How to Choose Appropriate Function Sets for Gentic Programming

Abstract

The choice of functions in a genetic program can have a significant effect on the GP's performance, but there have been no systematic studies of how to select functions to optimize performance. In this paper, we investigate how to choose appropriate function sets for general genetic programming problems. For each problem multiple functions sets are tested. The results show that functions can be classified into function groups of equivalent functions. The most appropriate function set for a problem is one that is optimally diverse; a set that includes one function from each function group. © Springer-Verlag 2004.