Deterministic scheduling in computing and manufacturing systems: a survey of models and algorithms

Scheduling problems deal with the assignment of tasks, over time, to processors, so as to optimize a performance criterion, while satisfying a set of given constraints. In this paper a comprehensive survey of the major results in this area is presented. Specifically, a unified formulation of deterministic scheduling models (problems) is provided on the basis of the three standard data fields, viz. the task set, the processor set, and the optimality criterion set. Some particular practical interpretations of these problems are briefly outlined, and a general discussion on their solution approaches is included. The main body of the paper examines the classes of “parallel processor scheduling” and “resource constrained scheduling” problems. In both classes the following cases are considered: (i) makespan minimization, (ii) maximum lateness minimization, (iii) mean and mean weighted flow time minimization, and (iv) maximum weighted lateness minimization. The paper ends with a discussion of some problems of the sequencing, open-shop, job-shop and flow-shop types, and with some remarks on the potentiality of artificial intelligence and expert systems to solve difficult scheduling problems.