What is constraint programming?

Constraint programming is a computational paradigm used to solve complex combinatorial problems by specifying constraints that need to be satisfied. Instead of outlining a step-by-step procedure, you define the properties a solution must have, and the constraint solver finds solutions that meet these requirements. It's commonly applied in scheduling, planning, resource allocation, and other optimization tasks. This method is widely used in fields like operations research, artificial intelligence, and computer science to efficiently tackle problems that are otherwise hard to solve.