  The problem of finding global minima of nonlinear discrete functions arises
in many fields of practical matters. In recent years, methods based on discrete
filled functions become popular as ways of solving these sort of problems.
However, they rely on the steepest descent method for local searches. Here we
present an approach that does not depend on a particular local optimization
method, and a new discrete filled function with the useful property that a good
continuous global optimization algorithm applied to it leads to an
approximation of the solution of the nonlinear discrete problem. Numerical
results are given showing the efficiency of the new approach.
