This chapter introduces constraint programming, which is a modeling framework that can accommodate discrete, Boolean, and continuous variables, and where constraints can be algebraic, or in the form of disjunctions, logic constraints, or global constraints that represent procedures. The main goal in constraint programming is to find feasible solutions to the specified model. The main solution method relies on a tree search that relies on domain reduction and constraint propagation techniques.As an example of these constraints, "edge-finding constraints" for the area of scheduling are presented to illustrate the procedural aspect of the search. A simple example problem is presented to illustrate the tree search used in conjunction with domain reduction and constraint propagation. The software OPL is briefly described.
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