Improvements on the applicability of nonlinear constraint solvers

Nonlinear constraints over the real numbers appear in many application domains, like chemistry, economics or computer graphics. Their use in Constraint Logic Programming environments have thusfar been quite limited, because of a combination of performance issues and commercial considerations. This research aims at improving the practical applicability of nonlinear constraints in a CLP environment. We focus in particular on interval-based constraint solving techniques. This paper presents our research goals, our current results and ideas for future work.status: publishe