Big proof engines as little proof engines: new results on rewrite-based satisfiability procedures

The application of automated reasoning to verification has long shown the importance of decision procedures for satisfiability in decidable theories. The "big engine" approach aims at procedures for the (semi-decidable) validity problem in full first-order logic (with equality), and applies them across all theories that can be presented in the logic. The "little engine" approach aims at procedures for specific decidable theories, by building each theory into a dedicated inference engine. This extended abstract reports on on-going research that aims at replacing the apparent dichotomy ("little engines versus big engines") by a cross-fertilization ("big engines as little engines").