We invite submissions to Logical Methods in Computer Science of original research and survey papers of the highest quality in all theoretical and practical aspects of computer science related to logic in a broad sense. The aim of Logical Methods in Computer Science is to combine a thorough refereeing process with a quick turnaround time.
Logical Methods in Computer Science is a free, open-access electronic journal. It is a overlay journal of the Computing Research Repository, CoRR, itself part of the arXiv e-print archive. Logical Methods in Computer Science is, therefore, widely, easily and dependably available via the world-wide arXiv mirror sites. The arXiv e-print archive was founded in 1992 and is now widely used, with about 90 million downloads per year. The computer science part of this archive opened in 1998 in cooperation with the ACM.
Submission
Papers should be prepared in the Logical Methods in Computer Science style and must be submitted to Logical Methods in Computer Science using the online submission. In order to submit authors must first post their paper on CoRR including Tex source files. As subject they must choose at least "Logic in Computer Science" (cs.LO).
Disclaimer This policy is intended to favour both the authors and the journal. For the authors, because availability of their results is not delayed by the review process; for the journal, as the requirement of making preprints available online may lead to higher quality submissions.
After publication of their preprint by CoRR/arXiv, papers can be submitted to the journal. This includes the choice of a handling editor from the Editorial Board displayed on the website; editors' specialties are provided to enable authors to choose an appropriate editor. Authors should choose exactly one handling editor on the submission website. The Executive Editor then assigns a handling editor, making every effort to respect the authors' choice. Authors receive an automatic immediate acknowledgement and will be contacted within two weeks by the handling editor who will oversee the review process.
Papers submitted to Logical Methods in Computer Science must be written in English, must be related, in a wide sense, to the topics of the journal, and should not exceed 50 pages. If authors feel substantially more pages are needed, they should explain why to the handling editor. In case the author wishes to provide an additional version of the article in a different language than English, this version can also be referred to as a footnote which will connected (by clicking) directly to a submission as a pdf to CoRR.
Every submission should start with an introductory section. For long submissions the authors may consider providing a table of contents (if they and the handling editor agree that this is required for readability); it is always placed at the end of the introductory section and follows the Journal's style.
The abstract should provide a concise and understandable presentation of the main result(s). In general, the length of the abstract should not exceed 20 lines (in the provided style of the journal). The abstract should avoid mathematical symbols whenever possible. In case they cannot be avoided, the authors are requested to provide an html version of their abstract.
Refereeing
Each submission will generally be refereed by two or three referees. Based on the referee reports, the handling editor will choose between three options:
a. The paper is accepted for publication, possibly subject to minor revision. Authors are requested to prepare a final version accompanied by a detailed response to the referees ' comments.
b. A revision of the paper is recommended. This is the case where the editor concludes from the referee reports that the paper deserves publication, but requires the referees to review the revised version. It is handled by the same editor; and it should be accompanied by a detailed response to the referees' comments.
c. The paper is not accepted for publication.
Prepublication
Logical Methods in Computer Science publishes only original papers which have not been published previously, nor submitted for publication elsewhere. Nevertheless, papers previously published in conference proceedings are usually eligible for publication, provided that the authors have permission to publish. Such submissions should be revised extended versions of conference articles offering an extra benefit to the reader, e.g., full proofs, additonal applications and explanations, improved presentation. In such cases the authors are requested to give a precise reference to the prepublication on the front page of their submissions, and to explain when submitting to what extent the submission differs from their prepublication.
Publication
When a paper is accepted, the layout editors will prepare the final published version and ask the authors for approval, provided that the accepted submission was prepared in the journal style. Otherwise authors will be asked to prepare a version in the Logical Methods in Computer Science style and update it on CoRR including the Tex source files. Authors are expected, as a part of the Logical Methods in Computer Science quick turnaround time policy, to prepare their final version within one month after acceptance.
Publication of Revised Versions
In exceptional cases, for example if an error is discovered in a paper published by Logical Methods in Computer Science, authors may publish a revised version accompanied by a statement explaining the changes that have been made. Both versions will be available on the Logical Methods in Computer Science web site.
Executive Editor Rights
The Executive Editor retains the right to require changes to papers after their acceptance by the handling editor. Such changes normally concern matters of style or format.