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What is the complexity of forward chaining over definite clauses?

  • A.Undecidable when function symbols are permitted
  • B.Linear in the size of the knowledge base
  • C.Exponential in the number of rules present
  • D.Quadratic in the number of facts derived

Answer: B

With appropriate indexing each rule fires at most once per satisfying substitution, giving a linear procedure that derives every consequence. Function symbols do make the set of derivable facts infinite, which is a genuine caveat rather than the general answer. The other figures overstate the cost. A complexity result that holds under a stated restriction, with the restriction's violation changing the answer completely, is worth stating with the condition attached.

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