Construction through decomposition: a divide-and-conquer algorithm for the N-queens problem
ACM '86 Proceedings of 1986 ACM Fall joint computer conference
| Hi-index | 0.00 |
We describe the outcome of various combinations of choices made by individuals in the solution of a non-trivial combinatorial problem on a computer. The programs which result are analyzed with respect to execution speed, design time, and difficulty in debugging. The solutions obtained vary dramatically as a result of choices made in the overall design of the solution. Choices made at lower levels in the top-down tree of design choices seem to have less effect on the parameters analyzed. A tradeoff between mathematical effort in algorithm design, and program speed is evident, since some solutions required solution-time which grows exponentially with the case size, while another solution presented here gives a closed-form expression for the required answers for all large cases.