HyFlex: A Flexible Framework for the Design and Analysis of Hyper-heuristics

Citation

Burke E, Curtois T, Hyde M, Kendall G, Ochoa G, Petrovic S & Vazquez-Rodriguez JA (2009) HyFlex: A Flexible Framework for the Design and Analysis of Hyper-heuristics. In: Proceedings of the 4th Multidisciplinary International Scheduling Conference: Theory and Applications (MISTA 2009). Multidisciplinary International Conference on Scheduling: Theorey and Applications (MISTA 2009), Dublin, Ireland, 10.08.2009-12.08.2009. Switzerland: Springer, pp. 790-797. http://www.mistaconference.org/2009/abstracts/790-797-112-A.pdf

Abstract
First paragraph: Despite the success of heuristic search methods in solving real-world computational search problems, it is often still dicult to easily apply them to new problems, or even new instances of similar problems. These diculties arise mainly from the sig- ni cant number of parameter or algorithm choices involved when using these type of approaches, and the lack of guidance as to how to proceed when selecting them. Hyper- heuristics are an emergent search methodology, the goal of which is to automate the process of either (i) selecting and combining simpler heuristics [5], or (ii) generating new heuristics from components of existing heuristics [6]; in order to solve hard com- putational search problems. The main motivation behind hyper-heuristics is to raise the level of generality in which search methodologies can operate. They can be dis- tinguished from other heuristic search algorithms, in that they operate on a search space of heuristics (or heuristic components) rather than directly on the search space of solutions to the underlying problem.