Hi, The documentation for Gecode is a reference documentation, there is currently no tutorial-style documentation. See previous discussion on the mailing list [1].
As for learning to use Gecode, I would recommend to start learning by doing a few simple models. All the examples in the examples-directory are full programs (hint: each file has a main-function), so they are a good starting point for exploration. I would recommend starting by studying a simple example like n-queens (examples/queens.cc) or send+more=money (examples/money.cc). Gecode uses mostly the same concepts as other CP-systems, so the modeling-part is quite similar. For detailed information about the constraints and variables that you can use, the relevant sections in the reference-documentation are under Programming Models [2]. Cheers, Mikael PS A script refers to a model. [1] http://search.gmane.org/?query=tutorial&author=&group=gmane.comp.lib.gecode.user&sort=date&DEFAULTOP=and&xP=Ztutori&xFILTERS=Gcomp.lib.gecode.user---A [2] http://www.gecode.org/gecode-doc-latest/modules.html On Thu, Jan 8, 2009 at 7:55 PM, Oliver Kullmann <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello, > > I'm relatively familiar with the concepts of > constraint satisfaction and constraint programming > (say, at the level of [Dechter, Constraint Processing], > [Apt, Principles of Constraint Programming], or > [Handbook of Constraint Programming], however > when trying to get into Gecode, then I'm lost: > I even don't know what it's all about? > > At > http://www.gecode.org/gecode-doc-latest/index.html > one finds under "Getting started" how to install it > (no problem), some notational convention (which I > somehow can imagine what it wants to say, but which > seems at this point rather irrelevant), and then > we have the glossary, which seems rather circular > to me, and which doesn't say much when you are not > already familiar with the library. > > That seems to be it: "Programming tasks" seem to speak > only about some specifics (again, if the whole is not known > that it doesn't seem to make so much sense), and the rest > looks alike. > > So where to start?? Is there no definition of the whole problem > area (what kind of "constraint satisfaction problems" are > considered?), the basic algorithms supported (there are quite > a few algorithmic models out there), what are the basic abstraction > about "variables, values, constraints" (abstract data types)? > > Perhaps Gecode assumes familiarity with some other CSP-library? > I'm coming from the SAT world, and I'm not aware of any other > framework than Gecode (which could be used as a role model). > > Of course, I could start with some examples, but there seem to > be no complete examples, just classes (like > http://www.gecode.org/gecode-doc-latest/classGraphColor.html; > I guessed that graph colouring would be rather easy), which don't say > much without the framework. > > At http://www.gecode.org/gecode-doc-latest/group__Example.html it says > "All scripts are compiled into simple standalone programs. ", but I don't > understand > what "script" here means? Clicking on "Scripts for problems" I only get > some (specific) classes? > > Perhaps one needs to search for those files in the installed library? > (Somehow I'm of the old-fashioned opinion that documentation should be > somehow self-contained.) > But for example "graph-color.cc" doesn't give definitions/explanations (about > the > concepts involved)? It all seems to assume that the basic concepts are known. > > > This is now my second attempt to gain a bit of familiarity with Gecode, but > I can't find no bridge. > Is it necessary to start reading the source code, looking at all the examples, > and deciphering myself what are the underlying concepts? > > Perhaps there is some fundamental piece of documentation I'm missing. > Or, if not, then I would guess it wouldn't be too hard to outline > somewhere the basic concepts (from an abstract point of view). > Once one knows the main direction, then guessing what examples > and code fragments could mean becomes much easier. > > Hoping for some hints > > Confused Oliver > > > -- > Dr. Oliver Kullmann > Computer Science Department > Swansea University > Faraday Building, Singleton Park > Swansea SA2 8PP, UK > http://cs.swan.ac.uk/~csoliver/ > > _______________________________________________ > Gecode users mailing list > [email protected] > https://www.gecode.org/mailman/listinfo/gecode-users > -- Mikael Zayenz Lagerkvist, http://www.ict.kth.se/~zayenz/ _______________________________________________ Gecode users mailing list [email protected] https://www.gecode.org/mailman/listinfo/gecode-users
