An OCL-based CSP specification and solving tool

Abstract

Due to the importance of solving discrete combinatorial problems in so many fields, constraint programming was developed. One of the most challenging concerns is the representation of these problems through the well known Constraint Satisfaction Problem (CSP) framework. In this paper we present a tool that facilitates the specification of constraint applications via CSP. Based on the Object Constraint Language (OCL), the tool provides a CSP template that can be easily specialized to describe a wide range of constraint problems. More precisely, we enhance OCL with new keywords to be able to express constraints and requirements of CSP. From the CSP specification, our tool automatically generates the constraint and solution graphs. Afterwards, we demonstrate the usability and efficiency of our tool on large size problems. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.