In this monograph we study two generalizations of standard unification, E-unification and higher-order unification, using an abstract approach orig inated by Herbrand and developed in the case of standard first-order unifi cation by Martelli and Montanari. The formalism presents the unification computation as a set of non-deterministic transformation rules for con verting a set of equations to be unified into an explicit representation of a unifier (if such exists). This provides an abstract and mathematically elegant means of analysing the properties of unification in various settings by...

In this monograph we study two generalizations of standard unification, E-unification and higher-order unification, using an abstract approach orig- inated by Herbrand and developed in the case of standard first-order unifi- cation by Martelli and Montanari. The formalism presents the unification computation as a set of non-deterministic transformation rules for con- verting a set of equations to be unified into an explicit representation of a unifier (if such exists). This provides an abstract and mathematically elegant means of analysing the properties of unification in various settings by...