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2
3theory Preface
4imports Base "HOL-Eisbach.Eisbach_Tools"
5begin
6
7text \<open>
8  \<^emph>\<open>Eisbach\<close> is a collection of tools which form the basis for defining new
9  proof methods in Isabelle/Isar~@{cite "Wenzel-PhD"}. It can be thought of as
10  a ``proof method language'', but is more precisely an infrastructure for
11  defining new proof methods out of existing ones.
12
13  The core functionality of Eisbach is provided by the Isar @{command method}
14  command. Here users may define new methods by combining existing ones with
15  the usual Isar syntax. These methods can be abstracted over terms, facts and
16  other methods, as one might expect in any higher-order functional language.
17
18  Additional functionality is provided by extending the space of methods and
19  attributes. The new @{method match} method allows for explicit control-flow,
20  by taking a match target and a list of pattern-method pairs. By using the
21  functionality provided by Eisbach, additional support methods can be easily
22  written. For example, the @{method catch} method, which provides basic
23  try-catch functionality, only requires a few lines of ML.
24
25  Eisbach is meant to allow users to write automation using only Isar syntax.
26  Traditionally proof methods have been written in Isabelle/ML, which poses a
27  high barrier-to-entry for many users.
28
29  \<^medskip>
30  This manual is written for users familiar with Isabelle/Isar, but not
31  necessarily Isabelle/ML. It covers the usage of the @{command method} as
32  well as the @{method match} method, as well as discussing their integration
33  with existing Isar concepts such as @{command named_theorems}.
34
35  These commands are provided by theory @{theory "HOL-Eisbach.Eisbach"}: it
36  needs to be imported by all Eisbach applications. Theory theory @{theory
37  "HOL-Eisbach.Eisbach_Tools"} provides additional proof methods and
38  attributes that are occasionally useful.
39\<close>
40
41end
42