BOOLEAN OPERATOR Logical operators, such as AND or OR, that form expressions with binary
values, denoted 'true' and 'false', or 1 and 0.
DATA STRUCTURE An organized collection of data, such as a list, tree, or array.
EMBRYONIC INDIVIDUAL A simple individual which is transformed into a more complex one by applying
instructions evolved in a grammatical or developmental genetic programme.
EVOLUTIONARY ROBOTICS Using evolutionary computation to design robots or robot controllers.
FINITE (STATE) AUTOMATA A finite state machine is one that takes a sequence of input 'letters'
(symbols, inputs), and begins in a 'start state', then repeatedly reads one
input letter, optionally outputs a letter and moves to a new state.
FITNESS FUNCTION A function that measures the quality of an individual with respect to the
given target function, usually as a real value.
GENE A field in a chromosome, usually associated with a single parameter (allele)
in the target problem.
HILL CLIMBING Varying a chromosome by searching explicitly for small changes that improve
the fitness of the individual, and then making those changes.
INTRON Data in chromosomes that do not contribute to fitness.
MACHINE CODE Instructions for a particular computer, expressed in directly machine-readable
form.
MACROMUTATION Any large change in alleles that does not involve recombination.
OPERATORS Processes that act on chromosomes, including selection, mutation and recombination.
PARSIMONY PRESSURE Selective fitness advantage for smaller genomes.
PERMUTATION An ordered arrangement of distinct items.
REPRESENTATION PROBLEM Decision on how to organize data in individuals, and the choice of variation
and recombination operators that work well with that organization.
SELF-ADAPTATION The ability of an individual to alter the evolutionary processes that affect
its genotype through the use of strategy parameters.
