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A hybrid BDD and SAT finite domain constraint solver (2006)
| Venue: | IN: PROCEEDINGS OF PADL. |
| Citations: | 15 - 5 self |
BibTeX
@INPROCEEDINGS{Hawkins06ahybrid,
author = {Peter Hawkins and Peter J. Stuckey},
title = {A hybrid BDD and SAT finite domain constraint solver},
booktitle = {IN: PROCEEDINGS OF PADL. },
year = {2006},
pages = {103--117},
publisher = {Springer-Verlag}
}
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Abstract
Finite-domain constraint solvers based on Binary Decision Diagrams (BDDs) are a powerful technique for solving constraint problems over finite set and integer variables represented as Boolean formulæ. Boolean Satisfiability (SAT) solvers are another form of constraint solver that operate on constraints on Boolean variables expressed in clausal form. Modern SAT solvers have highly optimized propagation mechanisms and also incorporate efficient conflict-clause learning algorithms and effective search heuristics based on variable activity, but these techniques have not been widely used in finite-domain solvers. In this paper we show how to construct a hybrid BDD and SAT solver which inherits the advantages of both solvers simultaneously. The hybrid solver makes use of an efficient algorithm for capturing the inferences of a finitedomain constraint solver in clausal form, allowing us to automatically and transparently construct a SAT model of a finite-domain constraint problem. Finally, we present experimental results demonstrating that the hybrid solver can outperform both SAT and finite-domain solvers by a substantial margin.
Keyphrases
hybrid bdd domain constraint solver clausal form hybrid solver finite-domain solver constraint problem sat model finite-domain constraint problem boolean satisfiability boolean variable propagation mechanism efficient algorithm sat solver modern sat solver integer variable boolean formul incorporate efficient conflict-clause learning algorithm binary decision diagram finite-domain constraint solver finitedomain constraint solver constraint solver variable activity substantial margin finite set experimental result effective search heuristic powerful technique
