Solve Your Problem Faster - by changing the model
Barbara M. Smith
Invited talk at the
ERCIM/CologNet Workshop
on Constraint Solving and Constraint Logic Programming, held at University Colleg
e, Cork, June 2002.
Abstract
Suppose we are solving a finite domain constraint satisfaction
or optimization problem with a constraint
programming toolkit that provides
as standard a systematic search algorithm combined
with constraint propagation. Even with
the solution method prescribed in this
way, there are very many choices
to be made, in representing the underlying problem
as a CSP and in solving it.
Changing from one not obviously
bad set of choices to a better set can make orders of magnitude
difference in the time to solve the problem.
In this talk I consider several
different aspects of modelling, including:
- symmetry breaking;
- choosing the variables;
- adding constraints;
- search strategies for optimization problems;
and give some general guidelines.
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