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Textbook Heuristic Search The Emerging Science of Problem Solving 1St Edition Said Salhi Auth Ebook All Chapter PDF
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SAÏD SALHI
HEURISTIC
SEARCH
The Emerging Science of
Problem Solving
Heuristic Search
Saïd Salhi
Heuristic Search
The Emerging Science of Problem Solving
Saïd Salhi
Centre for Logistics & Heuristic Optimisation
Kent Business School, University of Kent
Canterbury, United Kingdom
v
vi Preface
I would like to thank all my 25 former PhD students for their invaluable
contribution which improved directly or indirectly the content as well as
the presentation of the present manuscript. I would also like to thank my
colleagues working in the area of heuristics irrespective of which disci-
plines they belong to. Their comments and advice were much appreci-
ated, in particular, Professors Jack Brimberg, Nenad Mladenović and
Jonathan Thompson. I am also grateful to my current PhD student
Jeeu Fong Sze (Yvonne) for her technical support.
I would like to dedicate this book to my parents who have respected my
wishes through hard times and to my beloved wife Pauline for her
patience and hard work in keeping our family of five lovely children
(Riadh, Tarek, Louisa, Nassim and Salim) safely under one roof.
vii
Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 The Optimisation Problem 3
1.3 Possible Methodological Approaches 4
1.4 Need for Heuristics 8
1.5 Some Characteristics of Heuristics 9
1.6 Complexity and Performance of Heuristics 11
1.7 A Possible Heuristic Classification 16
1.8 Summary 16
References 17
2 Improvement-Only Heuristics 19
2.1 Neighbourhood Definition and Examples 19
2.2 Basic Descent or Hill Climbing Method 23
2.3 Classical Multi-Start 27
2.4 GRASP 28
2.5 Simple Composite Heuristics 30
2.6 A Multi-Level Composite Heuristic 32
2.7 Variable Neighbourhood Search 34
ix
x Contents
4 Population-Based Heuristics 77
4.1 Genetic Algorithms 77
4.2 Scatter Search 90
4.3 Harmony Search 92
4.4 Differential Evolution 97
4.5 Ant Colonies 103
4.6 The Bees Algorithm 111
4.7 Particle Swarm Optimisation 115
4.8 A Brief on Other Population-Based Approaches 118
4.9 Summary 124
References 125
Index 211
List of Algorithms
xiii
List of Figures
xv
List of Table
Table 3.1 The effect of the initial solution when using both
SA and DM 53
xvii
1
Introduction
1.1 Introduction
Many real-life applications can be modelled reasonably well and solved
optimally by one of the classical optimisation techniques familiar to the
Operational Research/Management Science/Computer Science/Engi-
neering communities such as linear programming, integer programming,
non-linear programming, dynamic programming (DP) and network-
based methods, among others. However, there are a lot of applications
where the combinatorial effect of the problem makes the determination of
the optimal solution intractable, and hence these standard optimal
(or exact) techniques become unsuitable. This is because the computer
time needed to find such a solution could be too large to be acceptable in
real life or the solution found is not really the overall best (global
optimum) but just one of the local optima that can be relatively poor
when compared to the overall (or global) best one. To overcome such a
drawback, heuristic methods were devised with the aim to provide the
user with reasonably good solutions, if not the best.
Although heuristic methods do not guarantee optimality, in some
situations, they seem to be the only way forward to produce concrete
(i) The solution space E can be either a finite and very large set
rendering (P) as combinatorial optimisation problem, or E ¼ ℕn
making (P) an integer optimisation problem, or E ¼ ℝn a continu-
ous optimisation problem.
(ii) The decision variables, X, can be continuous, integer, binary or any
combination of the above types.
(iii) The objective function, F(.), may not be necessarily linear, continu-
ous or even convex. F(.) can also be made up of several objectives,
some of which may be conflicting.
(iv) The feasibility set, S, may not be necessarily convex and may even
include disconnected subsets.
(v) And finally, the viability of the parameter values within the definition
of F and S can be critical as these may be probabilistic, estimated or
even not fully known.
In brief, when set S is a discrete set, the problem (P) falls into the
category of discrete optimisation problems (also known as combinatorial
optimisation), whereas if it is a continuous set, (P) is referred to as a
continuous optimisation problem (also known as global optimisation).
4 Heuristic Search
Local Search
e is
This is the mechanism (i.e., operator or transformation) by which X
obtained from X in a given neighbourhood N(X). In other words,
e ¼ ArgMinfFðXÞ; X 2 NðXÞg.
X
(a) Is there any guarantee that escaping from a local optimum will turn
into exploring new and more promising regions of the feasible set?
(b) Do such regions exist or do we expect the local minima (maxima) to
be uncorrelated?
The answers of these questions are far from being definite but provide a
platform to base the search when designing a heuristic. Theoretically the
answer to (a) is no, but the principle of getting closer to a yes could be
helpful when constructing diversification strategies. For (b) the local
minima are theoretically uncorrelated in general though some local
optima may not be far from each other.
Metaheuristics
Note that metaheuristics (also known as modern heuristics) are consid-
ered as higher level heuristics that are devised to guide other constructive
heuristics or local searches to reduce the risk of being trapped into a poor
local optimum. Though this definition helps in differentiating between
low-level heuristics, which could include, for example, constructive and
simple heuristics as well as local searches, and higher level ones that aim to
control the lower ones, in this monograph I shall refer to the word
heuristics whenever possible irrespective of their level. The aim is to
keep the terminology simple while providing freedom and flexibility to
the word heuristics as it was historically described. In other words, it
relates to mechanisms used to discover and search, using ways that may be
simple (low-level heuristics or local search) or more complex and powerful
(metaheuristics and others to mention later in this book).
1 Introduction 11
Solution Quality
(a) Empirical testing- this can be based on the best solutions of some of
the existing heuristics when tested on a set of published data. Here, we
can produce average deviation, worst deviation, the number of best
solutions and so on. This measure, which is one of the most useful
and commonly used approaches in practice, is simple to apply and can
be effective when published results exist. Although accuracy is
guaranteed as the results obtained are known with certainty, this
type of analysis can provide only statistical evidence about the perfor-
mance of the heuristic for other not yet tested instances.
(b) Worst case analysis—a pathological example, which is represented
purposely to show the weakness of the algorithm, needs to be
12 Heuristic Search
The relationship between the user and the analyst is of crucial impor-
tance at this level especially if the user is aware of the primary runs of the
heuristic as discussed in the earlier point (e). Inferior or infeasible solu-
tions can send the wrong signal to the user, and therefore, a good
understanding on the progress of development of the heuristic is vital.
This extra human effort does not only avoid communication hick-ups
from escalating, but also helps in building a friendly atmosphere in which
modification and improvement are part of the design that needs to take
place. In some cases, the initial runs are not shown to the user, and only
when positive results are found will the user commence to inject feedback.
The former strategy can be more effective if it is well looked after, whereas
the latter one is good as long as the user is not supposed to react negatively
in early stages of the work. A strategy that sits in between the above two
ideas may be the most appropriate in many cases; however, the breaking
point is dependent on the analyst’s relationship with the user, the
company’s reputation, the routine checks which are initially arranged
between the user and the analyst and the urgency by which the end
product needs to be delivered.
Computational Effort
Time Complexity
Space Complexity
quality of that solution. I shall visit this important aspect when discussing
the implementation issues in Chap. 6.
The first two groups are completely disjoint, whereas the last two could
interrelate with each other as well as with the first two. For clarity of
presentation, such links are highlighted in Fig. 1.1 in dash, whereas the
main links are shown in bold.
1.8 Summary
A general view of heuristics is given followed by the need for their usage in
practice. As these methods are not exact, some performance measures and
appropriate characteristics are provided to guide the user when designing
such techniques. A simple classification of heuristics is also provided that
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character of, 93;
wounded, 99;
death of, 100;
burial of, 100
Jenner, Major, murder of, 215
Jombeni Hills, 87
Jora, measurement of, 53
Jumbi ben Aloukeri, 11, 105, 155, 158, 234, 267
Juma, 14, 176
Kamasia, 136
Karanjui, camp at, 84;
fight at, 324
Karama, 147
Kenia, Mount, 34;
first sight of, 66;
again in sight of, 291;
north of, 137
Kibaba, capacity of, 53
Kibuyu, 54
Kilaluma, 43, 343
Kinangop, Mount, 338, 342
Kinuthia, 49-51
Kinyala, song of, 310
Kiongozi, 12
Kirrimar plain, 253
Kitoma, 53
Kolb, Dr., 5, 11;
account of death of, 156
Koranja, 51;
accompanies us, 59;
trepidation of, 62;
bids us farewell, 63;
meeting with, 349
Koromo, meeting with, 104;
makes blood-brotherhood with El Hakim, 113
Kota, 52
Kriger and Knapp, Messrs., 18;
decide to accompany us, 24;
return of, 35
Kriger’s farm, arrival at, 22;
departure from, 25;
return to, 361
Kundu, 53
Kwa-Ngombe, 345
Leeches, 212
Lemoro, 213
Leopard, 35
Lion, number of, 32;
hunt, 156, 279;
El Hakim’s adventure with, 292, 332, 333
Loads, method of carrying, 16
Lokomogo, 213;
present of, 270
Lolokwe, Mount, 136
Longfield, Capt., 353
Lorian, 3, 4;
news of, 246;
the start for, 246;
where is it?, 258;
dissertation on, 265
Loroghi Mountains, 5, 137
Lubo, 213;
immense possessions of, 232
Lykipia plateau, 52, 137
Mahogo, 52
Makono, measurement of, 53
Malwa, 13
Manga, 51;
indisposition of, 56;
greeted by, 349
Marabout stork, 39
Maranga, arrival at, 51;
abundance of food in, 52;
departure from, 59;
return to, 349;
peculiar method of crossing a river of people of, 356
Maragua river, 46;
bridge across the, 47;
return to the, 358
Maragua bean, 53
Marathwa river, 352
Marazuki, death of, 128
Marisi-al-lugwa-Zambo plateau, 204-245
Marlé tribe, 228
Marsabit, 222
Masai, 242, 338
Materu, camp at, 62
Mau escarpment, 137
M’biri, visit to, 352
M’bu, arrival at, 64;
hostility of natives of, 67;
an anxious journey, 71;
the guides desert, 74;
farewell to, 73
Metama, 52;
matindi, 53
Midges, attacked by, 178
Milindi, 31
Milk, method of adulteration of, 54
Mineral spring, 161;
salts, 162
Mogogodo, 181
Mogoroni river, 345
Moravi, route across, 81
Morio trees, 135, 160
“Morning Whiffs,” terrible results of, 39;
further experiences with, 55
M’thara, arrival at, 90;
purchasing food in, 91;
description of camp at, 98;
camp in danger, 104;
getting supplies of food in, 113;
departure from, 148;
bad news from, 297;
return to the camp at, 302;
farewell to, 331
Muhindi, 52
Mules, 19;
accident to one of the, 78
Mumoni Hills, 47
Mumunye, 53
Munipara, 11
Munithu, arrival at, 84;
departure from, 84;
return to, 116;
story of the pillaged goods at, 116;
departure from, 131;
attack on, 319
M’wele, 52
Nairobi, 1, 2, 6, 8, 9;
river, 27;
falls, 27;
the return to, 362
Naivasha, 338
N’dizi, 53
N’Dominuki, chief of M’thara, character of, 89;
declining influence of, 90;
is accused of treachery by the Somalis, 106;
explanation of, 108;
offers himself as guide, 111;
fidelity of, 299
N’doro, 341
Neumann, Mr. A. H., 5;
influence over N’Dominuki of, 89;
acquaintance with Dr. Kolb, 155
Ngare Mussoor, 336
Ngare Nanuki, 337
N’gombe, Mount, 178
Noor Adam, 17;
appearance and character of, 94
Nyemps, 136;
the old men of, 330
Oryx, 183
Sabaki river, 31
Sadi ben Heri, 11;
death of, 128
Sagana, 45
Salt, failure to procure, 179;
large plain of, 233
Sand rivers, 200, 290
Sand rats, 212
Seton-Karr, Mr., 276
Sirimon river, 337
Sheba, Mount, 164
Sheep, buying from the Rendili, 268;
death of many of the, 314;
the disposal of, 358
“Sherlock Holmes,” 13;
illness of, 340;
death of, 342
Shooting, useful hints on, 146
Skene, Captain, 358
Smallpox, 59, 232, 238, 354
Somali caravan, start of, 17;
news of the, 83;
attacked by the Wa’Embe, 84;
conference with leaders of, 93;
friction with, 141;
meeting with portion of, 201;
disaster to the, 217;
the alarm in the, 271;
the panic in the, 272
Song of Kinyala, 310
Spot, death of, 263
Sulieman, 12;
desertion of, 259
Swahili porters, character of, 7
Sweinfurth Falls, 46
Swamp Camp, 178, 291
Sycamores, 79
Uimbe, 52
Viazi, 52
Victoria Nyanza, Lake, 1, 7
Vikwer, 52
Viseli, 132
Zanzibar, 7
Zebra, 33, 43, 336, 341
Zuka, entry into, 75;
camp in, 77
Zura, welcome at, 81
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