DROPS

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.56

Negated String Containment Is Decidable

Authors: Vojtěch Havlena, Michal Hečko, Lukáš Holík, and Ondřej Lengál

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 345, 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)

Abstract

We provide a positive answer to a long-standing open question of the decidability of the not-contains string predicate. Not-contains is practically relevant, for instance in symbolic execution of string manipulating programs. Particularly, we show that the predicate ¬Contains(x₁ … x_n, y₁ … y_m), where x₁ … x_n and y₁ … y_m are sequences of string variables constrained by regular languages, is decidable. Decidability of a not-contains predicate combined with chain-free word equations and regular membership constraints follows.

Cite as

Vojtěch Havlena, Michal Hečko, Lukáš Holík, and Ondřej Lengál. Negated String Containment Is Decidable. In 50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 345, pp. 56:1-56:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{havlena_et_al:LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.56,
  author =	{Havlena, Vojt\v{e}ch and He\v{c}ko, Michal and Hol{\'\i}k, Luk\'{a}\v{s} and Leng\'{a}l, Ond\v{r}ej},
  title =	{{Negated String Containment Is Decidable}},
  booktitle =	{50th International Symposium on Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science (MFCS 2025)},
  pages =	{56:1--56:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-388-1},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{345},
  editor =	{Gawrychowski, Pawe{\l} and Mazowiecki, Filip and Skrzypczak, Micha{\l}},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.56},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-241631},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.MFCS.2025.56},
  annote =	{Keywords: not-contains, string constraints, word combinatorics, primitive word}
}

Search Results

Documents authored by Hečko, Michal

Negated String Containment Is Decidable

Abstract

Cite as

Thanks for your feedback!

Could not send message