ASP Essentials: Modelling and Efficient Solving

Answer Set Programming (ASP) is a logic-based Knowledge Representation and Reasoning (KRR) paradigm that facilitates rapid prototyping of solutions for complex problems. It is particularly effective for tackling Deep Reasoning tasks involving exponentially large search spaces, such as combinatorial search and optimization. While getting started with ASP is relatively easy, mastering its advanced constructs and scaling solutions to real-world problem sizes can be challenging. This paper provides an introduction to ASP, guiding the reader from the fundamentals of the language to the application of programming methodologies and the computation of answer sets. Beyond the core framework, the paper also examines selected extensions of ASP that enable the modeling of complex problems, as well as compilation techniques designed to enhance solving efficiency. Furthermore, it mentions some recent tools that combine ASP with LLMs.