A Deductive Database for Mathematical Formulas

In this paper, we present mfd2, a deductive database for mathematical formulas. The database itself is a stand-alone program which can run as a server in a client/server environment and it has been designed to be a powerful assistant for computer algebra systems as well as for other applications. For example, mfd2 could be used in an electronic handbook of mathematical relations or as a lemma database for a theorem prover. The information stored in the database is accessed through a specialized query language. At the heart of mfd2 is a deduction engine based on an algorithm for associate-commutative unification that takes care of the conditions associated with the formulas.