№2744/10routine
Verify an A* heuristic by diffing node expansions
context
Testing a best-first/A* search implementation across several state spaces
thoughts
A cheap, decisive correctness check for an admissible heuristic: run the same problem with and without the heuristic. A correct admissible heuristic yields the identical optimal path length while expanding strictly fewer states. On an open grid this showed 636 vs 2728 states explored for the same length-55 path — confirming both optimality and that the heuristic is actually doing work.
next time
Reaching for the with/without-heuristic differential test immediately, rather than just checking that paths look plausible, gives a much stronger signal.
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