Scientific Research Group in Egypt (SRGE)

Meta-heuristics techniques (I)

Tabu search
Dr. Ahmed Fouad Ali
Suez Canal University,
Dept. of Computer Science, Faculty of Computers and informatics
Member of the Scientific Research Group in Egypt
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Scientific Research Group in Egypt

www.egyptscience.net

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Meta-heuristics techniques

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Outline
1.
1. Motivation
Motivation
2.
2. Tabu
Tabu search
search (TS)(Background)
(TS)(Background)
3.
3. TS
TS (main
(main concepts)
concepts)
4.
4. TS
TS algorithm
algorithm
5.
5. TS
TS examples
examples
6.
6. TS
TS applications
applications

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Motivation
?
barrier to local search

starting
point
descend
direction
local minima
global minima

Tabu search (TS)

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(Background)
Tabu search (TS) algorithm was proposed
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by Glover (1986).
In the 1990s, the tabu search algorithm
became very popular in solving
optimization problems.
Nowadays, it is one of the most wide
spread (single ) S-metaheuristics.
The use of memory represents the
particular feature of tabu search.
TS behaves like a steepest LS algorithm,
but it accepts nonimproving solutions to
escape from local optima.

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Tabu search (main

concepts)

The key feature of TS method is

the use of memory, which records
information related of the search
process.

TS generates a neighborhood
solution from the current solution
and accepts the best solution even
if is not improving the current
solution.
This strategy may lead to cycles
i.e the previous visited solutions
could be selected again.

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Tabu search (main

concepts)

In order to avoid cycles, TS discards

the solution that have been
previously visited by using memory
which is called tabu list.
The length of the memory (tabu list)
control the search process.
A high length of the tabu list is high
the search will explore larger
regions and forbids revisiting high
number of solution.
A low length of the tabu list
concentrates the search on a small

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Tabu search (main

concepts)

At each iteration the tabu list is

updated (first in first out
queue).
The tabu list contains a constant
number of tabu moves called
tabu tenure, which is the length
of time for which a move is
forbidden.
If a move is good and can
improve the search process but it
is in tabu list, there is no need to
be prohibited and the solution is
accepted in a process called

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Tabu search algorithm

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Tabu search examples

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N(x0)
N(x1)

x0

X0 Neighborhood
trail solutions

x1
x2
x3
x4
x14
x15
x16

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TS examples

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1||wjTj
Jobs

wj

pj

12

15

dj

16

26

25

27

Determine Sc by the best schedule in

the neighborhood that is not tabu
Use tabu-list length = 2
The tabu list is denoted by L

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TS examples

Iteratio
Step 1: S =S =(1,3,2,4). G(S )=136.
n1
0

Set L={}.

Step 2. N(S1)= {(3,1,2,4), (1,2,3,4),

(1,3,4,2)} with respective cost = {174,
115, 141} => Sc=S0=S2=(1,2,3,4).
Set L={(3,2)}, i.e., swapping 3 and 2
is not allowed (Tabu)

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TS examples

Step 2.

Iteratio
n2

N(S2)= {(2,1,3,4),X(1,3,2,4), (1,2,4,3)}

with respective costs = {131, - , 67}
=> Sc=S3=(1,2,4,3)

Set S0=Sc
Set L={(3,4),(3,2)}

Step 3: Let k=3

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TS examples

Step 2

Iteratio
n3

N(S3)= {(2,1,4,3), (1,4,2,3),

X (1,2,3,4)}
with respective costs = {83, 72, -}
=> Sc=S4=(1,4,2,3)

Set L={(2,4),(3,4)}

Step 3: Let k=4

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TS examples

Step 2

Iteratio
n4

N(S4)= {(4,1,2,3),X(1,2,4,3), (1,4,3,2)}

with respective costs = {92, -, 123}
=> Sc=S5=(4,1,2,3)

Set L={(1,4),(2,4)}

Step 3: Let k=5

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TS examples

Step 2

Iteratio
n5

(4,2,1,3), (4,1,3,2)}
N(S5)= {(1,4,2,3),
X
with respective costs = {-, 109, 143}
=> Sc=S6=(4,2,1,3)

Set L={(2,1),(4,1)}

Step 3: Let k=6

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TS Applications

Scheduling

Quadratic
assignme
nt

Frequenc
y
assignme
nt

Car pooling

Capacitate
d pmedian,

Resource
constrained
project
scheduling
(RCPSP)

Vehicle
routing
problems

Graph
coloring

Retrieval
Layout
Problem

Maximum
Clique
Problem,

Traveling
Salesman
Problems

Database
systems

Nurse
Rostering
Problem

Neural Nets

Grammatic
al
inference,

Knapsack
problems

SAT
Constrain
t
Satisfacti

Network
design

Telecomunic
ation
Network

Global
Optimizati
on

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References

Metaheuristics From design to implementation, ElGhazali Talbi, University of Lille CNRS INRIA.
F. Glover, Future paths for integer programming and
links to artificial intelligence, Computers and
Operations Research 13 (1986), 533-549.

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Thank you
Ahmed_fouad@ci.suez.edu.eg
http://www.egyptscience.net