Generators and the Template Method Pattern. A Paradigm for Combinatorial Experimentation

In order to find new combinatorial results, experimental trial on whole collections of combinatorial objects can prove very helpful. From a practical point of view, such collections may take a lot of memory to build, whereas a simple enumeration of these would often be enough. The well-known programming concept of generators can be applied to build such enumerations without excessive practical complexity. This paper reviews that technique, along with an almost automatic translation technique to implement generative algorithms in C++.