Interactive Bin Packing: A Java Application for Learning Constructive Heuristics for Combinatorial Optimization
Vincent A. Cicirello
Journal of Open Source Education, 5(49), Article 140, . doi:10.21105/jose.00140
Abstract
Interactive Bin Packing provides a self-guided tutorial on combinatorial optimization, the bin packing problem, and constructive heuristics. It also enables users to interact with bin packing instances to explore their own problem solving strategies, or to test their knowledge of the constructive heuristics covered by the tutorial. The application is not a solver for bin packing, but rather it is a tool for learning about the bin packing problem, and for learning about heuristic techniques for solving instances of the problem.
The repository (https://github.com/cicirello/InteractiveBinPacking) contains the source code, documentation, and example assignments suitable for courses on discrete mathematics, algorithms, or artificial intelligence (AI), or by self-directed learners. An executable jar of the application is available from GitHub Releases and Maven Central.