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The progressive party problem: integer linear programming and constraint programming compared

The progressive party problem: integer linear programming and constraint programming compared
The progressive party problem: integer linear programming and constraint programming compared
Many discrete optimization problems can be formulated as either integer linear programming problems or constraint satisfaction problems. Although ILP methods appear to be more powerful, sometimes constraint programming can solve these problems more quickly. This paper describes a problem in which the difference in performance between the two approaches was particularly marked, since a solution could not be found using ILP. The problem arose in the context of organizing a progressive party at a yachting rally. Some yachts were to be designated hosts; the crews of the remaining yachts would then visit the hosts for six successive half-hour periods. A guest crew could not revisit the same host, and two guest crews could not meet more than once. Additional constraints were imposed by the capacities of the host yachts and the crew sizes of the guests. Integer linear programming formulations which included all the constraints resulted in very large models, and despite trying several different strategies, all attempts to find a solution failed. Constraint programming was tried instead and solved the problem very quickly, with a little manual assistance. Reasons for the success of constraint programming in this problem are identified and discussed.
combinatorial optimization, integer linear programming, constraint programming
1383-7133
119-136
Smith, Barbara M.
0f76d087-959e-4f75-b618-1b4e39e7df9f
Brailsford, Sally C.
634585ff-c828-46ca-b33d-7ac017dda04f
Hubbard, Peter M.
0a34ffff-f0cb-4862-8a44-8e87565c7e44
Williams, H. Paul
6a5ec3bd-b447-4cbe-8509-6c3589525ebf
Smith, Barbara M.
0f76d087-959e-4f75-b618-1b4e39e7df9f
Brailsford, Sally C.
634585ff-c828-46ca-b33d-7ac017dda04f
Hubbard, Peter M.
0a34ffff-f0cb-4862-8a44-8e87565c7e44
Williams, H. Paul
6a5ec3bd-b447-4cbe-8509-6c3589525ebf

Smith, Barbara M., Brailsford, Sally C., Hubbard, Peter M. and Williams, H. Paul (1996) The progressive party problem: integer linear programming and constraint programming compared. Constraints, 1 (1-2), 119-136. (doi:10.1007/BF00143880).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Many discrete optimization problems can be formulated as either integer linear programming problems or constraint satisfaction problems. Although ILP methods appear to be more powerful, sometimes constraint programming can solve these problems more quickly. This paper describes a problem in which the difference in performance between the two approaches was particularly marked, since a solution could not be found using ILP. The problem arose in the context of organizing a progressive party at a yachting rally. Some yachts were to be designated hosts; the crews of the remaining yachts would then visit the hosts for six successive half-hour periods. A guest crew could not revisit the same host, and two guest crews could not meet more than once. Additional constraints were imposed by the capacities of the host yachts and the crew sizes of the guests. Integer linear programming formulations which included all the constraints resulted in very large models, and despite trying several different strategies, all attempts to find a solution failed. Constraint programming was tried instead and solved the problem very quickly, with a little manual assistance. Reasons for the success of constraint programming in this problem are identified and discussed.

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More information

Published date: 1996
Keywords: combinatorial optimization, integer linear programming, constraint programming

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 35797
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/35797
ISSN: 1383-7133
PURE UUID: 077ad44c-e80b-4132-b6d3-3d0516af7c00
ORCID for Sally C. Brailsford: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6665-8230

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Date deposited: 01 Aug 2006
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 02:41

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Contributors

Author: Barbara M. Smith
Author: Peter M. Hubbard
Author: H. Paul Williams

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