A RELATIONAL APPROACH TO OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS

Abstract

The main contribution of this thesis is a study of the dynamic programming and greedy strategies for solving combinatorial optimization problems. The study is carried out in the context of a calculus of relations, and generalises previous work by using a loop operator in the imperative programming style for generating feasible solutions, rather than the fold and unfold operators of the functional programming style. The relationship between fold operators and loop operators is explored, and it is shown how to convert from the former to the latter.