Christophe Lecoutre

Random constraint satisfaction: Easy generation of hard (satisfiable) instances

In this paper, we show that the models of random CSP instances proposed by Xu and Li [K. Xu, W. Li, Exact phase transitions in random constraint satisfaction problems, Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research 12 (2000) 93-103; K. Xu, W. Li, Many hard examples in exact phase transitions with application to generating hard satisfiable instances, Technical report, CoRR Report cs.CC/0302001, Revised version in Theoretical Computer Science 355 (2006) 291-302] are of theoretical and practical interest. Indeed, these models, called RB and RD, present several nice features. First, it is quite easy to generate random instances of any arity since no particular structure has to be integrated, or property enforced, in such instances. Then, the existence of an asymptotic phase transition can be guaranteed while applying a limited restriction on domain size and on constraint tightness. In that case, a threshold point can be precisely located and all instances have the guarantee to be hard at the threshold, i.e., to have an exponential tree-resolution complexity. Next, a formal analysis shows that it is possible to generate forced satisfiable instances whose hardness is similar to unforced satisfiable ones. This analysis is supported by some representative results taken from an intensive experimentation that we have carried out, using complete and incomplete search methods.

STR2: optimized simple tabular reduction for table constraints

Table constraints play an important role within constraint programming. Recently, many schemes or algorithms have been proposed to propagate table constraints and/or to compress their representation. In this paper, we describe an optimization of simple tabular reduction (STR), a technique proposed by J. Ullmann to dynamically maintain the tables of supports when generalized arc consistency (GAC) is enforced/maintained. STR2, the new refined GAC algorithm we propose, allows us to limit the number of operations related to validity checking and search of supports. Interestingly enough, this optimization makes simple tabular reduction potentially r times faster where r is the arity of the constraint(s). The results of an extensive experimentation that we have conducted with respect to random and structured instances indicate that STR2 is usually around twice as fast as the original STR, two or three times faster than the approach based on the hidden variable encoding, and can be up to one order of magnitude faster than previously state-of-the-art (generic) GAC algorithms on some series of instances. When comparing STR2 with the more recently developed algorithm based on multi-valued decision diagrams (MDDs), we show that both approaches are rather complementary.

Backjump-based techniques versus conflict-directed heuristics

We present a general algorithm which gives a uniform view of several state-of-the-art systematic backtracking search algorithms for solving both binary and nonbinary CSP instances. More precisely, this algorithm integrates the most usual or/and sophisticated look-back and look-ahead schemes. By means of this algorithm, our purpose is then to study the interest of backjump-based techniques with respect to conflict-directed variable ordering heuristics.

Exploiting multidirectionality in coarse-grained arc consistency algorithms

Arc consistency plays a central role in solving Constraint Satisfaction Problems. This is the reason why many algorithms have been proposed to establish it. Recently, an algorithm called AC2001 and AC3.1 has been independently presented by their authors. This algorithm which is considered as a refinement of the basic algorithm AC3 has the advantage of being simple and competitive. However, it does not take into account constraint bidirectionality as AC7 does. In this paper, we address this issue, and, in particular, introduce two new algorithms called AC3.2 and AC3.3 which benefit from good properties of both AC3 and AC7. Indeed, AC3.2 and AC3.3 are as easy to implement as AC3 and take advantage of bidirectionality as AC7 does. More precisely, AC3.2 is a general algorithm which partially exploits bidirectionality whereas AC3.3 is a binary algorithm which fully exploits bidirectionality. It turns out that, when Maintaining Arc Consistency during search, MAC3.2, due to a memorization effect, is more efficient than MAC3.3 both in terms of constraint checks and cpu time. Compared to MAC2001/3.1, our experimental results show that MAC3.2 saves about 50% of constraint checks and, on average, 15% of cpu time.

Efficient algorithms for singleton arc consistency

In this paper, we propose two original and efficient approaches for enforcing singleton arc consistency. In the first one, the data structures used to enforce arc consistency are shared between all subproblems where a domain is reduced to a singleton. This new algorithm is not optimal but it requires far less space and is often more efficient in practice than the optimal algorithm SAC-Opt. In the second approach, we perform several runs of a greedy search (where at each step, arc consistency is maintained), possibly detecting the singleton arc consistency of several values in one run. It is an original illustration of applying inference (i.e., establishing singleton arc consistency) by search. Using a greedy search allows benefiting from the incrementality of arc consistency, learning relevant information from conflicts and, potentially finding solution(s) during the inference process. We present extensive experiments that show the benefit of our two approaches.

A path-optimal GAC algorithm for table constraints

Filtering by Generalized Arc Consistency (GAC) is a fundamental technique in Constraint Programming. Recent advances in GAC algorithms for extensional constraints rely on direct manipulation of tables during search. Simple Tabular Reduction (STR), which systematically removes invalid tuples from tables, has been shown to be a simple yet efficient approach. STR2, a refinement of STR, is considered to be among the best filtering algorithms for positive table constraints. In this paper, we introduce a new GAC algorithm called STR3 that is specifically designed to enforce GAC during search. STR3 can completely avoid unnecessary traversal of tables, making it optimal along any path of the search tree. Our experiments show that STR3 is much faster than STR2 when the average size of the tables is not reduced drastically during search.

Reasoning from last conflict(s) in constraint programming

Constraint programming is a popular paradigm to deal with combinatorial problems in artificial intelligence. Backtracking algorithms, applied to constraint networks, are commonly used but suffer from thrashing, i.e. the fact of repeatedly exploring similar subtrees during search. An extensive literature has been devoted to prevent thrashing, often classified into look-ahead (constraint propagation and search heuristics) and look-back (intelligent backtracking and learning) approaches. In this paper, we present an original look-ahead approach that allows to guide backtrack search toward sources of conflicts and, as a side effect, to obtain a behavior similar to a backjumping technique. The principle is the following: after each conflict, the last assigned variable is selected in priority, so long as the constraint network cannot be made consistent. This allows us to find, following the current partial instantiation from the leaf to the root of the search tree, the culprit decision that prevents the last variable from being assigned. This way of reasoning can easily be grafted to many variations of backtracking algorithms and represents an original mechanism to reduce thrashing. Moreover, we show that this approach can be generalized so as to collect a (small) set of incompatible variables that are together responsible for the last conflict. Experiments over a wide range of benchmarks demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach in both constraint satisfaction and automated artificial intelligence planning.

AbsCon: A Prototype to Solve CSPs with Abstraction

In this paper, we present a Java constraint programming prototype called AbsCon which has been conceived to deal with CSP abstraction. AbsCon considers n-ary constraints and implements different value and variable ordering heuristics as well as different propagation methods. As AbsCon exploits object technology, it is easy to extend its functionalities.

Optimization of Simple Tabular Reduction for Table Constraints

Table constraints play an important role within constraint programming. Recently, many schemes or algorithms have been proposed to propagate table constraints or/and to compress their representation. We show that simple tabular reduction (STR), a technique proposed by J. Ullmann to dynamically maintain the tables of supports, is very often the most efficient practical approach to enforce generalized arc consistency within MAC. We also describe an optimization of STR which allows limiting the number of operations related to validity checking or search of supports. Interestingly enough, this optimization makes STR potentially rtimes faster where ris the arity of the constraint(s). The results of an extensive experimentation that we have conducted with respect to random and structured instances indicate that the optimized algorithm we propose is usually around twice as fast as the original STR and can be up to one order of magnitude faster than previous state-of-the-art algorithms on some series of instances.

Conflict Ordering Search for Scheduling Problems

We introduce a new generic scheme to guide backtrack search, called Conflict Ordering Search (COS), that reorders variables on the basis of conflicts that happen during search. Similarly to generalized Last Conflict (LC), our approach remembers the last variables on which search decisions failed. Importantly, the initial ordering behind COS is given by a specified variable ordering heuristic, but contrary to LC, once consumed, this first ordering is forgotten, which makes COS conflict-driven. Our preliminary experiments show that COS - although simple to implement and parameter-free - is competitive with specialized searches on scheduling problems. We also show that our approach fits well within a restart framework, and can be enhanced with a value ordering heuristic that selects in priority the last assigned values.