Application of mathematical constraint resolution to decision support system

It is shown how a mathematical constraint resolution (MATHCORE) system can be used to design a better decision support system. MATHCORE not only has the flexibility of expressing mathematical equations within a logic programming paradigm in a natural way, but also has an ability to deal with systems of nonlinear equations, regression analysis, and optimization problems. While most existing constraint logic programming systems try to devise their own constraint solvers and are confined to systems of linear equations and simple nonlinear functions, the MATHCORE removes this limitation by directly taking advantage of well-developed numerical methods available in the mathematical libraries. With MATHCORE, complex decision optimization models can be embedded in a rule-based decision support system. Using this methodology, it is demonstrated that the interactions among various economic factors in a housing market can be stated in the program body, while various (optimization) goals of social welfare can be expressed as queries.