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Appendix A: Review of Mathematical Background FROM Automata, Computability and Complexity: Theory and Applications Elaine Rich  Logic, Sets, Relations, Functions, and Proof Techniques Throughout this book, we rely on a collection of important mathematical concepts and notations. We summarize them here. For a deeper introduction to these ideas, see the references at the end of this chapter. Logic We assume familiarity with the standard systems of both Boolean and quantified logic, so this section is just a review of the definitions and notations that we will use, along with some of the most useful inference rules. Boolean (Propositional) Logic A proposition is a statement that has a truth value. The language of well-formed formulas (wffs) allows us to define propositions whose truth can be determined from the truth of other propositions. A wff is any string that is formed according to the following rules: A propositional symbol (e.g., P) is a wff. (Propositional symbols are also called variables, primarily because the term is shorter. We will generally find it convenient to do that, but this use of the term should not be confused with its use in the definition of first-order logic.) If P is a wff, then (P is a wff. If P and Q are wffs, then so are P ( Q, P ( Q, P ( Q, and P ( Q. If P is a wff, then (P) is a wff. Other binary operators, such as XOR (exclusive or) and NAND (not and), can also be defined, but we will not need them. The definitions of the operators are given by the following truth table, which shows how the truth value of a proposition can be computed from the truth values of its components: (Note that the symbol ( means inclusive or.) P Q (P P ( Q P ( Q P ( Q P ( Q True True False True True True True True False False True False False False False True True True False True False False False True False False True True We can divide the set of all Boolean wffs into three useful categories, as a function of when they are true: A Boolean wff is