Dynamic Pricing Algorithms for Online Set Cover

TL;DR

This paper explores dynamic pricing strategies for the online set cover problem, introducing a framework where servers set resource prices and clients choose resources to minimize their disutility, leading to new algorithmic insights.

Contribution

It categorizes online algorithms that can be implemented via dynamic pricing and identifies a strongly competitive deterministic algorithm based on input frequency.

Findings

Categorization of online algorithms compatible with dynamic pricing

Identification of a strongly competitive deterministic algorithm

Framework for resource pricing in online set cover

Abstract

We consider dynamic pricing algorithms as applied to the online set cover problem. In the dynamic pricing framework, we assume the standard client server model with the additional constraint that the server can only place prices over the resources they maintain, rather than authoritatively assign them. In response, incoming clients choose the resource which minimizes their disutility when taking into account these additional prices. Our main contributions are the categorization of online algorithms which can be mimicked via dynamic pricing algorithms and the identification of a strongly competitive deterministic algorithm with respect to the frequency parameter of the online set cover input.