Computational problems from many different application areas can be seen as constraint satisfaction problems. For example, the problems of scheduling a collection of tasks, or laying out a silicon chip, or interpreting a visual image, can all be seen in this way. In any constraint satisfaction problem there is a collection of variables which all have to be assigned values, subject to specified constraints. Because of the importance of these problems in so many different fields, new programming languages are being developed to tackle problems of this kind, and there is an annual international conference on Constraint Programming.
The Constraints Group is a joint research group between Oxford and Royal Holloway, University of London, and is led by Professor Peter Jeavons and Professor David Cohen. We have been studying constraint satisfaction problems since 1989, supported by many sponsors, including the EPSRC, the DTI, the Royal Society, the British Council, Vodafone UK Ltd, the Nuffield Foundation, and the UK Radiocommunications Agency.
For details of current projects and recent publications see the Constraints Group home page.
New: CP Theory Workshop co-located with CP 2009.
