What is formal synthesis?
Answers
Formal Synthesis
Formal synthesis is the process of generating a program satisfying a high-level formal specification. In recent times, effective formal synthesis methods have been proposed based on the use of inductive learning. We refer to this class of methods that learn programs from examples as formal inductive synthesis.
A total synthesis is just that, the total synthesis of a molecule from simple starting materials. You go start to finish, the whole way. So you actually have spectra for your final natural product/medicinal lead/complex molecule. A formal synthesis is the synthesis of a complex intermediate en route to the natural product. This means that you can intersect someone elses route and say that the molecule can be made from there or that the molecule is known through isolation studies to degrade or be transformed into the desired product via some pathway. The key here is that you don't make the actual product and thus you're relying on someone else's report for the final steps.