Genetic Programming: On the Programming of Computers by Means of Natural Selection (Complex Adaptive Systems) [Hardcover]

John R. Koza (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 11, 1992 | ISBN-10: 0262111705 | ISBN-13: 978-0262111706 | Edition: 1

Genetic programming may be more powerful than neural networks and other machine learning techniques, able to solve problems in a wider range of disciplines. In this ground-breaking book, John Koza shows how this remarkable paradigm works and provides substantial empirical evidence that solutions to a great variety of problems from many different fields can be found by genetically breeding populations of computer programs. Genetic Programming contains a great many worked examples and includes a sample computer code that will allow readers to run their own programs.In getting computers to solve problems without being explicitly programmed, Koza stresses two points: that seemingly different problems from a variety of fields can be reformulated as problems of program induction, and that the recently developed genetic programming paradigm provides a way to search the space of possible computer programs for a highly fit individual computer program to solve the problems of program induction. Good programs are found by evolving them in a computer against a fitness measure instead of by sitting down and writing them.John R. Koza is Consulting Associate Professor in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The research reported in this book is a tour de force. For the first time, since the idea was bandied about in the '40s and early '50s, we have a non-trivial, nontailored set of examples of automatic programming." John Holland

About the Author

John R. Koza is Consulting Professor in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 840 pages
• Publisher: A Bradford Book; 1 edition (December 11, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262111705
• ISBN-13: 978-0262111706
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 2 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #879,984 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The essential reference for GP July 4, 2002

By "smokey_joe"

Format:Hardcover

Yeah, its a big book...weighs a ton. However, only the first few chapters are concerned with the basic mechanisms of GP (should be familiar to anyone with a background in genetic algorithms or evolutionary computation). The rest of the book is chock full of examples on how to apply GP. These examples are essential and very welcome. I've found that I can usually find a solved problem in Koza that is similar to what I'm after, then I adapt it to my needs. This is a great reference, but don't be fooled into thinking this book is a tutorial. Think of it more as an exposition of GP with examples. For a tutorial, look somewhere else.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Weighty tome that shows a possible future direction for CS. October 7, 1996

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

The short history of computer science as a discipline has
had two major concerns: the production of programs that are
provably efficient, and the production of programs that are
provably correct. "Genetic Programming" is, possibly, the beginning
of a third stream in CS, the production of programs that are possibly
neither efficient nor correct, but
"fit" to perform a given task.

A strange idea to computer scientists, perhaps, but consider
the analogy with living creatures. Is a shark, a bee, or a
turtle either "efficient" or "correct"? Perhaps, perhaps
not; there doesn't seem to be a way to measure these concepts
for something as complex as a living species. But they are
"fit." They've been successful, as species, in their respective
ecological niches for millions of years.

Koza's big idea is the automatic generation of programs
via mutation and selection, by analogy with living systems,
and he's written a big book to go with the big idea (819 pages).
Demonstrating creation of non-trivial programs by means of
simulated mutation & selection is a major accomplishment.
I'd rate the promise of this line of research as high, given
that compute power becomes cheaper every year while human
brain power becomes more expensive. Also, natural systems
are resilient and adaptive to changes in the environment,
while man-made software systems are all too fragile. This
observation leads to the hope that "fit" programs may increase
the robustness of the the computer networks on which so
much now depends.

One quibble: there is a thin book inside this fat book, trying to get out.
The thin book would make the research more accessible to
the average practicing programmer. Until such a "reader's
edition" comes out, "Genetic Programming" is a unique
resource volume.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction. July 11, 2006

By Casey Wireman

Format:Hardcover

I became interested in Genetic Programming after hearing one of the professors at our university lecture on it to a small group of students and other professors. I asked what book might be a good starting point and he pointed me here and i'm glad he did.

This first volume in the Genetic Programming series of books by Koza is very well organized and clear in its explanations. I have not tried the techniques presented yet, but I have some good ideas on how to proceed. The author uses LISP as the language of choice in the book, but practically any modern language should be sufficient.

If you have any interest in Genetic Programming, I encourage you to at least pick up this first volume and read through it. This technology is still relatively new and the application of the techniques seems virtually limitless.