Expert-Based Method of Integrated Waste Management Systems for Developing Fuzzy Cognitive Map - Complex System Modelling and Control Through Intelligent Soft Computations - page 122

(to randomly explore the various points of the search space) and exploitation (to
combine the already available good sub-solutions to get even better solution of the
problem).
The genetic algorithm (GA) (Goldberg 1989 ) was developed by John Holland
and his students. They created this algorithm originally to examine to properties of
selection and adaptation (Holland 1975 ), to give a mathematical description of these
phenomena, and to model it with computers. Later it became a popular optimisation
technique.
The list of possible, candidate solutions is called population in GA

s method-
ology. The elements of the population are called individuals or phenotypes. Every
individual has a set of properties, the chromosome or genotype. The individuals can
be represented e.g. with bit strings or

'

fl floating point numbers as well, depending on

the speci c problem. GA works in the following way (see Fig. 2 ). At first, it

Fig. 2 Flow chart of the GA