ACL2-PC_colon__colon_GENERALIZE.html -- ACL2 Version 6.3

### ACL2-PC::GENERALIZE

(primitive) `` perform a generalization

    Major Section:  PROOF-CHECKER-COMMANDS

    Example:
    (generalize
     ((and (true-listp x) (true-listp y)) 0)
     ((append x y) w))

    General Form:
    (generalize &rest substitution)

Generalize using the indicated substitution, which should be a non-empty list. Each element of that list should be a two-element list of the form `(term variable)`, where `term` may use abbreviations. The effect of the instruction is to replace each such term in the current goal by the corresponding variable. This replacement is carried out by a parallel substitution, outside-in in each hypothesis and in the conclusion. More generally, actually, the ``variable'' (second) component of each pair may be `nil` or a number, which causes the system to generate a new name of the form `_` or `_n`, with `n` a natural number; more on this below. However, when a variable is supplied, it must not occur in any goal of the current proof-checker state.

When the ``variable'' above is `nil`, the system will treat it as the variable `|_|` if that variable does not occur in any goal of the current proof-checker state. Otherwise it treats it as `|_0|`, or `|_1|`, or `|_2|`, and so on, until one of these is not among the variables of the current proof-checker state. If the ``variable'' is a non-negative integer `n`, then the system treats it as `|_n|` unless that variable already occurs among the current goals, in which case it increments n just as above until it obtains a new variable.

Remark: The same variable may not occur as the variable component of two different arguments (though `nil` may occur arbitrarily many times, as may a positive integer).