On the Computation of Local Interchangeability in Discrete Constraint Satisfaction Problems

In [4], Freuderdefines several types of interchangeability to capture the equivalenceamongthe valuesof a variable in a discrete constraint satisfaction problem(CSP), and provides a procedure for computing onetype of local interchangeability.In this paper, we first extendthis procedurefor computinga weakform of local interchangeability. Second,weshowthat the modifiedprocedurecanbe used to generate a conjunctive decompositionof the CSPby localizing, in the CSP,independentsubproblems.Third, for the case of constraints of mutualexclusion, weshowthat locally interchangeablevaluescan be computedin a straightforward manner,and that the only possible type of local interchangeabilityis the onethat induceslocally independentsubproblems.Finally, wegive hints on howto exploit these results in practice, establish a lattice that relates sometypes of interchangeability, andidentify directions for future research.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1998
• Where: AAAI
• Authors: Berthe Y. Choueiry, Guevara Noubir
• Keywords: AAAI 1998, Discrete Constraint Satisfaction, Intelligent Agents, Local Interchangeability, Local Interchangeability.In