Chromosome (evolutionary algorithm): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:34, 7 December 2005

Revision as of 03:08, 2 February 2006

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:''for information on the chromosome in biology, see [[Chromosome]]''

In [[genetic algorithm]]s, a '''chromosome''' (also sometimes called a '''genome''') is a set of parameters which define a proposed solution to the problem that the genetic algorithm is trying to solve. The chromosome is often represented as a simple [[string#Mathematics and(computer Computer Sciencescience)|string]], although a wide variety of other [[data structure]]s are also in use as chromosomes.

A genetic algorithm creates many chromosomes, either randomly or by design, as an initial population. These chromosomes are each evaluated by the [[fitness function]], which ranks them according to how good their solution is. The chromosomes which produced the best solutions, relatively speaking within the population, are allowed to breed, called [[crossover (genetic algorithm)|crossover]]. The best chromosomes' data is mixed, hopefully producing a better next generation.