Structural Stigmergy: A Speculative Pattern Language for Metaheuristics

Citation

Kovitz B & Swan J (2014) Structural Stigmergy: A Speculative Pattern Language for Metaheuristics. In: GECCO Comp '14: Proceedings of the 2014 Conference Companion on Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Companion. GECCO Comp '14. GECCO 2014: Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 12.07.2014-16.07.2014. New York, NY, USA: ACM, pp. 1407-1410. http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/2598394.2609845; https://doi.org/10.1145/2598394.2609845

Abstract
To construct graphs whose quality results from complicated relationships that pervade the entire graph, especially relationships at multiple scales, follow a strategy of repeatedly making local patches to a single graph. Look for small, easily recognized flaws in local areas of the graph and fix them. Add tags to the graph to represent non-local relationships and higher-level structures as individual nodes. The tags then have easily recognized flaws that relate to non-local and higher-level concerns, enabling local patching to set off cascades of local fixes that address those concerns.

Keywords
design patterns; metaheuristics; stigmergy