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backtracking

A Dictionary of Computing | 2004 | 428 words | Copyright

backtracking A property of an algorithm that implies some kind of tentative search for a goal, and the possibility that any search path may turn out to be a dead end; the algorithm then retreats back down the search path to try another path. The technique is generally suitable for solving problems where a potentially large but finite number of solutions have to be inspected. It amounts to a systematic tree search, bottom-up.

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