Search Methodologies Introductory Tutorials in Optimization and Decision Support Techniques

715 Pages·8.792 MB·English

by  Burke, Edmund K(Editor);Kendall, Graham(Editor)

Edmund K. Burke · Graham Kendall
Editors
Search
Methodologies
Introductory Tutorials in Optimization
and Decision Support Techniques
Second Edition
Search Methodologies

Edmund K. Burke • Graham Kendall
Editors
Search Methodologies
Introductory Tutorials in Optimization and
Decision Support Techniques
Second Edition
123
Editors
EdmundK.Burke GrahamKendall
UniversityofStirling Vice-Provost(Research
CottrellBuilding andKnowledgeTransfer)
Scotland,UnitedKingdom UniversityofNottingham,Malaysia
andUniversityofNottingham,UK
JalanBroga,Semenyih,Malaysia
ISBN978-1-4614-6939-1 ISBN978-1-4614-6940-7(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-1-4614-6940-7
SpringerNewYorkHeidelbergDordrechtLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2013944229
©SpringerScience+BusinessMediaNewYork2014
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartof
thematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations,recitation,
broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionorinformation
storageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodology
nowknownorhereafterdeveloped.Exemptedfromthislegalreservationarebriefexcerptsinconnection
with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered
and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Duplication of
this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the Copyright Law of the
Publisher’slocation,initscurrentversion,andpermissionforusemustalwaysbeobtainedfromSpringer.
PermissionsforusemaybeobtainedthroughRightsLinkattheCopyrightClearanceCenter.Violations
areliabletoprosecutionundertherespectiveCopyrightLaw.
Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublication
doesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevant
protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
Whiletheadviceandinformationinthisbookarebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpub-
lication,neithertheauthorsnortheeditorsnorthepublishercanacceptanylegalresponsibilityforany
errorsoromissionsthatmaybemade.Thepublishermakesnowarranty,expressorimplied,withrespect
tothematerialcontainedherein.
Printedonacid-freepaper
SpringerispartofSpringerScience+BusinessMedia(www.springer.com)
Foreword to the First Edition
This is not so much a foreword as a testimonial. As I embarked on the pleasant
journeyofreadingthroughthechaptersofthisbook,Ibecameconvincedthatthisis
oneofthebestsourcesofintroductorymaterialonthesearchmethodologiestopicto
befound.Thebook’ssubtitle,“IntroductoryTutorialsinOptimizationandDecision
SupportTechniques,”aptlydescribesitsaim,andtheeditorsandcontributorstothis
volumehaveachievedthisaimwithremarkablesuccess.
The chapters in this book are exemplaryin giving useful guidelines for imple-
mentingthemethodsandframeworksdescribed.Theyaretutorialsinthewaytuto-
rials oughtto be designed. I foundno chapter that did not contain interesting and
relevant information and found several chapters that can only be qualified as de-
lightful.
Thoseofuswhohavedevotedasubstantialportionofourenergiestothestudy
and elaboration of search methodologiesoften wish we had a simple formula for
passing along the core notions to newcomers to the area. (I must confess, by the
way, that I qualify as a relative newcomer to some of the areas in this volume.)
Whilesimplicity,likebeauty,tosomedegreeliesintheeyesofthebeholderandno
universalor magical formulafor achievingit exists, this bookcomes muchcloser
to reaching such a goal than I would have previously considered possible. It will
occupya privilegedposition on my list of recommendedreading for students and
colleagueswhowanttogetatasteforthebasicsofsearchmethodologiesandwho
haveaninterestinequippingthemselvestoprobemoredeeply.
If good books may be likened to ladders that help us ascend to higher rungs
of knowledgeand understanding,we all know there are neverthelessmany books
written in technical areas that seem to be more like stumbling blocks or at best
brokensteppingstoolsthatdepositusinisolatednooksofferingnoclearaccessto
continuedmeansofascent.Notsothepresentbook.Itschaptersleadtoidealsites
forcontinuedexplorationandoffercompellingmotivationforfurtherpursuitofits
ideasandframeworks.Ifmyreckoningisnotcompletelyamiss,thosewhoreadthis
volumewillfindabundantreasonsforsharingmyconvictionthatweoweitseditors
andauthorsatruedebtofgratitudeforputtingthisworktogether.
Boulder,CO,USA FredGlover
v

Foreword to the Second Edition
Itgivesmegreatpleasuretowritethisshortforewordtothesecondeditionofthis
outstandingbook.Thefirsteditionestablishedthisvolumeasanimportantinterna-
tionallandmarkintheexpositionandexplanationofcomputationalsearchmethod-
ologies and associated issues. As its title indicates, it covers a broad and diverse
portfolioofsearchtechniquesfromaninterdisciplinaryperspectiveinanextensive
andcomprehensiveway.Insomeways,thisisnosurprisebecausetheauthorsthat
have been broughttogether in this volume truly representa collection of the very
topfiguresinthefield.Itisanextremelyimpressivegroupofauthorswhohavethe
highestpossiblequalificationstopresentthesechaptersinaclearandauthoritative
way.
AstheeditorshaveexplainedintheIntroduction,decisionsupportsystemsnow
underpinthe core of many modernmanagementapproachesin such diverse areas
ashealthcare,commerce,industry,science,andgovernment.Inmanyeverydaysit-
uationsacross many differentworkingenvironments,the idea of taking important
managerialdecisionswithoutsomekindofdecisionsupportsystemwouldbeincon-
ceivable.Moreover,itisthetechniquesandmethodsthatareintroducedinthisbook
thatoftenlie at the heartof the searchenginesuponwhichthese decision support
systemsdepend.Thus,thebookideallyfitsthecurrentneedsoftoday’sincreasingly
computer-drivenworld.
TheaimofthebookisclearlyarticulatedintheIntroduction.Itaimstopresent
aseriesofwell-writtentutorialsbytheleadingexpertsintheirfields.Moreover,it
does this by covering practically the whole possible range of topics in the disci-
pline. It enables students and practitionersto study and appreciate the beauty and
thepowerofsomeofthecomputationalsearchtechniquesthatareabletoeffectively
navigatethroughsearchspacesthataresometimesinconceivablylarge.
I am convinced that this second edition will build on the success of the first
editionandthatitwillprovetobejustaspopular.Threemainfeaturesofthevolume
addsignificantly,inmyopinion,toitsappeal.Thesecanbeoutlinedasfollows:
vii
viii ForewordtotheSecondEdition
• Ihavealreadyreferredtothesetofexcellentauthorswhohavewrittenthechap-
ters of the book,butI thinkthat it is worthemphasizinghowimportantthisis.
Alltheauthorsareworld-renownedexpertsintheirfield.
• There is full and complete coverage of the area of search methodologies.This
iscomplementedinthesecondeditionbyadditionalchaptersonScatterSearch,
GRASP (Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedures), and Very Large-
ScaleNeighborhoodSearch.Thechoiceoftheseadditionalchapterswasinspired
andreflectstheever-changingnatureanddevelopingfocusofthefield.
• Iparticularlyappreciatetheuniformapproachtothedescriptionoftopicswhich
originate from such different disciplines as operations research, computer sci-
ence,mathematics,artificialintelligence,andothers.Establishingthiscommon
structureacrosssuchalargenumberofauthorsistestamenttotheskillandinter-
nationalstandingoftheeditors.Theirvisionhasbeenrealizedinanexceptional
introductorytreatmentofthefield.Ithinkthattricksoftrade,examples,sources
ofadditionalinformation,andtheextensivelistofappropriatereferencesrepre-
sentparticularlyusefulresources,andIhaveregularlydirectedmyownstudents
to them in the first edition.I expectto continueto do so with this new edition.
Thesefeaturesparticularlyaddtotheusefulnessofthebookeitherforself-study
orasthebasisofacourseinthetopic.
Tosummarize,Ihighlyrecommendthebookforthosewhorequireanintroduc-
tiontothebreadthoftechniquesandapproachesthatarerepresentedbythefieldof
searchmethodologies.Ihavegainedalotofpleasurefromreadingthroughthisnew
edition,andI amsure thatitwill bea valuableresourcetoteachers, students,and
practitionersformanyyearstocome.
Poznan,Poland JacekBlazewicz
Preface to the First Edition
Wefirsthadtheideaforthisbookover3yearsago.Itgrewoutofaone-daywork-
shopentitledIntroductoryTutorialsinSearch,OptimizationandDecisionSupport
Methodologies(INTROS),whichwasheldinNottinghaminAugust2003.Theaim
of the workshop was to deliver basic introductionsto a broad spectrum of search
methodologiesfromacrossdisciplinaryboundaries.ItwassupportedbytheUKEn-
gineeringandPhysicalSciencesResearchCouncil(EPSRC)andtheLondonMath-
ematicalSociety(LMS) andwas attendedbyoveronehundreddelegatesfromall
overtheworld.Wewereveryfortunatetohave11oftheworld’sleadingscientistsin
searchmethodologiespresentingarangeofstimulatingandhighlyinformativetu-
torials.AlloftheINTROSpresentershavecontributedtothisvolume,andwehave
enhanced the content by inviting additional, specifically targeted, complementary
chapters. We are pleased to be able to present such a comprehensive, multidisci-
plinarycollectionoftutorialsinthiscruciallyimportantresearcharea.
Wewouldliketotakethisopportunitytothankthemanypeoplewhohavecon-
tributed towards the preparationof this book.We owe a great debt of gratitude to
theauthorsofthechapters.Asonewouldexpectfromsuchadistinguishedgroupof
scientists, theyhavepreparedtheirexcellentcontributionsina thoroughlyreliable
and professionalmanner. Withoutthem, of course, the bookwould nothave been
possible.Weareextremelygratefultoourcopyeditor,PiersMaddox,whoexcelled
himselfin bringingtogether,inonecoherentstructure,thevariousdocumentsthat
weresenttohim.WearealsoverygratefultoGaryFolven,CarolynFord,andtheir
staff at Springer who have providedus with invaluableadvice and supportduring
everystepoftheway.WewouldliketoofferourgratitudetoFredGloverforwriting
theforewordforthisbook.Hiswarmpraiseisparticularlypleasing.Aspecialthank
you should go to Emma-Jayne Dann and Alison Payne for all the administrative
supporttheyhavegivenus,bothinthepreparationofthisvolumeandintheorga-
nization of the INTROS workshop that underpinnedit. We are also very thankful
to EPSRC and LMS for the financial supportthey gave us to hold this workshop.
Finally,weofferaspecialthankyoutotheINTROSdelegatesfortheirenthusiasm
andtheirencouragement.
ix