Generalized Assignment and Knapsack Problems in the Random-Order Model

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Klimm, Max, Knaack, Martin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Klimm, Max
Knaack, Martin
author_facet Klimm, Max
Knaack, Martin
contents We study different online optimization problems in the random-order model. There is a finite set of bins with known capacity and a finite set of items arriving in a random order. Upon arrival of an item, its size and its value for each of the bins is revealed and it has to be decided immediately and irrevocably to which bin the item is assigned, or to not assign the item at all. In this setting, an algorithm is $α$-competitive if the total value of all items assigned to the bins is at least an $α$-fraction of the total value of an optimal assignment that knows all items beforehand. We give an algorithm that is $α$-competitive with $α= (1-\ln(2))/2 \approx 1/6.52$ improving upon the previous best algorithm with $α\approx 1/6.99$ for the generalized assignment problem and the previous best algorithm with $α\approx 1/6.65$ for the integral knapsack problem. We then study the fractional knapsack problem where we have a single bin and it is also allowed to pack items fractionally. For that case, we obtain an algorithm that is $α$-competitive with $α= 1/e \approx 1/2.71$ improving on the previous best algorithm with $α= 1/4.39$. We further show that this competitive ratio is the best-possible for deterministic algorithms in this model.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_01486
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Generalized Assignment and Knapsack Problems in the Random-Order Model
Klimm, Max
Knaack, Martin
Data Structures and Algorithms
Optimization and Control
We study different online optimization problems in the random-order model. There is a finite set of bins with known capacity and a finite set of items arriving in a random order. Upon arrival of an item, its size and its value for each of the bins is revealed and it has to be decided immediately and irrevocably to which bin the item is assigned, or to not assign the item at all. In this setting, an algorithm is $α$-competitive if the total value of all items assigned to the bins is at least an $α$-fraction of the total value of an optimal assignment that knows all items beforehand. We give an algorithm that is $α$-competitive with $α= (1-\ln(2))/2 \approx 1/6.52$ improving upon the previous best algorithm with $α\approx 1/6.99$ for the generalized assignment problem and the previous best algorithm with $α\approx 1/6.65$ for the integral knapsack problem. We then study the fractional knapsack problem where we have a single bin and it is also allowed to pack items fractionally. For that case, we obtain an algorithm that is $α$-competitive with $α= 1/e \approx 1/2.71$ improving on the previous best algorithm with $α= 1/4.39$. We further show that this competitive ratio is the best-possible for deterministic algorithms in this model.
title Generalized Assignment and Knapsack Problems in the Random-Order Model
topic Data Structures and Algorithms
Optimization and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.01486