Journal of the Operations Research Society of China ›› 2026, Vol. 14 ›› Issue (2): 489-501.doi: 10.1007/s40305-024-00541-4

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A Best Possible Online Algorithm for Single-Machine Scheduling with Non-delayed Processing Constraint and Bounded Delivery Times

Yan-Jun Qu, Ji Tian, Ru-Yan Fu, Kai-Jie Ge   

  1. School of Mathematics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, Jiangsu, China
  • Received:2023-10-23 Revised:2024-03-11 Online:2026-06-30 Published:2026-07-06
  • Contact: Ji Tian E-mail:jitian@cumt.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    This paper was supported by Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 62333016).

Abstract: We investigate the problem of the online scheduling with non-delayed processing constraint and bounded delivery times on a single machine where jobs arrive over time. The non-delayed processing (NDP) constraint means that the available jobs cannot be delayed for processing when a machine is idle. Each job's information, such as processing time and delivery time, becomes known at its release time. Once the processing of a job is completed on the machine, we deliver it to the destination by a vehicle. The objective is to minimize the time by which all jobs have been delivered. In this paper, we assume that all jobs have bounded delivery times, i.e., $\beta q_j \leqslant p_j$ for each job $J_j$, where $p_j$ and $q_j$ denote the processing time and delivery time of $J_j$, respectively, and $\beta$ is a given non-negative real number. We present a best possible online algorithm with a competitive ratio of $1+\frac{1}{\beta+2}$.

Key words: Online scheduling, NDP constraint, Bounded delivery times, Competitive ratio

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