Recording, Analyzing and Presenting Distributed Deduction Processes

Distributed models for deduction allow for more powerful proof systems, but also lead to new problems. In particular, the analysis of the deduction process becomes harder, as a number of largely independent agents may contribute to the proof. In a system including cooperating agents timing considerations can lead to further problems. In this paper we rst introduce the TEAMWORK method and the DISCOUNT system for distributed equational reasoning. We point out the diiculties in obtaining a detailed representation of the proofs generated by a distributed system with completely distributed memory and present our solution for the TEAMWORK approach. Using this solution we are able to explain some of the speedups DISCOUNT was able to obtain in distributed mode. Finally we show how the machine-friendly representation of an equational proof can be transformed into a proof easily readable by humans.