What is meta-constraint reasoning?
Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSP) consist of a finite set of variables, each associated with a finite domain, and a set of constraints which restrict simultaneous assignments to variables. A Meta-CSP is CSP formulation of a combinatorial problem which builds on lower-level CSPs.
What does this API do?
This software framework provides tools for developing solvers for problems that can be cast as Meta-CSPs. The framework includes several built-in CSP and Meta-CSP problem solvers which can be used as “ingredients” for defining more sophisticated solvers. Among these, hybrid problem solvers which exemplify the natural predisposition of Meta-CSPs for solving hybrid reasoning problems.
Documentation
Developers can refer to the API documentation (Javadoc) for reference, and to the examples below for getting started.
Using the framework as a library
The Meta-CSP Framework is available on Maven Central.
Maven dependency declaration:
<dependency>
<groupId>org.metacsp</groupId>
<artifactId>meta-csp-framework</artifactId>
<version>1.3.5</version>
</dependency>
Gradle dependency declaration:
compile 'org.metacsp:meta-csp-framework:1.3.5'
Alternatively, get the latest binary, source and Javadoc JARs from the Maven Central website.
Compiling from source
The framework as well as the API documentation (Javadoc) can be built through Gradle. A Gradle redistributable is included in the master branch, so there is no need to install Gradle on your machine.
Gradle build instructions
Enter the directory with the file build.gradle and issue the command:
$ ./gradlew install #(on Unix-based systems)
$ gradlew.bat install #(on Windows-based systems)
To test the build, issue the following:
$ ./gradlew run #(on Unix-based systems)
$ gradlew.bat run #(on Windows-based systems)
The clean target will clean up the build directory. The target javadoc can be used to generate the API documentation (Javadoc), which will be placed in build/docs/javadoc.
Preparing an Eclipse project
If developing in Eclipse, consider using the eclipse target:
$ ./gradlew eclipse #(on Unix-based systems)
$ gradlew.bat eclipse #(on Windows-based systems)
This will prepare the directory with .classpath, .settings and .project files. The directory can then be used as source for a new Eclipse project which will have all dependencies properly set.
Using the compiled library in other Gradle projects
The install target builds the artifact meta-csp-framework-0.0.0-SNAPSHOT.jar, and places it into your local Maven repository (the location is ~/.m2/repository/org/metacsp/meta-csp-framework/ on a Unix-based system). You can use the newly compiled version of the framework in another Gradle-based project by including the following in the project’s build.gradle:
repositories {
mavenLocal()
//any other repo you may need for your project
}
dependencies {
compile 'org.metacsp:meta-csp-framework:0.0.0-SNAPSHOT'
//any other dependency you may have
}
Contributors and applications
The Meta-CSP Framework is developed by Federico Pecora, with significant contributions from the open source community. Contributions are also provided by Scania Research and Development, which currently uses the framework for developing fleet optimization solutions.