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Chapter: Analysis and Design of Algorithm : Backtracking

Backtracking Algorithms

Many problems are difficult to solve algorithmically. Backtracking makes it possible to solve at least some large instances of difficult combinatorial problems.

BACKTRACKING

 

 

Many problems are difficult to solve algorithmically. Backtracking makes it possible to solve at least some large instances of difficult combinatorial problems.

 

GENERAL METHOD

The principal idea is to construct solutions one component at a time and evaluate such partially constructed candidates as follows.

If a partially constructed solution can be developed further without violating the

 

problem‘s constraints, it is done by taking the first remaining legitimate option for the next component.

If there is no legitimate option for the next component, no alternatives for any

 

remaining component need to be considered. In this case, the algorithm backtracks to replace the last component of the partially constructed solution with its next option.

 

 STATE-SPACE TREE

 

It is convenient to implement this kind of processing by constructing a tree of choices being made, called the state-space tree. Its root represents an initial state before the search for a solution begins. The nodes of the first level in the tree represent the choices made for the first component of a solution; the nodes of the second level represent the choices for the second component, and so on.

 

A node in a state-space tree is said to be promising if it corresponds to a partially constructed solution that may still lead to a complete solution; otherwise, it is called nonpromising.

 

Leaves represent either nonpromising dead ends or complete solutions found by the algorithm.

 

N-QUEENS PROBLEM

 

 

The problem is to place it queens on an n-by-n chessboard so that no two queens attack each other by being in the same row or in the same column or on the same diagonal. For n = 1, the problem has a trivial solution, and it is easy to see that there is no solution for n = 2 and n =3. So let us consider the four-queens problem and solve it by the backtracking technique. Since each of the four queens has to be placed in its own row, all we need to do is to assign a column for each queen on the board presented in the following figure.



Steps to be followed

 

We start with the empty board and then place queen 1 in the first possible position of its row, which is in column 1 of row 1.


Then we place queen 2, after trying unsuccessfully columns 1 and 2, in the first acceptable position for it, which is square (2,3), the square in row 2 and column 3. This proves to be a dead end because there i no acceptable position for queen 3. So, the algorithm backtracks and puts queen 2 in the next possible position at (2,4).


Then queen 3 is placed at (3,2), which proves to be another dead end.


The algorithm then backtracks all the way to queen 1 and moves it to (1,2). Queen 2 then goes to (2,4), queen 3 to (3,1), and queen 4 to (4,3), which is a solution to the problem.


(x denotes an unsuccessful attempt to place a queen in the indicated column. The numbers above the nodes indicate the order in which the nodes are generated)


If other solutions need to be found, the algorithm can simply resume its operations at the leaf at which it stopped. Alternatively, we can use the board‘s symmetry for this purpose.


SUBSET-SUM PROBLEM

 

Subset-Sum Problem is finding a subset of a given set S = {s1,s2….sn} of n positive integers whose sum is equal to a given positive integer d.

 

For example, for S = {1, 2, 5, 6, 8) and d = 9, there are two solutions: {1, 2, 6} and {1, 8}. Of course, some instances of this problem may have no solutions.

 

It is convenient to sort the set‘s elements in increasing order. So we will assume 

that s1 ≤ s2 ≤ ……. ≤ sn

 

The state-space tree can be constructed as a binary tree as that in the following figure for the instances S = (3, 5, 6, 7) and d = 15.

 

The root of the tree represents the starting point, with no decisions about the given elements made as yet.

 

Its left and right children represent, respectively, inclusion and exclusion ofs1 in a set being sought.

 

Similarly, going to the left from a node of the first level corresponds to inclusion of s2, while going to the right corresponds to its exclusion, and soon.

 

Thus, a path from the root to a node on the ith level of the tree indicates which of the first i numbers have been included in the subsets represented by that node.

 

We record the value of s‘ the sum of these numbers, in the node, Ifs is equal to d. we have a solution to the problem.

 

 

We can either, report this result and stop or, if all the solutions need to he found, continue by backtracking to the node‘s parent.

 

 

If s‘ is not equal to d, we can terminate the node as nonpromising if either of the two inequalities holds:

 



 

1. Pseudocode For Backtrack Algorithms




 

Fig: Complete state-space tree of the backtracking algorithm

 

 

(applied to the instance S = (3, 5, 6, 7) and d = 15 of the subset-sum problem. The number inside a node is the sum of the elements already included in subsets represented by the node. The inequality below a leaf indicates the reason for its termination)

 

 

 

GRAPH COLORING

 

A coloring of a graph is an assignment of a color to each vertex of the graph so that no two vertices connected by an edge have the same color. It is not hard to see that our problem is one of coloring the graph of incompatible turns using as few colors as possible.

 

The problem of coloring graphs has been studied for many decades, and the theory of algorithms tells us a lot about this problem. Unfortunately, coloring an arbitrary graph with as few colors as possible is one of a large class of problems called "NP-complete problems," for which all known solutions are essentially of the type "try all possibilities."

 

A k-coloring of an undirected graph G = (V, E) is a function c : V → {1, 2,..., k} such that c(u) ≠ c(v) for every edge (u, v) E. In other words, the numbers 1, 2,..., k represent the k colors, and adjacent vertices must have different colors. The graph-coloring problem is to determine the minimum number of colors needed to color a given graph.

 

 

a.                 Give an efficient algorithm to determine a 2-coloring of a graph if one exists.

b.                 Cast the graph-coloring problem as a decision problem. Show that your decision problem is solvable in polynomial time if and only if the graph-coloring problem is solvable in polynomial time.

 

c.                  Let the language 3-COLOR be the set of graphs that can be 3-colored. Show that if 3-COLOR is NP-complete, then your decision problem from part (b) is NP-complete.

 

To prove that 3-COLOR is NP-complete, we use a reduction from 3-CNF-SAT. Given a formula φ of m clauses on n variables x, x,..., x, we construct a graph G = (V, E) as follows.

 

The set V consists of a vertex for each variable, a vertex for the negation of each variable, 5 vertices for each clause, and 3 special vertices: TRUE, FALSE, and RED. The edges of the graph are of two types: "literal" edges that are independent of the clauses and "clause" edges that depend on the clauses. The literal edges form a triangle on the special vertices and also form a triangle on x, ¬x, and RED for i = 1, 2,..., n.

 

d.                 Argue that in any 3-coloring c of a graph containing the literal edges, exactly one of a variable and its negation is colored c(TRUE) and the other is colored c(FALSE).

 

Argue that for any truth assignment for φ, there is a 3-coloring of the graph containing just the literal edges.

 

The widget is used to enforce the condition corresponding to a clause (x y z). Each clause requires a unique copy of the 5 vertices that are heavily shaded; they connect as shown to the literals of the clause and the special vertex TRUE.

 

e.                  Argue that if each of x, y, and z is colored c(TRUE) or c(FALSE), then the widget is 3-colorable if and only if at least one of x, y, or z is colored c(TRUE).

 

f.                   Complete the proof that 3-COLOR is NP-complete.


 

Fig: The widget corresponding to a clause (x  y z), used in Problem

 

 

 

HAMILTONIAN CIRCUIT PROBLEM

 

As our next example, let us consider the problem of finding a Hamiltonian circuit in the graph of Figure 11.3a. Without loss of generality, we can assume that if a Hamiltonian circuit exists, it starts at vertex a. Accordingly, we make vertex a the root of the state-space tree (Figure 11.3b).

 

The first component of our future solution, if it exists, is a first intermediate vertex of a Hamiltonian cycle to be constructed. Using the alphabet order to break the three-way tie among the vertices adjacent to a, we select vertex b. From b, the algorithm proceeds to c, then to d, then to e, and finally to f, which proves to be a dead end. So the algorithm backtracks from f to e, then to d. and then to c, which provides the first alternative for the algorithm to pursue.

 

Going from c to e eventually proves useless, and the algorithm has to backtrack from e to c and then to b. From there, it goes to the vertices f, e, c, and d, from which it can legitimately return to a, yielding the Hamiltonian circuit a, b, f, e, c, d, a. If we wanted to find another Hamiltonian circuit, we could continue this process by backtracking from the leaf of the solution found.


Figure 11.3: (a) Graph. (b) State-space tree for finding a Hamiltonian circuit. The numbers above the nodes of the tree indicate the order in which the nodes are generated.

 

KNAPSACK PROBLEM

 

The knapsack problem or rucksack problem is a problem in combinatorial optimization: Given a set of items, each with a weight and a value, determine the number of each item to include in a collection so that the total weight is less than a given limit and the total value is as large as possible.

 

It derives its name from the problem faced by someone who is constrained by a fixed-size knapsack and must fill it with the most useful items.

 

The problem often arises in resource allocation with financial constraints. A similar problem also appears in combinatorics, complexity theory, cryptography and applied mathematics.

 

The decision problem form of the knapsack problem is the question "can a value of at least V be achieved without exceeding the weight W?"

 

E.g. A thief enters a store and sees the following items:


 

His Knapsack holds 4 pounds.

 

What should he steal to maximize profit?

 

 

Fractional Knapsack Problem

 

Thief can take a fraction of an item.

 


 

Fractional Knapsack has a greedy solution

 

Sort items by decreasing cost per pound

 





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