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  • © 2018

Hyper-Heuristics: Theory and Applications

  • Recent technique that aims to effectively solve real-world optimization problems
  • Presents fundamentals, theory, and applications of hyper-heuristics
  • Valuable for researchers, graduate students, and practitioners in the areas of biologically inspired computing, optimization, and operations research

Part of the book series: Natural Computing Series (NCS)

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
  2. Hyper-Heuristics: Fundamentals and Theory

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Introduction to Hyper-Heuristics

      • Nelishia Pillay, Rong Qu
      Pages 3-5
    3. Selection Constructive Hyper-Heuristics

      • Nelishia Pillay, Rong Qu
      Pages 7-16
    4. Selection Perturbative Hyper-Heuristics

      • Nelishia Pillay, Rong Qu
      Pages 17-23
    5. Generation Constructive Hyper-Heuristics

      • Nelishia Pillay, Rong Qu
      Pages 25-31
    6. Generation Perturbative Hyper-Heuristics

      • Nelishia Pillay, Rong Qu
      Pages 33-36
    7. Theoretical Aspect—A Formal Definition

      • Nelishia Pillay, Rong Qu
      Pages 37-48
  3. Applications of Hyper-Heuristics

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 49-49
    2. Vehicle Routing Problems

      • Nelishia Pillay, Rong Qu
      Pages 51-60
    3. Nurse Rostering Problems

      • Nelishia Pillay, Rong Qu
      Pages 61-66
    4. Packing Problems

      • Nelishia Pillay, Rong Qu
      Pages 67-73
    5. Examination Timetabling Problems

      • Nelishia Pillay, Rong Qu
      Pages 75-82
    6. Cross-Domain Hyper-Heuristics

      • Nelishia Pillay, Rong Qu
      Pages 83-88
  4. Past, Present and Future

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 89-89
    2. Advances in Hyper-Heuristics

      • Nelishia Pillay, Rong Qu
      Pages 91-97
    3. Conclusions and Future Research Directions

      • Nelishia Pillay, Rong Qu
      Pages 99-101
  5. Back Matter

    Pages 103-130

About this book

This introduction to the field of hyper-heuristics presents the required foundations and tools and illustrates some of their applications. The authors organized the 13 chapters into three parts. The first, hyper-heuristic fundamentals and theory, provides an overview of selection constructive, selection perturbative, generation constructive and generation perturbative hyper-heuristics, and then a formal definition of hyper-heuristics. The chapters in the second part of the book examine applications of hyper-heuristics in vehicle routing, nurse rostering, packing and examination timetabling. The third part of the book presents advanced topics and then a summary of the field and future research directions. Finally the appendices offer details of the HyFlex framework and the EvoHyp toolkit, and then the definition, problem model and constraints for the most tested combinatorial optimization problems. 


The book will be of value to graduate students, researchers, and practitioners.

Authors and Affiliations

  • School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

    Nelishia Pillay

  • School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

    Rong Qu

About the authors

​Nelishia Pillay is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science of the University of Pretoria, previously she was a lecturer in the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg. Rong Qu is an Associate Professor in the School of Computer Science of the University of Nottingham. Their research interests include bioinspired and artificial intelligence techniques, particularly applied to operations research problems.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access