Genetic programming - An Introduction: On the Automatic Evolution of Computer Programs and Its Applications - Hardcover

Wolfgang Banzhaf; Peter Nordin; Robert E. Kelller; Frank D. Francone

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3920993586 ISBN 13: 9783920993584

Publisher: Dpunkt-verlag, 1998

Synopsis

Imagine a world in which computers program other computers based on strategies borrowed from biology and natural selection. Genetic Programming: An Introduction explores fascinating possibilities like these in a thriving area of computer-science research. This research-quality book is for anyone who wants to see what genetic programming is and what it can offer the future of computing.

This text begins by situating genetic programming in terms of the history of computing and machine learning. Early sections show the links between Darwinism, molecular biology, and genetic programming. (Genetic programming uses the strategy of natural selection by solving a problem in successive iterations, which produces the "fittest" solution, much like new species evolve in the natural world.)

The authors present a lot of molecular-biology background since it is central to the genetic-programming project. (There are interesting parallels here. Just as our DNA contains inert information, programs developed using genetic algorithms usually contain many "extra" instructions, too--which often leads to bloated, though effective, code in the final product.) Even though this is extremely technical material, the authors do manage to engage the reader in the imaginative leap from Darwin and DNA to computers and the world of genetic programming.

Later chapters define what genetic programming is and what strategies it uses to let computers program themselves. The authors also examine the state of the art of genetic programming and define what problems need to be solved before it can be widely adopted. The amount of research in this section will mostly benefit specialists in the genetic-programming field.

A later chapter on applications that use genetic programming offers dozens of papers, with applications of this approach from a wide variety of fields, including biology, industry, and computers (and some impressive technologies such as robotics and data mining). Though the authors exaggerate somewhat on how "real world" these applications are, it's clear that genetic programming will continue to improve and find its way into more areas of computing--with even more productive results. Though coding by humans is safe for the foreseeable future, genetic programming offers an appealing alternative to some kinds of problems. --Richard V. Dragan

About this title

This text begins by situating genetic programming in terms of the history of computing and machine learning. Early sections show the links between Darwinism, molecular biology, and genetic programming. (Genetic programming uses the strategy of natural selection by solving a problem in successive iterations, which produces the "fittest" solution, much like new species evolve in the natural world.)

The authors present a lot of molecular-biology background since it is central to the genetic-programming project. (There are interesting parallels here. Just as our DNA contains inert information, programs developed using genetic algorithms usually contain many "extra" instructions, too--which often leads to bloated, though effective, code in the final product.) Even though this is extremely technical material, the authors do manage to engage the reader in the imaginative leap from Darwin and DNA to computers and the world of genetic programming.

Later chapters define what genetic programming is and what strategies it uses to let computers program themselves. The authors also examine the state of the art of genetic programming and define what problems need to be solved before it can be widely adopted. The amount of research in this section will mostly benefit specialists in the genetic-programming field.

A later chapter on applications that use genetic programming offers dozens of papers, with applications of this approach from a wide variety of fields, including biology, industry, and computers (and some impressive technologies such as robotics and data mining). Though the authors exaggerate somewhat on how "real world" these applications are, it's clear that genetic programming will continue to improve and find its way into more areas of computing--with even more productive results. Though coding by humans is safe for the foreseeable future, genetic programming offers an appealing alternative to some kinds of problems. --Richard V. Dragan

From the Back Cover

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"[The authors] have performed a remarkable double service with this excellent book on genetic programming. First, they give an up-to-date view of the rapidly growing field of automatic creation of computer programs by means of evolution and, second, they bring together their own innovative and formidable work on evolution of assembly language machine code and linear genomes."
--John R. Koza

Since the early 1990s, genetic programming (GP)―a discipline whose goal is to enable the automatic generation of computer programs―has emerged as one of the most promising paradigms for fast, productive software development. GP combines biological metaphors gleaned from Darwin's theory of evolution with computer-science approaches drawn from the field of machine learning to create programs that are capable of adapting or recreating themselves for open-ended tasks.

This unique introduction to GP provides a detailed overview of the subject and its antecedents, with extensive references to the published and online literature. In addition to explaining the fundamental theory and important algorithms, the text includes practical discussions covering a wealth of potential applications and real-world implementation techniques. Software professionals needing to understand and apply GP concepts will find this book an invaluable practical and theoretical guide.

Edition details

• Publisher: Dpunkt-verlag
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 3920993586
• ISBN 13: 9783920993584
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 470