Decision Trees Decision trees are tree-shaped classification structures. For complex problems, decision trees can be quite large. Fitness Function A fitness function is a mathematical equation that describes the relative value of each member of a family of objects with respect to some criterion. A fitness landscape consists of a fitness function mapping objects in a search space according to their fitness, and a neighborhood relation defining neighboring objects in the search space. In biological contexts the neighboring objects are called mutants.
Fitness landscapes are an important aid to understanding optimization.
Gaussian Processes Gaussian processes are a relatively new approach to problems in supervised learning. They are computationally more efficient than neural networks when little data is available. Genetic Algorithms Genetic algorithms are a class of heuristic optimization methods and computational models of adaptation and evolution based on natural selection. This knowledge, which is encoded in the chromosomes of each member of a species, is passed from one generation to the next by a mating process in which the chromosomes of 'parents' produce 'offspring' chromosomes. Genetic algorithms mimic and exploit the genetic dynamics underlying natural evolution to search for optimal solutions to general combinatorial optimization problems.