Scheduling, vehicle routing and timetabling are all examples of constraint problems, and methods to solve them rely on the idea of constraint propagation and search. This book meets the need for a modern, multidisciplinary introduction to the field that covers foundations and applications. Written by Krzysztof Apt, an authority on the subject, it will be welcomed by graduate students and professionals. With the insertion of constraint techniques into programming environments, new developments have accelerated the solution process. Constraint programming combines ideas from artificial intelligence, programming languages, databases, and operational research.