Arc-Consistency in Constraint Satisfaction Problems: A Survey

Abstract

Arc consistency (AC) is very important in Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSPs). Several algorithms have been made to deal with arc consistency, the most known is the Maintaining arc consistency algorithm (MAC). The usefulness of AC processing was recognized early. As a result, many AC algorithms for binary constraints have been proposed in the literature. In this paper we will clearly present the most famous ones (AC-1, AC-2, AC-3, AC-4, AC-5, AC-6, AC-7, AC-2000, AC-2001, AC-inference). A comparative analysis is presented to figure out which one is the best to use.