Evolving program trees with limited scope variable declarations

Abstract

Variables are a fundamental component of computer programs. However, rarely has the construction of new variables been left to the evolutionary process of a tree-based Genetic Programming system. We present a series of modifications to an existing GP approach to allow the evolution of high-level imperative programs with limited scope variables. We make use of several new program constructs made possible by the modifications and experimentally compare their use. Our results suggest the impact of variable declarations is problem dependent, but can potentially improve performance. It is proposed that the use of variable declarations can reduce the degree of insight required into potential solutions.