Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information (한국컴퓨터정보학회논문지)

Korean Society of Computer Information (한국컴퓨터정보학회)
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A Constraint Programming-based Automated Course Timetabling System

  • Hwang, Junha (Dept. of Computer Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology)
  • Received : 2019.03.20
  • Accepted : 2019.04.17
  • Published : 2019.04.30
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Abstract

The course timetabling problem is a kind of very complex combinatorial optimization problems, which is known as an NP-complete problem. Sometimes a given course timetabling problem can be accompanied by many constraints. At this time, even if only one constraint is violated, it can be an infeasible timetable. Therefore, it is very difficult to make an automated course timetabling system for a complex real-world course timetabling problem. This paper introduces an automated course timetabling system using constraint programming. The target problem has 26 constraints in total, and they are expressed as 24 constraints and an objective function in constraint programming. Currently, we are making a timetable through this system and applying the result to the actual class. Members' satisfaction is also much higher than manual results. We expect this paper can be a guide for making an automated course timetabling system.

Keywords

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Fig. 1. An Example of Variable Expression

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Fig. 2. Class Groups to Ensure Registering Simultaneously

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Fig. 3. An Example of a Professor’s Schedule

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Fig. 4. An Example of Preference Score Table

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Fig. 5. Automated Timetabling Process

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Fig. 6. Search Patterns for Each Data

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Fig. 7. An Example of a Schedule for a Professor

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Fig. 8. An Example of a Schedule for the Second Grade

Table 1. Number of Subject and Professor per Semester

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Table 2. The Result of Professors’ Satisfaction

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