Evolutionary Algorithms in Theory and Practice: Evolution Strategies, Evolutionary Programming, Genetic Algorithms

Hardcover
from $0.00

Author: Thomas Back

ISBN-10: 0195099710

ISBN-13: 9780195099713

Category: Programming - General & Miscellaneous

This book presents a unified view of evolutionary algorithms: the exciting new probabilistic search tools inspired by biological models that have immense potential as practical problem-solvers in a wide variety of settings,\ academic, commercial, and industrial. In this work, the author compares the three most prominent representatives of evolutionary algorithms: genetic algorithms, evolution strategies, and evolutionary programming. The algorithms are presented within a unified framework,...

Search in google:

This book presents a unified view of evolutionary algorithms: the exciting new probabilistic search tools inspired by biological models that have immense potential as practical problem-solvers in a wide variety of settings, academic, commercial, and industrial. In this work, the author compares the three most prominent representatives of evolutionary algorithms: genetic algorithms, evolution strategies, and evolutionary programming. The algorithms are presented within a unified framework, thereby clarifying the similarities and differences of these methods. The author also presents new results regarding the role of mutation and selection in genetic algorithms, showing how mutation seems to be much more important for the performance of genetic algorithms than usually assumed. The interaction of selection and mutation, and the impact of the binary code are further topics of interest. Some of the theoretical results are also confirmed by performing an experiment in meta-evolution on a parallel computer. The meta-algorithm used in this experiment combines components from evolution strategies and genetic algorithms to yield a hybrid capable of handling mixed integer optimization problems. As a detailed description of the algorithms, with practical guidelines for usage and implementation, this work will interest a wide range of researchers in computer science and engineering disciplines, as well as graduate students in these fields.

Introduction11Organic Evolution and Problem Solving72Specific Evolutionary Algorithms633Artificial Landscapes1374An Empirical Comparison1495Selection1636Mutation1977An Experiment in Meta-Evolution233Summary and Outlook257App. A Data for the Fletcher-Powell Function265App. B Data from Selection Experiments269App. C Software275App. D The Multiprocessor Environment285App. E Mathematical Symbols289Bibliography293Index307