I don't know how to state it elegantly, but basically, I want to implement a brute force search algorithm, but there are many different ways that I could enumerate through the search space. This might be naive of me, but I imagine that how I choose to enumerate through the search space could greatly affect whether or not my algorithm works well in practice.

Consider the following decision problem as a simplified example.

Input: A polynomial $p(x)$ with integer coefficients and a natural number $k$.

Question: Does there exist $i \in [k]$ such that $p(i) = 0$?

Now, there could be many different algorithms for solving this problem, but I decide to choose a brute force approach. Consider the following strategies for enumerating through the search space.

Ascending Strategy: I could check if $p(1)$ is 0, then $p(2)$, then $p(3)$, ..., until I find an $i$ such that $p(i) = 0$ or I try every $i \in [k]$.

Descending Strategy: I could check if $p(k)$ is 0, then $p(k-1)$, then $p(k-2)$, ..., until I find an $i$ such that $p(i) = 0$ or I try every $i \in [k]$.

Popularity Strategy: I could store a small list $L$ of most popular solutions and try those first before trying the numbers in $[k] - L$.

Sieve Strategy: I could do a sort of sieve enumeration. I try all numbers divisible by 2 in $[k]$, then numbers divisible by 3 in $[k]$, then 5, then 7, then 11, then 13, and so on. (Assuming that I have access to some large pre-computed list of primes.)

Randomness Strategy: Maybe there is an interesting enumeration strategy that utilizes a large string of random bits.

Basically, I'm looking to answer the following questions about brute force search algorithms:

Question A: Are there any benefits to choosing a specific enumeration strategy?

Question B: Are there any examples of search problems where in practice you would choose an interesting enumeration strategy? I feel like there may be some search problems where in practice a sort of Popularity Strategy is beneficial.

I don't know how to state it elegantly, but basically, I want to implement a brute force search algorithm, but there are many different ways that I could enumerate through the search space. This might be naive of me, but I imagine that how I choose to enumerate through the search space could greatly affect whether or not my algorithm works well in practice.

Consider the following decision problem as a simplified example.

Input: A polynomial $p(x)$ with integer coefficients and a natural number $k$.

Question: Does there exist $i \in [k]$ such that $p(i) = 0$?

Now, there could be many different algorithms for solving this problem, but I decide to choose a brute force approach. Consider the following strategies for enumerating through the search space.

Ascending Strategy: I could check if $p(1)$ is 0, then $p(2)$, then $p(3)$, ..., until I find an $i$ such that $p(i) = 0$ or I try every $i \in [k]$.

Descending Strategy: I could check if $p(k)$ is 0, then $p(k-1)$, then $p(k-2)$, ..., until I find an $i$ such that $p(i) = 0$ or I try every $i \in [k]$.

Popularity Strategy: I could store a small list $L$ of most popular solutions and try those first before trying the numbers in $[k] - L$.

Sieve Strategy: I could do a sort of sieve enumeration. I try all numbers divisible by 2 in $[k]$, then numbers divisible by 3 in $[k]$, then 5, then 7, then 11, then 13, and so on. (Assuming that I have access to some large pre-computed list of primes.)

Randomness Strategy: Maybe there is an interesting enumeration strategy that utilizes a large string of random bits.

Basically, I'm looking to answer the following questions about brute force search algorithms:

Question A: Are there any benefits to choosing a specific enumeration strategy?

Question B: Are there any examples of search problems where in practice you would choose an interesting enumeration strategy? I feel like there may be some search problems where in practice a variant of the Popularity Strategy works effectively.