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Genetic Programming Theory and Practice XVI pp 179–192Cite as

The Elephant in the Room: Towards the Application of Genetic Programming to Automatic Programming

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Part of the book series: Genetic and Evolutionary Computation ((GEVO))

Abstract

We outline a research journey which set out to tackle automatic programming and got distracted by success in a series of real-World applications including Software-defined Cellular Communications Networks, Design, Engineering, Business Analytics and Finance and Search-based Software Engineering. In particular the domain of software-defined communications networks represents a significant opportunity for the application of automatic programming and will be the focus of this chapter. When one takes a problem, as opposed to method, perspective what becomes important is finding the best method or combination of methods to extract the best performance in the problem domain of interest. We propose that the field of Genetic Programming needs to take a broader perspective, to return to its roots in the problem domain of Automatic Programming, redefine itself to this end, and embrace a wider set of methods in order to achieve success in this holy grail problem.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge and thank the significant contributions of members, past and present, of the UCD Natural Computing Research & Applications Group to the body of work, which this chapter represents. This research is based upon works supported by Science Foundation Ireland under grants 08/IN.1/I1868, 13/IA/1850 and 13/RC/2094.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Computing Research & Applications Group, School of Business, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Michael O’Neill & David Fagan

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  1. Michael O’Neill
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  2. David Fagan
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Correspondence to Michael O’Neill .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Computer Science and Engineering, John R. Koza Chair, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Wolfgang Banzhaf

  2. Cognitive Science, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, USA

    Lee Spector

  3. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Leigh Sheneman

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O’Neill, M., Fagan, D. (2019). The Elephant in the Room: Towards the Application of Genetic Programming to Automatic Programming. In: Banzhaf, W., Spector, L., Sheneman, L. (eds) Genetic Programming Theory and Practice XVI. Genetic and Evolutionary Computation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04735-1_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04735-1_9

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-04735-1

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