Distributed Constraint Satisfaction - Foundations of Cooperation in Multi-agent Systems (Paperback, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 2001)

Distributed Constraint Satisfaction gives an overview of Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSPs), adapts related search algorithms and consistency algorithms for applications to multi-agent systems, and consolidates recent research devoted to cooperation in such systems. The techniques introduced are applied to various problems in multi-agent systems. Among the new approaches is a hybrid-type algorithm for weak-commitment search combining backtracking and iterative improvement. Also, an extension of the basic CSP formalization called "Partial CSP" is introduced in order to handle over-constrained CSPs.