Description of Modules for academic year 2009/10

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Description of Modules for academic year 2009/10

Basic Modules

Module No. Name of Module Person in Charge
MCL-B-F Foundations Prof. Steffen Hölldobler
Contents and qualification objectives The module contains propositional logic, first-order logic, equational logic; deductive, abductive, and inductive reasoning; non-monotonic reasoning; machine learning; logic-based program development; natural-language processing and neural-symbolic integration.
After completion of the module students master the methodological basics of propositional and first-order logic. They know the field of Computational Logic and its main sub-fields as well as the basic techniques and methods applied in these sub-fields.
Form of teaching and education Lectures 4 SWS, tutorials 4 SWS, private studies.
Courses The courses Logic and Science of Computational Logic with an extent of 2 SWS lectures and 2 SWS tutorials each are assigned to this module.
Prerequisits for participation Knowledge of Computer Science on Bachelor level or comparative knowledge is required.
Usability This module is a basic module of the study course Computational Logic. It gives the qualification for the modules Advanced Logic, Integrated Logic Systems and Project as well as for all advanced modules.
Prerequisits for allocation of credits The credits are given, if the module examination has been passed. The module examination consists of an exam paper of 90 minutes and an oral examination of at least 30 and at most 60 minutes.
Credits and marks With this module 12 credits can be acquired. The mark of the module arises from the (unweighted) arithmetical mean of the marks of each examination.
Frequency This module is offered every academic year in winter term.
Expenditure of work The expenditure of work is in all 360 hours.
Duration This module contains 1 semester.


Module No. Name of Module Person in Charge
MCL-B-LCP Logic and Constraint Programming Prof. Michael Thielscher
Contents and qualification objectives Contents of this module:
  • Foundations of logic programming: unification, procedural semantics, declarative semantics, soundness and completeness of SLD-resolution, negation in logic programs, termination of logic programs;
  • Foundations of constraint programming: complete constraint solvers, local consistency notions, incomplete constraint solvers, constraint propagation, search;
  • Practice of logic programming: the programming language Prolog, recursion, special data structures and libraries, applications of logic programs.
With this module students acquire a detailed understanding of the theoretical foundations of logic and constraint programming. They gain insight into a logic programming language, and they develop the skills to systematically design logic programs, to develop constraint solvers, and to model problems as constraint programs. They also acquire knowledge of the application areas of logic and constraint programming, and they gain insight into the execution of logic programs.
Form of teaching and education Lectures 3 SWS, tutorials 2 SWS, practicals 3 SWS, private studies.
Courses The courses Foundations of Logic Programming with an extent of 2 SWS lectures and 1 SWS tutorial, Foundations of Constrain Programming with an extent of 1 SWS lectures, 1 SWS tutorials and 1 SWS practicals and Logic Programming Engineering with an extent of 2 SWS practicals are assigned to this module.
Prerequisits for participation Knowledge of Computer Science on Bachelor level or comparative knowledge is required.
Usability This module is a basic module of the study course Computational Logic. It gives the qualification for the modules Advanced Logic, Integrated Logic Systems and Project as well as for all advanced modules.
Prerequisits for allocation of credits The credits are given, if the module examination has been passed. The module examination consists of an exam paper of 90 minutes and a project work.
Credits and marks With this module 12 credits can be acquired. The mark of the module arises from the arithmetical mean of the marks of each examination. Exam papers are weighted with factor 3 and the project work with factor 1.
Frequency This module is offered every academic year in winter term.
Expenditure of work The expenditure of work is in all 360 hours.
Duration This module contains 1 semester.


Module No. Name of Module Person in Charge
MCL-B-AL Advanced Logic Prof. Christel Baier
Contents and qualification objectives The module treats several variants of first-order and second-order logic and modal logic, with an emphasis on expressiveness, deductive systems and algorithmic and complexity-theoretic aspects. The students will get a deep understanding of the basic principles of logic calculi and earn the ability of evaluating and applying logical frameworks in application areas related to Computer Science.
Form of teaching and education Lectures 4 SWS, tutorials 2 SWS, private studies.
Courses The course Advanced Logic with an extent of 4 SWS lectures and 2 SWS tutorial is assigned to this module.
Prerequisits for participation This module bases on the basic concepts of propositional logic and predicate logic, which are given in the module Foundations. Furthermore, general basic knowledge of computer science is required, especially from the areas of computability theory, complexity theory, formal languages, algorithms and data structures.
Usability This module is a basic module of the study course Computational Logic. It gives the qualification for all advanced modules as well as for the module Project.
Prerequisits for allocation of credits The credits are given, if the module examination has been passed. The module examination consists of an exam paper of 120 minutes.
Credits and marks With this module 9 credits can be acquired. The mark of the module is the mark obtained in the exam paper.
Frequency This module is offered every academic year in summer term.
Expenditure of work The expenditure of work is in all 270 hours.
Duration This module contains 1 semester.


Module No. Name of Module Person in Charge
MCL-B-ILS Integrated Logic Systems Prof. Michael Schroeder
Contents and qualification objectives The module deals with practical applications of logic and reasoning. The course "semantic search" deals with a novel search paradigm that uses background knowledge in the form of ontologies.
The course introduces the necessary cocnepts from information retrieval and text-mining to realize ontology learning and alignments and ontology-based search.
Form of teaching and education Lectures 3 SWS, tutorials 3 SWS, private studies.
Courses The courses Deduction Systems with an extent of 1 SWS lectures and 1 SWS tutorials and Semantic Search: Algorithms and Applications with an extent of 2 SWS lectures and 2 SWS tutorials are assigned to this module.
Prerequisits for participation Knowledge of computer science on bachelor level and deepened knowledge of logic and logic programming or comparative knowledge is required.
Usability This module is a basic module of the study course Computational Logic. It gives the qualification for all advanced modules as well as for the module Project.
Prerequisits for allocation of credits The credits are given, if the module examination has been passed. The module examination consists of an exam paper of 120 minutes.
Credits and marks With this module 9 credits can be acquired. The mark of the module is the mark obtained in the exam paper.
Frequency This module is offered every academic year in summer term.
Expenditure of work The expenditure of work is in all 270 hours.
Duration This module contains 1 semester.


Module No. Name of Module Person in Charge
MCL-P Project Head of the study course
Contents and qualification objectives The module requires the solution of a simple scientific problem from the field of Computational Logic including an oral and written presentation of the problem, the state of the art in the underlying sub-field and the proposed solution as well as its defense.
After completion of the module students are able to analyze a simple scientific problem, to relate the problem to the state of the art in the underlying sub-field, to solve the problem, to present the problem, the state of the art as well as the solution in written from as well as in an oral presentation, and to defend their claims.
Form of teaching and education Practicals 4 SWS, private studies.
Courses The course Project Group with an extent of 4 SWS practicals is assigned to this module.
Prerequisits for participation The knowledge given in the basic modules of the study course Computational Logic is required.
Usability This module is a basic module of the study course Computational Logic.
Prerequisits for allocation of credits The credits are given, if the module examination has been passed. The module examination consists of doing a project work and its defence. The defence consists of a presentation of ca. 20 minutes followed by a dialogue.
Credits and marks With this module 12 credits can be acquired. The mark of the module arises from the arithmetical mean of the marks of each examination with usage of the following weight: project work with factor 6, presentation and dialogue with factor 1 each.
Frequency This module is offered in every term.
Expenditure of work The expenditure of work is in all 360 hours.
Duration This module contains 1 semester.


Advanced Modules

Module No. Name of Module Person in Charge
MCL-A-KRAI Knowledge Representation and Artificial Intelligence Prof. Michael Thielscher
Contents and qualification objectives Contents of this module:
  • Knowledge categories;
  • Logic-based formalisms for knowledge representation and their mathematical properties;
  • Inference methods for automatically processing knowledge;
  • Design of knowledge bases;
  • Foundations and applications of knowledge-based systems in Artificial Intelligence.
With this module students gain a detailed understanding of how knowledge is formalized and processed in Artificial Intelligence. They acquire the skills of designing, formally specifying, and implementing techniques of knowledge representation and reasoning. With the focus on formal models in combination with systematic methods from software engineering, this module provides the essential basis for a scientific approach to Computer Science.
Form of teaching and education This module contains lectures, tutorials, seminars or practicals of a total extent of at least 8 SWS in dependence of the student's choice as well as the private studies.
Courses The courses are announced at the beginning of every academic year giving the form of teaching and the SWS within the course offer of the Computer Science Department for the study course Computational Logic.
Prerequisits for participation Deepened knowledge of logic is required.
Usability This module is one of 5 advanced modules of the study course Computational Logic, of which 3 ones have to be chosen.
Prerequisits for allocation of credits The credits are given, if the module examination has been passed. The module examination consists of an oral examination of at least 30 and at most 60 minutes.
Credits and marks With this module 12 credits can be acquired. The mark of the module is the mark obtained in the oral examination.
Frequency This module is offered every academic year beginning in winter term.
Expenditure of work The expenditure of work is in all 360 hours.
Duration This module contains 2 semesters.


Module No. Name of Module Person in Charge
MCL-A-SV Specification and Verification Prof. Christel Baier
Contents and qualification objectives The module addresses modeling techniques for complex systems, temporal and other program logics for specifying functional and quantitative requirements, and corresponding verification techniques. The students learn the theoretical foundations of formal verification (model checking, interactive theorem proving) and get a deep understanding of the design, implementation and application of verification tools.
Form of teaching and education This module contains lectures, tutorials, seminars or practicals of a total extent of at least 8 SWS in dependence of the student's choice as well as the private studies.
Courses The courses are announced at the beginning of every academic year giving the form of teaching and the SWS within the course offer of the Computer Science Department for the study course Computational Logic.
Prerequisits for participation Amongst basic knowledge of computer science and mathematics deepened knowledge of logic is required.
Usability This module is one of 5 advanced modules of the study course Computational Logic, of which 3 ones have to be chosen.
Prerequisits for allocation of credits The credits are given, if the module examination has been passed. The module examination consists of an oral examination of at least 30 and at most 60 minutes.
Credits and marks With this module 12 credits can be acquired. The mark of the module is the mark obtained in the oral examination.
Frequency This module is offered every academic year.
Expenditure of work The expenditure of work is in all 360 hours.
Duration This module contains 2 semesters.


Module No. Name of Module Person in Charge
MCL-A-SDS Syntax-directed Semantics Prof. Heiko Vogler
Contents and qualification objectives The contents of this module encompass the translation of syntactic structures (e.g., derivation trees of programs or of sentences in natural languages) into semantic structures (e.g. translations into other formal or natural languages, respectively), with a particular focus being on the theory of tree automata, equivalent formalisms, and extensions of those formalisms on the one hand, and applications in the area of statistical machine translation and parsing of natural languages on the other hand.
Students who pass this module will be proficient in the foundations of syntax-directed translation and will be able to apply and evaluate formal models from this area.
Form of teaching and education This module contains lectures, tutorials, seminars or practicals of a total extent of at least 8 SWS in dependence of the student's choice as well as the private studies.
Courses The courses are announced at the beginning of every academic year giving the form of teaching and the SWS within the course offer of the Computer Science Department for the study course Computational Logic.
Prerequisits for participation Basic knowledge of automata, formal languages and computability on computer science bachelor level is required.
Usability This module is one of 5 advanced modules of the study course Computational Logic, of which 3 ones have to be chosen.
Prerequisits for allocation of credits The credits are given, if the module examination has been passed. The module examination consists of an oral examination of at least 30 and at most 60 minutes.
Credits and marks With this module 12 credits can be acquired. The mark of the module is the mark obtained in the oral examination.
Frequency This module is offered every academic year beginning in winter term.
Expenditure of work The expenditure of work is in all 360 hours.
Duration This module contains 2 semesters.


Module No. Name of Module Person in Charge
MCL-A-TCSL Theoretical Computer Science and Logic Prof. Franz Baader
Contents and qualification objectives The content of this module comprises selected techniques of Theoretical Computer Science (like automata, decidability and complexity results, term rewriting techniques) as well as their application for the analysis of formal properties (like axiomatizations, proof-theoretic properties, design of inference algorithms and analysis of their properties) of logics (like temporal logics, description logics, monadic second-order logic).
After completion of the module the students have a deep and practically applicable knowledge of the methods from Theoretical Computer Science that are relevant for application in logic, as well as a good understanding of formal properties of various logics.
Form of teaching and education This module contains lectures, tutorials, seminars or practicals of a total extent of at least 8 SWS in dependence of the student's choice as well as the private studies.
Courses The courses are announced at the beginning of every academic year giving the form of teaching and the SWS within the course offer of the Computer Science Department for the study course Computational Logic.
Prerequisits for participation Deepened knowledge of logic as well as basic knowledge in the areas of automata theory, computability and complexity is required.
Usability This module is one of 5 advanced modules of the study course Computational Logic, of which 3 ones have to be chosen.
Prerequisits for allocation of credits The credits are given, if the module examination has been passed. The module examination consists of an oral examination of at least 30 and at most 60 minutes.
Credits and marks With this module 12 credits can be acquired. The mark of the module is the mark obtained in the oral examination.
Frequency This module is offered every academic year beginning in winter term.
Expenditure of work The expenditure of work is in all 360 hours.
Duration This module contains 2 semesters.


Module No. Name of Module Person in Charge
MCL-A-IT Inference Techniques Prof. Steffen Hölldobler
Contents and qualification objectives The module containts selected inference techniques applied in automatic or semi-automatic proof and inference systems ranging from logic and calculus over data structures, strategies and heuristics to implementations and applications.
After completion of the module students have an in depth understanding of the development, implementation and application of selected inference techniques.
Form of teaching and education This module contains lectures, tutorials, seminars or practicals of a total extent of at least 8 SWS in dependence of the student's choice as well as the private studies.
Courses The courses are announced at the beginning of every academic year giving the form of teaching and the SWS within the course offer of the Computer Science Department for the study course Computational Logic.
Prerequisits for participation Deepened knowledge of logic is required.
Usability This module is one of 5 advanced modules of the study course Computational Logic, of which 3 ones have to be chosen.
Prerequisits for allocation of credits The credits are given, if the module examination has been passed. The module examination consists of an oral examination of at least 30 and at most 60 minutes.
Credits and marks With this module 12 credits can be acquired. The mark of the module is the mark obtained in the oral examination.
Frequency This module is offered every academic year beginning in winter term.
Expenditure of work The expenditure of work is in all 360 hours.
Duration This module contains 2 semesters.



For further information, see the pages of the International MSc Program in Computational Logic or contact Prof. Steffen Hölldobler.