Meta-Programming for Linear-Time Temporal Answer Set Programming

The development of temporal extensions of Answer Set Programming (ASP) has led to the emergence of non-monotonic linear-time ( TEL TEL TEL ), dynamic ( DEL DEL DEL ), and metric ( MEL MEL MEL ) temporal equilibrium logics. However, the inherent rigidity of highly optimized ASP systems often hinders the rapid exploration and implementation of alternative logical designs. In this work, we propose a flexible meta-programming framework that operationalizes the semantics of varied temporal logics through a unified, declarative framework. Our approach extends standard ASP meta-programming by augmenting clingo ’s theory grammar with formal type specifications and nesting capabilities. To ensure semantic correctness, we introduce a transformation pipeline that protects nested modalities from stable-model-based simplifications during grounding. We demonstrate the extensibility of our framework by implementing meta-encodings for TEL TEL TEL , MEL MEL MEL , and DEL DEL DEL . We provide a comprehensive account of TEL TEL TEL and highlight the key features for managing the interval constraints of MEL MEL MEL and the Fischer–Ladner closure in <jats:alternative