Parallel constraint logic programming and parallel solvers

Joint work with Olivier Ballereau, Laurent Granvilliers and Arnaud Lallouet.
Nicolas Romero, Frédéric Benhamou, Marteen Van Emden and Quentin Miller have also collaborated with us.

We apply the BSP model to the design of new parallel algorithms for constraint solvers and constraint programming systems. In 1998 we designed and implemented BS-Solve, a general system for the cooperation and parallelization of solvers. In 1999 we have demonstrated for the first time a parallel numerical solver showing important (but bounded) speedups w.r.t the best known sequential heuristics.
We have also designed a parallel interpretation of constraint logic programming based on the BSP execution model. We are now applying it to the design of a parallel programming language based with CLP semantics. It will allow the programmer to use specialised solvers for explicit parallel programming and portable parallel versions of existing solvers.

To learn more about the project, please read:

and refer to L.Granvilliers' PIN (parallel interval narrowing) page.

Gaétan HAINS