Searching graphs with A*: applications to job sequencing

The best-first search algorithm A* allows search graphs that are trees, directed acyclic graphs or directed graphs with cycles. In real life applications of A* the search graph is generally implemented as a tree. It is shown here that for certain well known one-machine job sequencing problems that arise in job shops, graph search is much faster than best-first tree search when problem instances are of small and medium size. Moreover, graph search uses less memory and so is able to solve larger problems. Depth-first search needs little memory, and is therefore capable in principle of solving problems of arbitrary size, but is slower than graph search by orders of magnitude for the examples that were studied.