Genetic Algorithms (GAs)

Genetic Algorithms (GAs) are adaptive heuristic search algorithm premised on the evolutionary ideas of natural selection and genetic. The basic concept of GAs is designed to simulate processes in natural system necessary for evolution. Genetic algorithms were formally introduced in the United States in the 1970s by John Holland at University of Michigan.



Genetic algorithms are one of the best ways to solve a problem for which little is known. They are a very general algorithm and so will work well in any search space. All you need to know is what you need the solution to be able to do well, and a genetic algorithm will be able to create a high quality solution. Genetic algorithms use the principles of selection and evolution to produce several solutions to a given problem.

Genetic algorithms tend to thrive in an environment in which there is a very large set of candidate solutions and in which the search space is uneven and has many hills and valleys. True, genetic algorithms will do well in any environment, but they will be greatly outclassed by more situation specific algorithms in the simpler search spaces. Therefore you must keep in mind that genetic algorithms are not always the best choice. Sometimes they can take quite a while to run and are therefore not always feasible for real time use. They are, however, one of the most powerful methods with which to (relatively) quickly create high quality solutions to a problem. Now, before we start, I'm going to provide you with some key terms so that this article makes sense.

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