PG211 > Constraint Logic Programming > ENSEIRB TimeTable Project

created 16 February 2009, last edition 24 March 2009

The goal of the project is to build a realistic tool for producing a timetable for a whole semester (possibly year) at ENSEIRB, taking into account
  • a precise calendar of a whole semester (fall semester, or spring semester),
  • students, of different year, specialty or option, groups (for TD, TP),
  • professors, with various fields of teaching, and teaching load,
  • classrooms of different kinds: theaters, rooms for TD, rooms with various level or kind of equipment.
The present project will start from experience gathered from a previous less ambitious CHIP project, given in 2002-2003 and 2006-2007. In this previous project, entitled Course Time Table Planner Project, the classroom resource was ignored, and time was restricted to a single week. A solution to this previous project will be discussed.

The new project will thus extend the previous one in two major directions:
  • from one week to a whole semester: it is desirable that, up to holidays, the timetable for a whole semester and a given module follow the same weekly pattern (same timeframes, same classroom);
  • take classroom resource into account.
In addition, emphasis will be put on graphic interface, using CHIP tools, such as XGIP or GAEL[LE], provided with CHIP release. Eventually, other methods, based on cooperation between the CHIP CLP solver, and a graphic interface, outside of CHIP, might be considered.

The class of 9 students will be organized in three teams of three students each:
  • Team 1: main work on Prolog/constraint aspects;
  • Team 2: work across Team 1 and Team 3;
  • Team 3: main work on graphic interface aspects.
Teams will collaborate (as in a PFA), with the aim of producing
  • a single and comprehensive report and CHIP library for all the class;
  • a single report and CHIP library for each team, with emphasis on the team specific contribution.
Evaluation will be based upon the above elements, a defence (including demos), and project management (during the course of the project). Evaluation of the work will be global within a team.