Consider a CSP model where changing the value of a particular variable is expensive. Is there any work where the objective function also considers the number of changes in the value of the variable during the search process?An example: The expensive-to-change variable may be in the control of some other agent and there is some overhead of involving that agent to change the variable. Another example: The variable participates in one of the constraints, and the satisfaction of this constraint involves calling an expensive function (such as, a simulator), e.g. $z = f(x, y)$ is the constraint, and $f$ is an expensive-to-compute function. Therefore, $x$ and $y$ are expensive-to-change variables.
In Constraint Programming, are there any models that take into account the number of variable changes?
algorithms;constraint programming