Genetic algorithms (GAs) are stochastic methods that are widely used in search and optimization. The breeding process is the main driving mechanism for GAs that leads the way to find the global optimum. And the initial phase of the breeding process starts with parent selection. The selection utilized in a GA is effective on the convergence speed of the algorithm. A GA can use different selection mechanisms for choosing parents from the population and in many applications the process generally depends on the fitness values of the individuals. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are used to decide the appropriate parents by the new hybrid algorithm proposed in this study. And the use of neural networks aims to produce better offspring during the GA search. The neural network utilized in this algorithm tries to learn the structural patterns and correlations that enable two parents to produce high-fit offspring. In the breeding process, the first parent is selected based on the fitness value as usual. Then it is the neural network that decides the appropriate mate for the first parent chosen. Hence, the selection mechanism is not solely dependent on the fitness values in this study. The algorithm is tested with seven benchmark functions. It is observed from results of these tests that the new selection method leads genetic algorithm to converge faster.
Job Scheduling in Computational Grids is gaining importance due to the need for efficient large-scale Grid-enabled applications. Among different optimization techniques designed for the problem, Genetic Algorithm (GA) is a popular class of solution methods. As GAs are high level algorithms, specific algorithms can be designed by choosing the genetic operators as well as the evolutionary strategies such as Steady State GAs and Struggle GAs. In this paper we focus on Struggle GAs and their tuning for scheduling of independent jobs in computational grids. Our results showed that a careful hash implementation for computing the similarity of solutions was able to alleviate the computational burden of Struggle GA and perform better than standard similarity measures. This is particularly interesting for the scheduling problem in Grid systems, which due to changeability over time, has demanding time restrictions on the computation of planning the jobs to resources.