GEN_MESON_TAC : int -> int -> int -> thm list -> tactic
STRUCTURE
SYNOPSIS
Performs first order proof search to prove the goal, using both the given theorems and the assumptions in the search.
LIBRARY
mesonLib
DESCRIPTION
GEN_MESON_TAC is the function which provides the underlying implementation of the model elimination solver used by both MESON_TAC and ASM_MESON_TAC. The three integer parameters correspond to various ways in which the search can be tuned.

The first is the minimum depth at which to search. Setting this to a number greater than zero can save time if its clear that there will not be a proof of such a small depth. ASM_MESON_TAC and MESON_TAC always use a value of 0 for this parameter.

The second is the maximum depth to which to search. Setting this low will stop the search taking too long, but may cause the engine to miss proofs it would otherwise find. The setting of this variable for ASM_MESON_TAC and MESON_TAC is done through the reference variable mesonLib.max_depth. This is set to 30 by default, but most proofs do not need anything like this depth.

The third parameter is the increment used to increase the depth of search done by the proof search procedure.

The approach used is iterative deepening, so with a call to

  GEN_MESON_TAC mn mx inc
the algorithm looks for a proof of depth mn, then for one of depth mn + inc, then at depth mn + 2 * inc etc. Once the depth gets greater than mx, the proof search stops.
FAILURE
GEN_MESON_TAC fails if it searches to a depth equal to the second integer parameter without finding a proof. Shouldn’t fail otherwise.

USES
The construction of tailored versions of MESON_TAC and ASM_MESON_TAC.
SEEALSO
HOL  Kananaskis-14