Investigations of a Constraint Logic Programming Approach to University Timetabling

The casting of university timetables is a problem which combines classical numerical scheduling techniques with important human considerations. It will be argued here that since the application involves the preferences of humans, the problem is qualitatively different than similar problems involving inanimate objects. The humane and profane facets are combined in this study by using the constraint logic programming approach. The constraints are hierarchical: the primary constraints are rigidly enforced and the secondary constraints are relaxed according to their priority if a solution cannot be found. We present a solution based on a Prolog description of the constraints and goals. Two working implementations are described, one using an IBM mainframe and one using a personal computer. Tests with synthetic data and real data from a university have shown that good timetables can be cast using this method in a reasonable amount of time.

[1]  Jacques A. Ferland,et al.  Timetabling problem for university as assignment of activities to resources , 1985, Comput. Oper. Res..

[2]  George M. White,et al.  Towards The Construction Of Optimal Examination Schedules , 1979 .

[3]  D. de Werra,et al.  Some experiments with a timetabling system , 1982 .

[4]  Masazumi Yoshikawa,et al.  A Constraint-Based Approach to High-School Timetabling Problems: A Case Study , 1994, AAAI.

[5]  Nagraj Balakrishnan,et al.  Scheduling examinations to reduce second-order conflicts , 1992, Comput. Oper. Res..

[6]  Alan Borning,et al.  Constraint hierarchies , 1992 .

[7]  Michael Lucks,et al.  A Constraint Satisfaction Algorithm for the Automated Decryption of Simple Substitution Ciphers , 1988, CRYPTO.

[8]  Gunther Schmidt,et al.  Timetable Construction - An Annotated Bibliography , 1980, Comput. J..

[9]  J. R. Brown.  Chromatic Scheduling and the Chromatic Number Problem , 1972 .

[10]  Michael W. Carter,et al.  When Is the Classroom Assignment Problem Hard? , 1992, Oper. Res..

[11]  Steven Minton,et al.  Minimizing Conflicts: A Heuristic Repair Method for Constraint Satisfaction and Scheduling Problems , 1992, Artif. Intell..

[12]  Jürgen Peemöller,et al.  A correction to Brelaz's modification of Brown's coloring algorithm , 1983, CACM.

[13]  Gardner Swenson,et al.  Providing for flexibility in scheduling and instruction , 1966 .

[14]  Richard A. Dempsey,et al.  Scheduling the secondary school , 1983 .

[15]  Michael W. Carter,et al.  OR Practice - A Survey of Practical Applications of Examination Timetabling Algorithms , 1986, Oper. Res..

[16]  A. Hertz.  Tabu search for large scale timetabling problems , 1991 .

[17]  David Abramson,et al.  Constructing school timetables using simulated annealing: sequential and parallel algorithms , 1991 .

[18]  George M. White,et al.  A logic approach to the resolution of constraints in timetabling , 1992 .

[19]  Vahid Lotfi,et al.  A Final-Exam-Scheduling Package , 1991 .

[20]  Michael Woitass.  Coordination of intelligent office agents—applied to meeting scheduling , 1990 .

[21]  Michael W. Carter,et al.  A Lagrangian Relaxation Approach To The Classroom Assignment Problem , 1989 .

[22]  George M. White,et al.  An heuristic method for optimizing examination schedules which have day and evening courses , 1983 .

[23]  S. M. Selim.  An algorithm for producing course and lecturer timetables , 1983 .

[24]  Anthony Saville.  Instructional programming: issues and innovations in school scheduling , 1973 .

[25]  John M. Mulvey.  A classroom/time assignment model , 1982 .

[26]  Pascal Van Hentenryck,et al.  Solving a Cutting-Stock Problem in Constraint Logic Programming , 1988, ICLP/SLP.

[27]  Daniel Brélaz,et al.  New methods to color the vertices of a graph , 1979, CACM.

[28]  George M. White,et al.  Interactive timetabling in universities , 1988 .

[29]  Lloyd K. Bishop,et al.  The flexibly scheduled high school , 1968 .