# The Role of Macros in Tractable Planning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1401.3486 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1401.3486/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 15 Jan 2014.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Learning Sketches for Decomposing Planning Problems into Subproblems of Bounded Width: Extended Version](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.14852/) (2022)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This paper presents several new tractability results for planning based on macros. We describe an algorithm that optimally solves planning problems in a class that we call inverted tree reducible, and is provably tractable for several subclasses of this class. By using macros to store partial plans that recur frequently in the solution, the algorithm is polynomial in time and space even for exponentially long plans. We generalize the inverted tree reducible class in several ways and describe modifications of the algorithm to deal with these new classes. Theoretical results are validated in experiments.