Guided local search

Abstract

Guided local search (GLS) is a meta-heuristic method proposed to solve combinatorial optimization problems. It is a high-level strategy that applies an efficient penalty-based approach to interact with the local improvement procedure. This interaction creates a process capable of escaping from local optima, which improves the efficiency and robustness of the underlying local search algorithms. Fast local search (FLS) is a way of reducing the size of the neighborhood to improve the efficiency of local search. GLS can be efficiently combined with FLS in the form of guided fast local search (GFLS). This chapter describes the principles of GLS and provides guidance for implementing and using GLS, FLS, and GFLS. It also surveys GLS extensions, hybrids, and applications to optimization, including multi-objective optimization.