Constraint programming: models and algorithms

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Constraint programming is a powerful framework for solving difficult problems. In the constraint programming methodology, one models a problem by stating constraints on acceptable solutions. Once a model has been formulated, various algorithms---usually based on search---are available for solving the model. There are many interesting tasks for which this approach is particularly suited. These tasks range from ones that are simple for humans, such as vision and language comprehension, to ones that are difficult for humans, such as scheduling and planning. What these tasks have in common is that constraints are a natural part of the problem. A good example is scheduling people or machines. What is readily available are constraints such as a worker is only available for certain parts of the week or only able to do certain jobs.