Report Number: 	CSM-262
Report Title: 	Comparing CSP algorithms without considering variable
		ordering heuristics can be misleading
Authors:	Alvin C. M. Kwan & Edward P. K. Tsang


				Abstract

Many new algorithms for solving constraint satisfaction problems have been
proposed in recent years.  Their performance is usually compared with some
other algorithms by measuring the number of compatibility checks or the 
cpu time that the algorithms need for solving a predetermined set of problems.
There are some studies which compare algorithms without using any variable
ordering heuristics.  We argue that evaluating algorithms without considering
their combinations with variable orering heuristic could produce misleading
results.  We advocate that algorithm-heuristic combinations should be
compared instead of algorithms alone.