Optimizing description logic subsumption

Effective optimization techniques can make a dramatic difference in the performance of knowledge representation systems based on expressive description logics. With currently-available desktop computers, systems that incorporate these techniques can effectively reason in description logics with intractable inference. Because of the correspondence between description logics and propositional modal logic difficult problems in a propositional modal logic can be effectively solved using the same techniques. Key words: Description logic systems, optimization, propositional modal logics