- Tree Search methods : systematically search the space of assignments in a constructive way.
- Start with an empty assignment.
- Assign a value to an unassigned variable and deal with constraints on the way until a solution is found.
- But what if the space is too big and even infinite, so in any reasonable time, systematic search may fail to consider enough of the space to give any meaningful results.
- Local Search methods: not systematically search the space but design to find solutions quickly on average.
- Start with a (arbitrary) complete assignment; constraints can be violated.
- Try to improve the assignment iteratively.