A survey on finite domain programming in Oz

This paper describes the finite domain system embedded in Oz, a higher-order concurrent constraint language with encapsulated search. The novel aspect of Oz described here is the integration of an efficient finite domain constraint solver with the cardinality operator and constructive disjunction in one programming system. This integration promises to be a platform for tackling combinatorial problems which is not available so far. Oz allows the user to program search strategies like best-solution search or resource-limited search (e.g. iterative deepening) and various variable labelling strategies. Indeterministic conditionals, disjunctions and reified constraints, which mirror the validity of a constraint into a variable, are the key for user-defined constraints