention

This chapter describes an inductive learning method that derives logic programs and invents predicates when needed. The basic idea is to form the least common anti-instance (LCA) of selected seed examples. If the LCA is too general it forms the starting poínt of a general-to-specific search which is guided by various constraints on argument dependencies and critica! terms. A distinguishing feature of the method is its ability to introduce new predicates. Predicate invention involves three steps. First, the need for a new predicate is discovered and the arguments of the new predicate are determíned using the same constraints that guide the search. In the second step, instances of the new predicate are abductively inferred. These instances form the input for the last step where the definition of the new predicate is induced by recursively applying the method again. We also outline how such a system could be more tightly integrated with an abductive learning system