Hands-On Genetic Algorithms with Python

Combinatorial Optimization

In this chapter, you will learn how genetic algorithms can be utilized in combinatorial optimization applications. We will start by describing search problems and combinatorial optimization, and outline several hands-on examples of combinatorial optimization problems. We will then analyze each of these problems and match them with a Python-based solution using the DEAP framework. The optimization problems we will cover are the well-known knapsack problem, the traveling salesman problem (TSP), and the vehicle routing problem (VRP). As a bonus, we will cover the topics of genotype-to-phenotype mapping and exploration versus exploitation.

In this chapter, you will do the following:

• Understand the nature of search ...