Integration of Discrete and Non-binary CSPs with Linear Programming Techniques

Nowadays, many researchers are working on Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSPs). Combination of AI/OR methods is gaining a great deal of attention because many real problems can be efficiently modelled as CSPs and they can be solved by means of combined AI/OR techniques. Many CSPs can be modelled as discrete and non-binary CSPs and, theoretically, they can be transformed into an equivalent binary one, using some of the current techniques. However, this transformation may be an inadequate or inefficient way to manage certain types of non-binary constraints. In this paper, we present a CSP solver called DisHSA that manages discrete and non-binary CSPs by means of Operational Research techniques like linear programming in order to manage discrete CSPs with very large domains. DisHSA, is a CSP solver that carries out a cooperation by means of the integration of CSPs and linear programming techniques.