From the Publisher:

"This is the best general book on Genetic Algorithms written to date. It covers background, history, and motivation; it selects important, informative examples of applications and discusses the use of Genetic Algorithms in scientific models; and it gives a good account of the status of the theory of Genetic Algorithms. Best of all the book presents its material in clear, straightforward, felicitous prose, accessible to anyone with a college-level scientific background. If you want a broad, solid understanding of Genetic Algorithms -- where they came from, what's being done with them, and where they are going -- this is the book.
-- John H. Holland, Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, and Professor of Psychology, The University of Michigan; External Professor, the Santa Fe Institute. 
Genetic algorithms have been used in science and engineering as adaptive algorithms for solving practical problems and as computational models of natural evolutionary systems. This brief, accessible introduction describes some of the most interesting research in the field and also enables readers to implement and experiment with genetic algorithms on their own. It focuses in depth on a small set of important and interesting topics -- particularly in machine learning, scientific modeling, and artificial life -- and reviews a broad span of research, including the work of Mitchell and her colleagues. 
The descriptions of applications and modeling projects stretch beyond the strict boundaries of computer science to include dynamical systems theory, game theory, molecular biology, ecology, evolutionary biology, and population genetics, underscoring the exciting "general purpose" nature of genetic algorithms as search methods that can be employed across disciplines. 
An Introduction to Genetic Algorithms is accessible to students and researchers in any scientific discipline. It includes many thought and computer exercises that build on and reinforce the reader's understanding of the text. 
The first chapter introduces genetic algorithms and their terminology and describes two provocative applications in detail. The second and third chapters look at the use of genetic algorithms in machine learning (computer programs, data analysis and prediction, neural networks) and in scientific models (interactions among learning, evolution, and culture; sexual selection; ecosystems; evolutionary activity). Several approaches to the theory of genetic algorithms are discussed in depth in the fourth chapter. The fifth chapter takes up implementation, and the last chapter poses some currently unanswered questions and surveys prospects for the future of evolutionary computation.

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An Introduction to Genetic Algorithms

The second edition of this book continues to pursue the question: what is the most efficient way to pack a large number of equal spheres in n-dimensional Euclidean space? The authors also continue to examine related problems such as the kissing number problem, the covering problem, the quantizing problem, and the classification of lattices and quadratic forms. Like the first edition, the second edition describes the applications of these questions to other areas of mathematics and science such as number theory, coding theory, group theory, analog-to-digital conversion and data compression, n-dimensional crystallography, and dual theory and superstring theory in physics.

Sphere packings, lattices, and groups

Computational geometry is concerned with the design and analysis of algorithms for geometrical problems. In addition, other more practically oriented, areas of computer science— such as computer graphics, computer-aided design, robotics, pattern recognition, and operations research—give rise to problems that inherently are geometrical. This is one reason computational geometry has attracted enormous research interest in the past decade and is a well-established area today. (For standard sources, we refer to the survey article by Lee and Preparata [19841 and to the textbooks by Preparata and Shames [1985] and Edelsbrunner [1987bl.) Readers familiar with the literature of computational geometry will have noticed, especially in the last few years, an increasing interest in a geometrical construct called the Voronoi diagram. This trend can also be observed in combinatorial geometry and in a considerable number of articles in natural science journals that address the Voronoi diagram under different names specific to the respective area. Given some number of points in the plane, their Voronoi diagram divides the plane according to the nearest-neighbor

Voronoi diagrams—a survey of a fundamental geometric data structure

A vector quantizer is a system for mapping a sequence of continuous or discrete vectors into a digital sequence suitable for communication over or storage in a digital channel. The goal of such a system is data compression: to reduce the bit rate so as to minimize communication channel capacity or digital storage memory requirements while maintaining the necessary fidelity of the data. The mapping for each vector may or may not have memory in the sense of depending on past actions of the coder, just as in well established scalar techniques such as PCM, which has no memory, and predictive quantization, which does. Even though information theory implies that one can always obtain better performance by coding vectors instead of scalars, scalar quantizers have remained by far the most common data compression system because of their simplicity and good performance when the communication rate is sufficiently large. In addition, relatively few design techniques have existed for vector quantizers. During the past few years several design algorithms have been developed for a variety of vector quantizers and the performance of these codes has been studied for speech waveforms, speech linear predictive parameter vectors, images, and several simulated random processes. It is the purpose of this article to survey some of these design techniques and their applications.

Vector quantization

Preface 1 Introduction 1.1 Compression Techniques 1.1.1 Lossless Compression 1.1.2 Lossy Compression 1.1.3 Measures of Performance 1.2 Modeling and Coding 1.3 Organization of This Book 1.4 Summary 1.5 Projects and Problems 2 Mathematical Preliminaries 2.1 Overview 2.2 A Brief Introduction to Information Theory 2.3 Models 2.3.1 Physical Models 2.3.2 Probability Models 2.3.3. Markov Models 2.3.4 Summary 2.5 Projects and Problems 3 Huffman Coding 3.1 Overview 3.2 "Good" Codes 3.3. The Huffman Coding Algorithm 3.3.1 Minimum Variance Huffman Codes 3.3.2 Length of Huffman Codes 3.3.3 Extended Huffman Codes 3.4 Nonbinary Huffman Codes 3.5 Adaptive Huffman Coding 3.5.1 Update Procedure 3.5.2 Encoding Procedure 3.5.3 Decoding Procedure 3.6 Applications of Huffman Coding 3.6.1 Lossless Image Compression 3.6.2 Text Compression 3.6.3 Audio Compression 3.7 Summary 3.8 Projects and Problems 4 Arithmetic Coding 4.1 Overview 4.2 Introduction 4.3 Coding a Sequence 4.3.1 Generating a Tag 4.3.2 Deciphering the Tag 4.4 Generating a Binary Code 4.4.1 Uniqueness and Efficiency of the Arithmetic Code 4.4.2 Algorithm Implementation 4.4.3 Integer Implementation 4.5 Comparison of Huffman and Arithmetic Coding 4.6 Applications 4.6.1 Bi-Level Image Compression-The JBIG Standard 4.6.2 Image Compression 4.7 Summary 4.8 Projects and Problems 5 Dictionary Techniques 5.1 Overview 5.2 Introduction 5.3 Static Dictionary 5.3.1 Diagram Coding 5.4 Adaptive Dictionary 5.4.1 The LZ77 Approach 5.4.2 The LZ78 Approach 5.5 Applications 5.5.1 File Compression-UNIX COMPRESS 5.5.2 Image Compression-the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) 5.5.3 Compression over Modems-V.42 bis 5.6 Summary 5.7 Projects and Problems 6 Lossless Image Compression 6.1 Overview 6.2 Introduction 6.3 Facsimile Encoding 6.3.1 Run-Length Coding 6.3.2 CCITT Group 3 and 4-Recommendations T.4 and T.6 6.3.3 Comparison of MH, MR, MMR, and JBIG 6.4 Progressive Image Transmission 6.5 Other Image Compression Approaches 6.5.1 Linear Prediction Models 6.5.2 Context Models 6.5.3 Multiresolution Models 6.5.4 Modeling Prediction Errors 6.6 Summary 6.7 Projects and Problems 7 Mathematical Preliminaries 7.1 Overview 7.2 Introduction 7.3 Distortion Criteria 7.3.1 The Human Visual System 7.3.2 Auditory Perception 7.4 Information Theory Revisted 7.4.1 Conditional Entropy 7.4.2 Average Mutual Information 7.4.3 Differential Entropy 7.5 Rate Distortion Theory 7.6 Models 7.6.1 Probability Models 7.6.2 Linear System Models 7.6.3 Physical Models 7.7 Summary 7.8 Projects and Problems 8 Scalar Quantization 8.1 Overview 8.2 Introduction 8.3 The Quantization Problem 8.4 Uniform Quantizer 8.5 Adaptive Quantization 8.5.1 Forward Adaptive Quantization 8.5.2 Backward Adaptive Quantization 8.6 Nonuniform Quantization 8.6.1 pdf-Optimized Quantization 8.6.2 Companded Quantization 8.7 Entropy-Coded Quantization 8.7.1 Entropy Coding of Lloyd-Max Quantizer Outputs 8.7.2 Entropy-Constrained Quantization 8.7.3 High-Rate Optimum Quantization 8.8 Summary 8.9 Projects and Problems 9 Vector Quantization 9.1 Overview 9.2 Introduction 9.3 Advantages of Vector Quantization over Scalar Quantization 9.4 The Linde-Buzo-Gray Algorithm 9.4.1 Initializing the LBG Algorithm 9.4.2 The Empty Cell Problem 9.4.3 Use of LBG for Image Compression 9.5 Tree-Structured Vector Quantizers 9.5.1 Design of Tree-Structured Vector Quantizers 9.6 Structured Vector Quantizers 9.6.1 Pyramid Vector Quantization 9.6.2 Polar and Spherical Vector Quantizers 9.6.3 Lattice Vector Quantizers 9.7 Variations on the Theme 9.7.1 Gain-Shape Vector Quantization 9.7.2 Mean-Removed Vector Quantization 9.7.3 Classified Vector Quantization 9.7.4 Multistage Vector Quantization 9.7.5 Adaptive Vector Quantization 9.8 Summary 9.9 Projects and Problems 10 Differential Encoding 10.1 Overview 10.2 Introduction 10.3 The Basic Algorithm 10.4 Prediction in DPCM 10.5 Adaptive DPCM (ADPCM) 10.5.1 Adaptive Quantization in DPCM 10.5.2 Adaptive Prediction in DPCM 10.6 Delta Modulation 10.6.1 Constant Factor Adaptive Delta Modulation (CFDM) 10.6.2 Continuously Variable Slope Delta Modulation 10.7 Speech Coding 10.7.1 G.726 10.8 Summary 10.9 Projects and Problems 11 Subband Coding 11.1 Overview 11.2 Introduction 11.3 The Frequency Domain and Filtering 11.3.1 Filters 11.4 The Basic Subband Coding Algorithm 11.4.1 Bit Allocation 11.5 Application to Speech Coding-G.722 11.6 Application to Audio Coding-MPEG Audio 11.7 Application to Image Compression 11.7.1 Decomposing an Image 11.7.2 Coding the Subbands 11.8 Wavelets 11.8.1 Families of Wavelets 11.8.2 Wavelets and Image Compression 11.9 Summary 11.10 Projects and Problems 12 Transform Coding 12.1 Overview 12.2 Introduction 12.3 The Transform 12.4 Transforms of Interest 12.4.1 Karhunen-Loeve Transform 12.4.2 Discrete Cosine Transform 12.4.3 Discrete Sine Transform 12.4.4 Discrete Walsh-Hadamard Transform 12.5 Quantization and Coding of Transform Coefficients 12.6 Application to Image Compression-JPEG 12.6.1 The Transform 12.6.2 Quantization 12.6.3 Coding 12.7 Application to Audio Compression 12.8 Summary 12.9 Projects and Problems 13 Analysis/Synthesis Schemes 13.1 Overview 13.2 Introduction 13.3 Speech Compression 13.3.1 The Channel Vocoder 13.3.2 The Linear Predictive Coder (Gov.Std.LPC-10) 13.3.3 Code Excited Linear Prediction (CELP) 13.3.4 Sinusoidal Coders 13.4 Image Compression 13.4.1 Fractal Compression 13.5 Summary 13.6 Projects and Problems 14 Video Compression 14.1 Overview 14.2 Introduction 14.3 Motion Compensation 14.4 Video Signal Representation 14.5 Algorithms for Videoconferencing and Videophones 14.5.1 ITU_T Recommendation H.261 14.5.2 Model-Based Coding 14.6 Asymmetric Applications 14.6.1 The MPEG Video Standard 14.7 Packet Video 14.7.1 ATM Networks 14.7.2 Compression Issues in ATM Networks 14.7.3 Compression Algorithms for Packet Video 14.8 Summary 14.9 Projects and Problems A Probability and Random Processes A.1 Probability A.2 Random Variables A.3 Distribution Functions A.4 Expectation A.5 Types of Distribution A.6 Stochastic Process A.7 Projects and Problems B A Brief Review of Matrix Concepts B.1 A Matrix B.2 Matrix Operations C Codes for Facsimile Encoding D The Root Lattices Bibliography Index

Introduction to data compression

ATLAS of Finite Groups

In the quarter of a century since three mathematicians and game theorists collaborated to create Winning Ways for Your Mathematical Plays, the book has become the definitive work on the subject of mathematical games. Now carefully revised and broken down into four volumes to accommodate new developments, the Second Edition retains the original's wealth of wit and wisdom. The authors' insightful strategies, blended with their witty and irreverent style, make reading a profitable pleasure. In Volume 3, the authors examine Games played in Clubs, giving case studies for coin and paper-and-pencil games, such as Dots-and-Boxes and Nimstring. From the Table of Contents: - Turn and Turn About - Chips and Strips - Dots-and-Boxes - Spots and Sprouts - The Emperor and His Money - The King and the Consumer - Fox and Geese; Hare and Hounds - Lines and Squares

Winning Ways for your Mathematical Plays

ONAG, as the book is commonly known, is one of those rare publications that sprang to life in a moment of creative energy and has remained influential for over a quarter of a century. Originally written to define the relation between the theories of transfinite numbers and mathematical games, the resulting work is a mathematically sophisticated but eminently enjoyable guide to game theory. By defining numbers as the strengths of positions in certain games, the author arrives at a new class, the surreal numbers, that includes both real numbers and ordinal numbers. These surreal numbers are applied in the author's mathematical analysis of game strategies. The additions to the Second Edition present recent developments in the area of mathematical game theory, with a concentration on surreal numbers and the additive theory of partizan games.

John H. Conway

Papers

Sphere packings, lattices, and groups

ATLAS of Finite Groups

Winning Ways for your Mathematical Plays

On Numbers and Games

Regular algebra and finite machines