Best of BYTE: Vol. 2: Heuristic Algorithms

No matter how good a given algorithm is, it can't deal with problems it wasn't designed to solve, nor can it handle subtle variations of a problem. An algorithm, unfortunately, can only provide solutions to specific problems. Heuristics can provide the capability to deal with the subtle variations in a problem, or to deal with a totally new problem, by devising a solution based on previous experience. The synergy of these dissimilar methods of problem solving can provide powerful new tools to practitioners of artificial intelligence. In this volume of Best of BYTE, we explore the emergence of some heuristic algorithms.