Solving the Timetabling Problem with Simulated Annealing

  • F. Melício
  • P. Caldeira
  • A. Rosa
Chapter

Abstract

School timetabling is an optimisation problem, which consists in assigning lectures to timeslots, satisfying a set of constraints of various kinds. Due mostly to the constraints this problem falls in the category of NP-complete. Simulated Annealing (SA) have been applied with significant success to different combinatorial optimisation problems. Nevertheless, any implementation of SA algorithm is highly dependent of how structural elements are defined, i.e., solution space, generation of new solutions, cost function. In this paper, we try to solve the timetabling problem using simulated annealing and compare several parameters concerning the algorithm.

Key words

Simulated annealing timetabling scheduling heuristics 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2000

Authors and Affiliations

  • F. Melício
    • 1
    • 2
  • P. Caldeira
    • 1
    • 3
  • A. Rosa
    • 1
    • 4
  1. 1.Evolutionary Systems and Biomedical Engineering LabLisboaPortugal
  2. 2.Instituto Superior de Engenharia de LisboaLisboaPortugal
  3. 3.Escola Superior de TecnologiaSetúbalPortugal
  4. 4.Instituto Superior TécnicoLisboaPortugal

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