Random heuristic search: applications to GAs and functions of unitation

Describing a wide range of search methods at various levels of detail, the theory of random heuristic search speaks of their qualitative and quantitative aspects. This paper begins by outlining the theory, reviewing some of the more basic principles and results, and then goes on to illustrate its application by presenting both fine-grained and coarse-grained models for a genetic algorithm applied to functions of unitation. Particular emphasis is given to the interrelationships between the models.