DEFINITION: Classical constraint programming systems are helpless when the constraints system to solve has no solution.
Indeed, only a no solution message is provided. The user is left alone to find out why: is it because of the problem
itself (no solution exists), a bad modelling, a bug in the solver etc. In order to help spreading constraint programming,
the constraints community needs to address that issue. For example, the user can be helped by pointing out a set of
constraints that left alone lead to the unexpected situation. A promising technique for providing such an information seems
to be using explanations. An explanation is a set of constraints justifying an action of the solver (value removal, bound update, contradiction).
Research: Software engineering and reengineering; Automated detection and correction of design defects, using explanation-based constraint programming.
Idrissi, Abdellah
Email: Abdellah.Idrissi@emn.fr
Website: Not available
Research: Search Algorithms, Dynamic CSPs, Local Consistencies, Explanations
Research: All aspects of explanations: computation of explanations, uses of explanations (debugging, dynamic, over-constrained problems), new algorithms, solver cooperation
Laburthe, François
Email: flaburthe@bouygues.com
Website: Not available
Research: explanations and global constraints
Loudni, Samir
Email: Samir.Loudni@emn.fr
Website: Not available
Research: Anytime Algorithms, Online Optimization, Local Search, Hybrid Algorithms, Explanations for Local Search
Research: Constraint Reasoning, Distributed Constraint reasoning, Explanation in Over constrained networks, Time in CSP, Model based reasoning, Diagnosis, Timetabling