Constraint Satisfaction

Problems

Chapter 5
Section 1 – 3

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 Outline
 Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSP)
 Backtracking search for CSPs
 Local search for CSPs

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 Constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs)

 Standard search problem:

 state is a "black box“ – any data structure that
supports successor function, heuristic function,
and goal test
 CSP:
 state is defined by variables Xi with values from
domain Di
 goal test is a set of constraints specifying
allowable combinations of values for subsets of
variables

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 Example: Map-Coloring

 Variables WA, NT, Q, NSW, V, SA, T

 Domains Di = {red,green,blue}
 Constraints: adjacent regions must have different colors
 e.g., WA ≠ NT, or (WA,NT) in
{(red,green),(red,blue),(green,red),
(green,blue),(blue,red),(blue,green)}

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 Example: Map-Coloring

 Solutions are complete and consistent assignments,

e.g., WA = red, NT = green,Q = red,NSW =
green,V = red,SA = blue,T = green

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 Constraint graph
 Binary CSP: each constraint relates two variables
 Constraint graph: nodes are variables, arcs are constraints

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 Varieties of CSPs
 Discrete variables
 finite domains:

 n variables, domain size d  O(dn) complete assignments

 e.g., Boolean CSPs, incl.~Boolean satisfiability (NP-complete)
 infinite domains:
 integers, strings, etc.
 e.g., job scheduling, variables are start/end days for each job
 need a constraint language, e.g., StartJob1 + 5 ≤ StartJob3
 Continuous variables
 linear constraints solvable in polynomial time by linear programming

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 Varieties of constraints
 Unary constraints involve a single variable,
 e.g., SA ≠ green
 Binary constraints involve pairs of variables,
 e.g., SA ≠ WA
 Higher-order constraints involve 3 or more
variables,
 e.g., cryptarithmetic column constraints

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 Example: Cryptarithmetic

 Variables: F T U W
R O X1 X2 X3
 Domains: {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9}
 Constraints: Alldiff (F,T,U,W,R,O)
 O + O = R + 10 · X1
 X1 + W + W = U + 10 · X2
 X2 + T + T = O + 10 · X3
 X3 = F, T ≠ 0, F ≠ 0

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Example: Sudoku

 Variables:
 Each (open) square
 Domains:
 {1,2,…,9}
 Constraints:
9-way all diff for each column
9-way all diff for each row
9-way alldiff for each region
(or can have a bunch of
pairwise inequality
constraints)
 Real-world CSPs
 Assignment problems
 e.g., who teaches what class
 Timetabling problems
 e.g., which class is offered when and where?
 Transportation scheduling
 Factory scheduling
 Notice that many real-world problems involve real-
valued variables

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 Standard search formulation (incremental)

Let's start with the straightforward approach, then fix it

States are defined by the values assigned so far

 Initial state: the empty assignment { }

 Successor function: assign a value to an
unassigned variable that does not conflict with
current assignment
 fail if no legal assignments

 Goal test: the current assignment is complete

4 Feb 2004 CS 3243 - Constraint Satisfaction 12

 Backtracking search
 Variable assignments are commutative}, i.e.,
[ WA = red then NT = green ] same as [ NT = green then WA = red ]

 Only need to consider assignments to a single variable at each node

 b = d and there are (d^n)leaves

 Depth-first search for CSPs with single-variable assignments is called

backtracking search

 Backtracking search is the basic uninformed algorithm for CSPs

 Can solve n-queens for n ≈ 25

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Backtracking search

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Backtracking example

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Backtracking example

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Backtracking example

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Backtracking example

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 Improving backtracking efficiency

 General-purpose methods can give huge

gains in speed:
 Which variable should be assigned next?
 In what order should its values be tried?
 Can we detect inevitable failure early?

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 Most constrained variable
 Most constrained variable:
choose the variable with the fewest legal values

 a.k.a. minimum remaining values (MRV)

heuristic

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 Most constraining variable
 Tie-breaker among most constrained
variables
 Most constraining variable:
 choose the variable with the most constraints on
remaining variables


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 Least constraining value
 Given a variable, choose the least
constraining value:
 the one that rules out the fewest values in the
remaining variables

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 Forward checking
 Idea:
 Keep track of remaining legal values for unassigned
variables
 Terminate search when any variable has no legal values

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 Forward checking
 Idea:
 Keep track of remaining legal values for unassigned
variables
 Terminate search when any variable has no legal values

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 Forward checking
 Idea:
 Keep track of remaining legal values for unassigned
variables
 Terminate search when any variable has no legal values

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 Forward checking
 Idea:
 Keep track of remaining legal values for unassigned
variables
 Terminate search when any variable has no legal values

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 Constraint propagation
 Forward checking propagates information from assigned to
unassigned variables, but doesn't provide early detection for
all failures:

 NT and SA cannot both be blue!

 Constraint propagation repeatedly enforces constraints
locally
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 Arc consistency
 Simplest form of propagation makes each arc consistent
 X Y is consistent iff
for every value x of X there is some allowed y

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 Arc consistency
 Simplest form of propagation makes each arc consistent
 X Y is consistent iff
for every value x of X there is some allowed y

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 Arc consistency
 Simplest form of propagation makes each arc consistent
 X Y is consistent iff
for every value x of X there is some allowed y

 If X loses a value, neighbors of X need to be rechecked

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 Arc consistency
 Simplest form of propagation makes each arc consistent
 X Y is consistent iff
for every value x of X there is some allowed y

 If X loses a value, neighbors of X need to be rechecked

 Arc consistency detects failure earlier than forward checking
 Can be run as a preprocessor or after each assignment
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Arc consistency algorithm AC-3

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 Local search for CSPs
 Hill-climbing, simulated annealing typically work with
"complete" states, i.e., all variables assigned

 To apply to CSPs:
 allow states with unsatisfied constraints
 operators reassign variable values

 Variable selection: randomly select any conflicted variable

 Value selection by min-conflicts heuristic:

 choose value that violates the fewest constraints
 i.e., hill-climb with h(n) = total number of violated constraints

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 Summary
 CSPs are a special kind of problem:
 states defined by values of a fixed set of variables
 goal test defined by constraints on variable values

 Backtracking = depth-first search with one variable assigned per node

 Variable ordering and value selection heuristics help significantly

 Forward checking prevents assignments that guarantee later failure

 Constraint propagation (e.g., arc consistency) does additional work to

constrain values and detect inconsistencies

 Iterative min-conflicts is usually effective in practice

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