Constraint logic programming and its application to fleet scheduling

This paper presents a new computer-oriented technique: constraint logic programming and the formulation of the fleet scheduling problem using it. This technique presents several advantages in dealing with combinatorial problems as it combines the declarative aspects of logic programming with the efficiency of constraint search techniques. The classical problem as well as some of its most significant variations, i.e. the backhaul, the time-windows and the multiple-depot variation, were formulated by implementing this technique in one of the most NP-hard areas of Operational Research.