PlasmidPL: A plasmid-inspired language for genetic programming

Abstract

We present PlasmidPL, a plasmid-inspired programming language designed for Genetic Programming (GP), and based on a chemical metaphor. The basic data structures in PlasmidPL are circular virtual molecules or rings which may contain code and data. Rings may react with each other to perform computations on the rings themselves. A virtual chemical reactor stochastically chooses which reactions should occur and when. Code and data may be rewritten in the process, leading to a system that constantly modifies itself. In order to be closer to chemistry, PlasmidPL relies solely on the data and code stored in molecules. After describing the language, we show some hand-written sample programs that implement initial program generation, mutation and crossover within self-modifying chemical programs. These programs are then used to solve a typical symbolic regression problem, as a feasibility study. Finally, we discuss future directions into specific application scenarios that can benefit from such a chemical model. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.