[tman]

I have the feeling you're not a programmer. An algorithm that generates the optimal solution for a given configuration is trivial. Do a breadth-first search of the results of each move until you get to a solved cube. Ta da, you're done!

Now, if you want to do it fast, that's a different story.

[Confusion]

An algorithm that could find the optimal solution in practice. For instance, in 0.36s, as in the article. A theoretical algorithm that finds the optimal solution is trivial; you don't need to be a programmer to come up with that one.