Using Genetic Algorithms to Solve NP-Complete Problems

A strategy for using Genetic Algorithms (GAs) to solve NP-complete problems is presented. The key aspect of the approach taken is to exploit the observation that, although all NP-complete problems are equally difficult in a general computational sense, some have much better GA representations than others, leading to much more successful use of GAs on some NP-complete problems than on others. Since any NP-complete problem can be mapped into any other one in polynomial time, the strategy described here consists of identifying a canonical NP-complete problem on which GAs work well, and solving other NP-complete problems indirectly by mapping them onto the canonical problem. Initial empirical results are presented which support the claim that the Boolean Satisfiability Problem (SAT) is a GAeffective canonical problem, and that other NPcomplete problems with poor GA representations can be solved efficiently by mapping them first onto SAT problems.