Evolutionary Computation

Tools and format of the class

Course overview

Two main components:

a tutorial overview of evolutionary computation
a research project in teams

Tutorials:

Introduction and Evolutionary Algorithms
Genetic Algorithms
Evolutionary Strategies
Neuroevolution
Multi-Objective Optimization
Behavior and Novelty
Genetic Programming
Symbolic Regression

Course tools overview

Git for code sharing and class organization
Python for tutorial code
Julia used in previous tutorials
Jupyter for tutorials

These tools are widely used and will be useful well beyond this class. Take time to learn them now.

Git

A popular Version Control System (VCS)
Publicly available git servers: github, gitlab, and others

Git

Git

Local workflow (optional)

Fork this repository to have a referenced copy of it in your account
Clone your fork to download it locally
Create a branch in your repository for your local changes
Add and commit your modifications
Push your modifications to the remote server

Setup


                  git clone https://github.com/USERNAME/evolution
                  cd evolution
                  git remote add upstream https://github.com/d9w/evolution
                  git remote -v
                  git branch mybranch
                  git branch -av

Git

Making local changes


                  git checkout mybranch
                  git add plots_notebook.ipynb
                  git commit -m 'Plots notebook'
                  git push origin mybranch

Pulling new class material


                  git stash
                  git checkout master
                  git pull upstream master

Julia

Scientific computing language; fast but easy to read and understand
Extensive documentation, classes, and active community
Interactive development workflow with Juno IDE, Jupyter, REPL

Python

One of the most used programming languages
Scientific libraries numpy, scipy, matplotlib and others
Supported in cloud-based Jupyter (Google Colab, Binder)

Statistic: Most used programming languages among developers worldwide as of 2022 | Statista

Find more statistics at Statista

Jupyter

Ju (julia) pyt (python) er (R)
Notebooks: code and text in the browser
Local server with the kernel type
https://jupyter.org/
Cloud instance providers: Google Colab, Binder