Heuristics: An Overview

There are many problems that still cannot be solved exactly in a reasonable time despite rapid increases in computing power, including the Travelling Salesman Problem and the Examination Timetabling Problem. Therefore, there is still a strong need for heuristics and this chapter demonstrates that the search for better heuristics remains a dynamic research topic. An overview is provided of many traditional heuristic methods including Simulated Annealing, Tabu Search, and Genetic Algorithms as well as more recently proposed methods including Harmony Search, Hyper-heuristics, and Matheuristics. Examples are provided for the Travelling Salesman Problem and the Examination Timetabling Problem showing that high-quality solutions can be produced in a reasonable time if a suitable heuristic method is applied appropriately.