Writing Problem Solvers in Alice

We are now well-prepared to write and run our first finite domain problem solvers in Alice. For running, analyzing, and debugging problem solvers we will use the Explorer, a graphical tool of the Alice programming environment.

A script for a finite domain problem is a program that implements a model for the problem. In Alice, scripts will be run on predefined search engines implementing the propagate and branch method just described. Separating scripts from the search engines running them is an important abstraction making it possible to design scripts at a very high level. To develop a script for a given problem, we start by designing a model, i.e. a viewpoint (see 3.2) and a branching strategy. We then obtain an executable script by implementing the model and branching strategy with the predefined abstractions available in Alice.