Finding regions for local repair in partial constraint satisfaction

Yet, two classes of algorithms have been used in partial constraint satisfaction: local search methods and branch & bound search extended by the classical constraint-processing techniques like e.g. forward checking and backmarking. Both classes exhibit characteristic advantages and drawbacks. This article presents a novel approach for solving partial constraint satisfaction problems exhaustively that combines advantages of local search and extended branch & bound algorithms. This method relies on repair based search and a generic method for an exhaustive enumeration of repair steps.