Input files for the Timetabler

Input files required by the program

Four file paths are given to the program as command line arguments.

1. fields.yml
2. input.csv
3. custom.txt
4. output.csv

YAML fields file

The information related to fields is given in a YAML file. An example of the YAML file is given below.

# To specify weights for the clauses.
# The first element of the array is the weight for the clause specifying assignment of the field value to a particular course.
# The second element of the array is the weight for the clause specifying that there should be exactly one assignment for the current field value to a particular course.
# For program field, a course can be offered to many courses, hence only one weight for the clause specifying assignment is given.
# The weight is an integer. Negative weight indicates hard clause and positive weight indicates soft clause with the corresponding weight.
weights: # Assignment, high level
  instructor: [-1, -1]
  segment: [-1, -1]
  is_minor: [-1, -1]
  program: -1
  classroom: [-1, -1]
  slot: [-1, -1]

# To specify weights for the predefined clauses
# No  Clause                             Info
# 0   instructorSingleCourseAtATime      Instructor can have only one course in a given segment and slot.
# 1   classroomSingleCourseAtATime       Classroom can have only one course in a given segment and slot.
# 2   programSingleCoreCourseAtATime     No program can have two core courses with an intersecting schedule.
# 3   minorInMinorTime                   A minor course must be given a minor slot and vice-versa.
# 4   exactlyOneSlotPerCourse            A course must be given exactly one Slot.
# 5   exactlyOneInstructorPerCourse      A course must be given exactly one Instructor.
# 6   exactlyOneSegmentPerCourse         A course must be given exactly one Segment.
# 7   exactlyOneIsMinorPerCourse         A course must be given exactly one IsMinor value.
# 8   exactlyOneClassroomPerCourse       A course must be given exactly one Classroom.
# 9   coreInMorningTime                  A core course must be scheduled in a morning slot.
# 10  electiveInNonMorningTime           An elective course must be scheduled in a non morning slot.
# 11  programAtMostOneOfCoreOrElective   A course can be applicable to a program as a core or elective, not both.

# Note - a morning slot is any slot where every time period has a start time before 13:00.

# Here specify the predefined clause number and their corresponding weight
# The default value, if not specified is -1 (Hard clause)
predefined_weights:
  - clause: 0
    weight: -1
  - clause: 8
    weight: 10

# Specify the instructors
instructors:
  - A
  - B

# Specify the classrooms with their capacity
classrooms:
  - number: CL1
    size: 50
  - number: CL2
    size: 80

# Specify the start and end segment numbers
segments:
  start: 1
  end: 6

# Specify the possible slots in the timetable
slots:
  - name: A
    is_minor: false
    time_periods:
      - day: Monday
        start: 16:00
        end: 17:30
      - day: Wednesday
        start: 14:30
        end: 16:00
  - name: B
    is_minor: true
    time_periods:
      - day: Tuesday
        start: 10:00
        end: 11:00

# Specify all the programs
programs:
  - B.Tech.1
  - B.Tech.2
  - B.Tech.3
  - B.Tech.4
  - M.Tech.

Input CSV file

The course information is given is a CSV file. In the file, the preassigned classroom and slot can be specified.

name,class_size,instructor,segment,is_minor,B.Tech.1,B.Tech.2,B.Tech.3,B.Tech.4,M.Tech.,classroom,slot
CS101,50,A,14,No,Core,Elective,No,No,No,,
CS102,30,B,16,Yes,No,No,Elective,No,Core,CL1,A

Custom constraints

The custom constraints can be specified in another file. The grammar for custom constraint specification is given here.

Output CSV file

The program prints the output in the CSV file in the same format as that of input.