[DISCUSSION] Game Tree vs. Pattern Matching

[Mousheng Xu <xu@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Smart Guys,

	I am having a hard time in deciding whether I need to build a game tree or
a pattern matching database. Here are the comparisions of a few aspects
between game tree (assume min-max) & pattern matching.

		GAME TREE		PATTERN MATCHING
Space:		much smaller		much bigger
Efficiency:	log(n)			log(n)
History:	sensitive		insensitive
Time:		dynamic		static

	As you can see from the above, a game tree is smaller, but you've got to
know the play history. Otherwise you don't know how to traverse your tree.
Pattern matching does not care about the play history, it only cares about
the current board configuration. The board configuration, theoretically, is
the only informatjion you need to make your decisions about the next step.
So, it seems pattern matching is more natural. But the problem is that it
takes a lot more space.
	What is your strategy and how do you think about the pros and cons?
	Thanks a lot.

-- Mousheng Xu