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Contraint-Based Combinators for Local Search

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Abstract

One of the most appealing features of constraint programming is its rich constraint language for expressing combinatorial optimization problems. This paper demonstrates that traditional combinators from constraint programming have natural counterparts for local search, although their underlying computational model is radically different. In particular, the paper shows that constraint combinators, such as logical and cardinality operators, reification, and first-class expressions can all be viewed as differentiable objects. These combinators naturally support elegant and efficient modelings, generic search procedures, and partial constraint satisfaction techniques for local search. Experimental results on a variety of applications demonstrate the expressiveness and the practicability of the combinators.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brown University, Box 1910, Providence, R1, 02912, USA

    Pascal Van Hentenryck

  2. University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269-3155, USA

    Laurent Michel & Liyuan Liu

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  1. Pascal Van Hentenryck
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  2. Laurent Michel
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  3. Liyuan Liu
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Correspondence to Pascal Van Hentenryck.

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Van Hentenryck, P., Michel, L. & Liu, L. Contraint-Based Combinators for Local Search. Constraints 10, 363–384 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10601-005-2811-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10601-005-2811-3

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