Introduction - Part V : Local Search Techniques in Constraint Satisfaction

Constraint satisfaction plays an important role in theoretical and applied computer science. Constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs) are of particular interest to the constraint programming research community, as well as for many real world applications. Along with pure systematic techniques for solving CSPs, local search and hybrid techniques have proved to be very effective on some classes of problems. Design and analysis of stochastic local search algorithms for constraint satisfaction involve a wide number of issues in algorithmics, programming, statistics, probability and empirical analysis. The series of workshop named Local search techniques in constraint satisfaction (LSCS) has been established with the aim of providing an open and informal environment for discussions of all aspects of local search techniques and related areas, and for introducing recent results and ongoing research.