Genetic algorithms and timetabling

This chapter discusses the state of the art, at the start of the new millennium, in using evolutionary algorithms to tackle timetabling problems of various kinds. Timetabling problems are interesting because they are often regarded as difficult examples of problems which mix hard and soft constraints, and yet huge numbers of practical instances need to be tackled somehow.A variety of representations and algorithms have been used, but there is still a need for more wide-ranging scientific study to compare different approaches. Most authors merely report success of some kind on the problems that occur at their own institutions.

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