Advanced Problem Solving and Search
From International Center for Computational Logic
Advanced Problem Solving and Search
Course with SWS 2/2/0 (lecture/exercise/practical) in WS 2025
Lecturer
Tutor
SWS
- 2/2/0
Modules
- INF-BAS2
- MCL-PI
- MCL-KR
- INF-VERT2
- MCL-AI
- CMS-VC-ELV2
- CMS-CLS-ELG
- CMS-COR-FAI
- CMS-CE-EL1
- CMS-CE-EL2
- CMS-CLS-ELV
- CMS-EE-EL1
- CMS-EE-EL2
- INF-25-MA-FTK-APSS
Examination method
- according to module description
Problem solving and search is a central topic in Artificial Intelligence. This course presents several techniques to solve in general difficult problems.
The course covers the following topics:
- Basic Concepts
- Uninformed vs Informed Search
- Local Search, Stochastic Hill Climbing, Simulated Annealing
- Tabu Search
- Evolutionary Algorithms, Genetic Algorithms
- Answer Set Programming
- Constraint Satisfaction Problems
- Structural Decomposition Techniques (Tree/Hypertree Decompositions)
The course does not cover topics in the area of Machine Learning and Neural Networks.
NOTE: This course was previously named Problem Solving and Search in Artificial Intelligence. The contents of former PSSAI and APSS are identical, and therefore students can only take one of the two courses.
Learning Outcomes
- The students should identify why typical AI problems are difficult to solve
- The students will analyze different algorithms and methods for AI problems and identify when their application is appropriate
- The connections between the (graph) structure and the complexity of a problem should become clear, as well as which methods can be used to tackle the problem
- In the tutorials, the students will analyze different problems and develop solutions for them.
Prerequisites
- Basic knowledge of theoretical computer science and Logic.
- Good English skills: teaching will be exclusively in English.
Organisation
The goals can be acquired by studying the lecture material and solving the exercises of the tutorials.
The slides of the lectures and exercises of the tutorials will be uploaded in OPAL, for each corresponding session. We invite you to use the forum to ask questions and share your exercise solutions.
Please, register for the course on the OPAL site:
https://bildungsportal.sachsen.de/opal/auth/RepositoryEntry/51227885574
Registration to tutorial groups will be possible in OPAL after the first lecture on 14th October 2025.
Exam
Key information: There are two forms of examination depending on your study program:
Students of the CMS Master, exchange students and students in the Computer Science Master:
- There will be a written exam. Dates and information will follow during the semester. There is no possibility to take the exam remotely.
- You must register in Selma or with your examination office.
Students with complex examinations:
- Please, schedule your oral exams with our secretary (cl@tu-dresden.de) after registering in Selma.
- Stuart J. Russell and Peter Norvig. "Artificial Intelligence A Modern Approach" (3. edition ). Pearson Education, 2010.
- Zbigniew Michalewicz and David B. Fogel. "How to Solve It: Modern Heuristics", volume 2. Springer, 2004.
- Martin Gebser, Benjamin Kaufmann Roland Kaminski, and Torsten Schaub. "Answer Set Solving in Practice". Synthesis Lectures on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Morgan and Claypool Publishers, 2012.
- Michael Gelfond and Vladimir Lifschitz. "Classical negation in logic programs and disjunctive databases". New Generation Comput., 9(3–4):365–386, 1991.
- A.E. Eiben and J.E. Smith. "Introduction to Evolutionary Computing", Springer, 2003.
- Thomas Hammerl, Nysret Musliu and Werner Schafhauser. "Metaheuristic Algorithms and Tree Decomposition", Handbook of Computational Intelligence, pp 1255–1270, Springer, 2015.
- Hans L. Bodlaender, Arie M.C.A. Koster. "Treewidth computations I. Upper bounds", Comput. 208(2): 259–275, 2010.
- Georg Gottlob, Nicola Leone, and Francesco Scarcello. "Hypertree decompositions and tractable queries", Journal of Computer and System Sciences, 64(3):579–627, 2002. ISSN 0022-0000.
- Artan Dermaku, Tobias Ganzow, Georg Gottlob, Ben McMahan, Nysret Musliu, and Marko Samer. "Heuristic methods for hypertree decomposition", In Alexander Gelbukh and Eduardo F. Morales, editors, MICAI 2008: Advances in Artificial Intelligence, volume 5317 of LNCS, pages 1–11. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2008. ISBN 978-3-540-88635-8.
Subscribe to events of this course (icalendar)
... further results| Lecture | Introduction | DS2, October 14, 2025 in GÖR/0226/H | |
| Lecture | Informed vs. Uniformed Search | DS2, October 21, 2025 in GÖR/0226/H | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Thu1 1 (Traditional Search) | DS4, October 23, 2025 in APB E007 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo2 1 (Traditional Search) | DS4, October 27, 2025 in APB E001 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo3 1 (Traditional Search) | DS5, October 27, 2025 in APB E008 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo4 1 (Traditional Search) | DS6, October 27, 2025 in APB E001 | |
| Lecture | Local Search | DS2, October 28, 2025 in GÖR/0226/H | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Thu1 2 (Local Search) | DS4, October 30, 2025 in APB E007 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo2 2 (Local Search) | DS4, November 3, 2025 in APB E001 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo3 2 (Local Search) | DS5, November 3, 2025 in APB E008 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo4 2 (Local Search) | DS6, November 3, 2025 in APB E001 | |
| Lecture | Tabu Search | DS2, November 4, 2025 in GÖR/0226/H | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Thu1 3 (Tabu Search) | DS4, November 6, 2025 in APB E007 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo2 3 (Tabu Search) | DS4, November 24, 2025 in APB E001 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo3 3 (Tabu Search) | DS5, November 24, 2025 in APB E008 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo4 3 (Tabu Search) | DS6, November 24, 2025 in APB E001 | |
| Lecture | Evolutionary Algorithms | DS2, November 25, 2025 in GÖR/0226/H | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Thu1 4 (EA) | DS4, November 27, 2025 in APB E007 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo2 4 (EA) | DS4, December 1, 2025 in APB E001 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo3 4 (EA) | DS5, December 1, 2025 in APB E008 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo4 4 (EA) | DS6, December 1, 2025 in APB E001 | |
| Lecture | ASP I | DS2, December 2, 2025 in GÖR/0226/H | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Thu1 5 (ASP I) | DS4, December 4, 2025 in APB E007 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo2 5 (ASP I) | DS4, December 8, 2025 in APB E001 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo3 5 (ASP I) | DS5, December 8, 2025 in APB E008 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo4 5 (ASP I) | DS6, December 8, 2025 in APB E001 | |
| Lecture | ASP II | DS2, December 9, 2025 in GÖR/0226/H | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Thu1 6 (ASP II) | DS4, December 11, 2025 in APB E007 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo2 6 (ASP II) | DS4, December 15, 2025 in APB E001 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo3 6 (ASP II) | DS5, December 15, 2025 in APB E008 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo4 6 (ASP II) | DS6, December 15, 2025 in APB E001 | |
| Lecture | ASP III | DS2, December 16, 2025 in GÖR/0226/H | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Thu1 7 (ASP III) | DS4, December 18, 2025 in APB E007 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo2 7 (ASP III) | DS4, January 5, 2026 in APB E001 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo2 7 (ASP III) | DS5, January 5, 2026 in APB E008 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo4 7 (ASP III) | DS6, January 5, 2026 in APB E001 | |
| Lecture | CSP | DS2, January 6, 2026 in GÖR/0226/H | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Thu1 8 (CSP) | DS4, January 8, 2026 in APB E007 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo2 8 (CSP) | DS4, January 12, 2026 in APB E001 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo3 8 (CSP) | DS5, January 12, 2026 in APB E008 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo4 8 (CSP) | DS6, January 12, 2026 in APB E001 | |
| Lecture | Structural Decompositions I | DS2, January 13, 2026 in GÖR/0226/H | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Thu1 9 (TD I) | DS4, January 15, 2026 in APB E007 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo2 9 (TD I) | DS4, January 19, 2026 in APB E001 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo3 9 (TD I) | DS5, January 19, 2026 in APB E008 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo4 9 (TD I) | DS6, January 19, 2026 in APB E001 | |
| Lecture | Structural Decompositions II | DS2, January 20, 2026 in GÖR/0226/H | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Thu1 10 (TD II) | DS4, January 22, 2026 in APB E007 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo2 10 (TD II) | DS4, January 26, 2026 in APB E001 | |
| Exercise | Tutorial Gr-Mo3 10 (TD II) | DS5, January 26, 2026 in APB E008 |
Calendar
