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The '''Davis–Putnam algorithm''' was developed by [[Martin Davis]] and [[Hilary Putnam]] for checking the validity of a [[first-order logic]] formula using a [[Resolution (logic)|resolution]]-based decision procedure for [[propositional logic]]. Since the set of valid first-order formulas is [[recursively enumerable]] but not [[Recursive set|recursive]], there exists no general algorithm to solve this problem. Therefore, the Davis–Putnam algorithm only terminates on valid formulas. Today, the term "Davis-Putnam algorithm" is often used synonymously with the resolution-based propositional decision procedure that is actually only one of the steps of the original algorithm.
The procedure is based on [[Herbrand's theorem]], which implies that an [[satisfiable|unsatisfiable]] formula has an unsatisfiable [[ground instance]], and on the fact that a formula is valid if and only if its negation is unsatisfiable. Taken together, these facts imply that to prove the validity of ''φ'' it is enough to prove that a ground instance of ''¬φ'' is unsatisfiable. If ''φ'' is not valid, then the search for an unsatisfiable ground instance will not terminate.
The procedure roughly consists of these three parts:
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