Structure and Design of Problem Reduction Generators

In this paper we present an axiomatic theory for a class of algorithms, called problem reduction generators, that includes dynamic programming, general branch-and-bound, and game tree search as special cases. This problem reduction theory is used as the basis for a mechanizable design tactic that transforms formal specifications into problem reduction generators. The theory and tactic are illustrated by application to the problem of enumerating optimal binary search trees.

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