Genetic Programming: Theory and Practice

Abstract

In 2003 the Center for Complex Studies (CSCS) of theUniversity of Michigan organised the first GeneticProgramming Theory and Practice Workshop to bringtogether practitioners and theorists to bridge the gapbetween what practicioners were doing and whattheorists were studying. In the introductory chapter ofthat volume the authors described Genetic Programming(GP) as a young art that is just beginning to make itsway into applications programming in a serious way(Riolo and Worzel, 2004). Five years later GP is stilla relatively young field, but it is rapidly maturingand has produced a substantial track record ofsignificant successes on large-scale, real worldapplications. However, these successes are stillgenerally achieved by researchers with significantexpert knowledge of GP; successful application of GP tolarge scale problems remains out of the reach ofnovices. The lack of a rigorous, detailed theory thatis mature enough to guide the development of GP systemsto solve specific problems contributes to thisweakness. Thus, there remains an on-going need to bothstrengthen theory and to keep it closely tied to thepractice of GP. The Genetic Programming Theory andPractice Workshops remain focused on this goal.