PSI: Exact Symbolic Inference for Probabilistic Programs

Timon Gehr, Sasa Misailovic, Martin T. Vechev

Abstract: Probabilistic inference is a key mechanism for reasoning about probabilistic programs. Since exact inference is theoretically expensive, most probabilistic inference systems today have adopted approximate inference techniques, which trade precision for better performance (but often without guarantees). As a result, while desirable for its ultimate precision, the practical effectiveness of exact inference for probabilistic programs is mostly unknown.