Generalized quicksearch for expert systems

Abstract

Expert systems for applications that include the creation of a least-cost design or plan will frequently need built-in search procedures. Sometimes optimizing cannot terminate soon enough, and satisficing methods must be used. Quicksearch is a set of techniques for quickly obtaining good, but not necessarily optimal, solutions. These techniques are very specialized. The author simplifies and generalizes the quicksearch concept. Generalized quicksearch was tested, using the 15-puzzle as an example, and compared with the weighted heuristic method.