Methods of automatic algorithm generation

Abstract

Many methods have been proposed to automatically generate algorithms for solving constraint satisfaction problems. The aim of these methods has been to overcome the difficulties associated with matching algorithms to specific constraint satisfaction problems. This paper examines three methods of generating algorithms: A randomised search, a beam search and an evolutionary method. The evolutionary method is shown to have considerably more flexibility than existing alternatives, being able to discover entirely new heuristics and to exploit synergies between heuristics. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004.