Re: Shallow Or Deep Search?

["P.J.Leonard" <P.J.Leonard@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Dave Dyer wrote:
> 
> I've used deep search almost exclusively, although I have experimented
> with iterative deepening.   There are two big problems with shallow
> searches.
> 
> 1) Results from searches that are not "deep enough" give results of
> such poor quality, that they are tantamount to worthless.  Only when
> you read *some* definite answers (ie; "it's dead") do you get results
> that are reliable enough to usefully direct the next level of deepening.
> 
> 2) the overhead in generating, regenerating, and evaluating positions
> is substantial, so the cost of the shallow, indecisive searches with poor
> cutoffs is very substantial.  This is also why searches based on alternatatives
> to alpha-beta such as "proof numebr" search are problematic.  These other
> search strategies invariable require the search engine to be agile about
> switching fom one part of the tree to another.

 Sorry I am not sure about what you mean in (2), could you clarify ?
It could be that I do not think that agile switching is a problem 
but a feature of a good search engine ?


 many thanks Paul.