Several methods of selecting parent chromosomes exist. Based on prior experience, this study uses a ranked based selection scheme based on the fitness of individual chromosomes. The study of crossover operators has been a particularly prolific area of GA research. This study utilizes a simple crossover function in which a location on the chromosome is randomly selected and new chromosomes are created by taking the gene values from the beginning of the gene to this location from parent 1 and the balance from the location to the end of the gene from the parent 2. Two new chromosomes are created during this process by allowing each of the selected chromosomes to be the first or second parent.
Random error is introduced to mimic the effects of nature on existing lifeforms.
Basically the swap mutation function selects two genes on a chromosome and swaps their values. The final step in the evolutionary process is to insert the new chromosome in the population. As the population is a fixed size the least fit chromosome in the population is selected to be replaced. This replacement strategy is inherently elitist and often has the effect of forcing premature convergence. Preliminary testing does not seem to show premature convergence in this case.