Abstract

The complexities of various search algorithms are considered in terms of time, space, and cost of solution path. It is known that breadth-first search requires too much space and depth-first search can use too much time and doesn't always find a cheapest path. A depth-first iteratiw-deepening algorithm is shown to be asymptotically optimal along all three dimensions for exponential pee searches. The algorithm has been used successfully in chess programs, has been eflectiuely combined with bi-directional search, and has been applied to best-first heuristic search as well. This heuristic depth-first iteratiw-deepening algorithm is the only known algorithm that is capable of finding optimal solutions to randomly generated instances of the Fifeen Puzzle within practical resource limits. 1.

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