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• An improved gaining-sharing knowledge-based algorithm named MSGSK is proposed. • A parameter adjustment strategy is developed to adjust relative parameters of MSGSK. • A backtracking differential mutation strategy is designed to enrich the population diversity. • A strategy selection mechanism is presented to integrate the former two strategies. • MSGSK extracts more accurate parameters for five PV models. The determination of photovoltaic (PV) model parameters has essential theoretical and practical significance for the performance evaluation, power monitoring, and power generation efficiency calculation of PV systems. In this paper, a multi-strategy gaining-sharing knowledge-based algorithm (MSGSK) is developed to determine these parameters. In our previous work, it has been demonstrated that gaining-sharing knowledge-based algorithm (GSK) is well suited for solving the concerned problem. To enhance its performance, a parameter adjustment strategy is developed to adjust the knowledge rate and knowledge ratio of GSK. Besides, a backtracking differential mutation strategy by combining the mutation scheme of differential evolution and the updating scheme of backtracking search optimization algorithm is developed to enrich the population diversity. Furthermore, a strategy selection mechanism is introduced to integrate the former two strategies to balance exploration and exploitation in different stages of the evolutionary process. The suggested MSGSK algorithm is applied to five PV cases (SDM, DDM, Photowatt-PW201, STM6-40/36, and STP6-120/36). From the experimental data, it can be observed that MSGSK extracts the PV model parameters more precisely than the basic GSK. Furthermore, it exhibits faster convergence speed and higher accuracy compared to other advanced algorithms found in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Analyze DE algorithm two key issues: parameter sensitivity and search imbalance. • A complementary mutation strategy based on complementary symmetric selection and a Gaussian distribution mutation is proposed. • Data fusion-based parameter adaptation method proposed for parameter rationalization. • A novel variant of DE called DACDE is designed and results shown competitive edge. As an excellent optimization algorithm widely used to solve various practical problems, differential evolution (DE) algorithm has few parameters, yet its performance is significantly affected by these parameters. To address this issue, this paper presents a novel variant of DE called DACDE, which utilizes data fusion-based parameter adaptation and a complementary mutation strategy. Most parameter adaptation methods based on successful history only analyze the mean of parameters and ignore their degree of dispersion. In DACDE, the successful parameter distribution is recorded and described by both the mean and variance. Data fusion is then used to combine records and generate an estimated distribution, which is applied to a Gaussian distribution to generate new parameters. Inspired by opposition-based learning, we introduce a complementary mutation strategy. This strategy employs a symmetric selection mechanism to adapt to the varying search abilities required by the algorithm at different stages. The new variant is verified on 32 single-objective functions from CEC 2011 and 2014 benchmark suites, and the results show that DACDE is competitive compared to other 29 evolutionary algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the realm of practical problem-solving, multi-objective optimisation problems with redundant variables and indefinite objective functions (MOPRVIF) are becoming increasingly prevalent. MOPRVIF involve determining the optimal decision variables that optimise multiple objectives, leveraging the relational data of a set of variables and multiple objectives. For these problems, this paper focuses on the following two issues: one is the demand for a unified computational model to solve this problem; the other is how to improve the algorithm's deep intelligent search capability. In this regard, this paper designs a dual data-driven multi-objective optimisation method. The method used consisted of four parts: elimination of redundant variables (ERV), objective function construction (OFC), selection evolution operator (SEO), and multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA). MOEA was the main focus of the method. ERV is data preparation and variable selection according to multiple objectives. OFC involves constructing the relationship model between variables and objectives, and a high-accuracy model is important for guaranteeing reliable results. Furthermore, SEO can adjust the evolution operator during a deep search. This is an important guarantee for deep, intelligent search. MOEA combined OFC and SEO to form the final solution algorithm—Dual Data Driven Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm (DDMOEA). DDMOEA was explored using two different disciplinary problems of drug compound optimisation and wild blueberry cultivation and benchmarks were selected. The first two problem domains are distinct. The first problem is more complex than the second; however, both encompass redundant variables and indefinite objective functions. Benchmarks are utilised independently to gauge the profound intelligent search capability. The experiments affirm that the dual data-driven optimization approach proposed in this paper is effective, practical, and scalable. • Provide a unified solution for optimisation problems with redundant variables and indefinite objective functions. • Propose a data-driven multi-objective optimisation algorithm. • Designing an adaptive optimiser to enhance the algorithm's depth search capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a population-based stochastic optimization algorithm, Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA) has attracted numerous interests and has been applied in various applications. However, GSA has drawbacks such as uneven search and premature convergence in practical applications. This paper specifically explains the inherent characteristic of GSA in prioritizing the center position. Correspondingly, an improvement strategy of fitness normalization with mass shift is proposed, creating a situation where gravity and repulsion are mixed. Then, the global best mechanism with weights is incorporated into the particle's velocity update formula, which compensates for the difficulties in the later exploitation stage. Finally, an empirical formula for the initial gravitational constant related to the size of the solution space is proposed, which enhances the global search ability together with the former strategy. 12 shifted benchmark functions are used to construct 20 optimization problems ranging from 2 to 120 dimensions. The average performance of the proposed algorithm, other GSA and well-known algorithms are compared under the same budget. The results demonstrate that the proposed GSA not only effectively addresses the drawbacks of GSA and maintains good performance, but also exhibits strong competitiveness compared to various similar algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of semantic technologies, particularly ontologies, in the realm of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms is overlook despite their effectiveness in knowledge representation. In this paper, we introduce MOODY, an ontology specifically tailored to formalize these kinds of algorithms, encompassing their respective parameters, and multi-objective optimization problems based on a characterization of their search space landscapes. MOODY is designed to be particularly applicable in automatic algorithm configuration, which involves the search of the parameters of an optimization algorithm to optimize its performance. In this context, we observe a notable absence of standardized components, parameters, and related considerations, such as problem characteristics and algorithm configurations. This lack of standardization introduces difficulties in the selection of valid component combinations and in the re-use of algorithmic configurations between different algorithm implementations. MOODY offers a means to infuse semantic annotations into the configurations found by automatic tools, enabling efficient querying of the results and seamless integration across diverse sources through their incorporation into a knowledge graph. We validate our proposal by presenting four case studies. • A semantic model is proposed for consolidating multi-objective optimization knowledge. • A knowledge graph is presented, as well as the tools to include new RDF data. • The model allows for semantic reasoning on evolutionary algorithm configurations. • The proposal is validated on three use cases with data from experiments. • Moody enables knowledge-based recommendations of configurations for algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the main research tasks in software testing, automated test case generation based on path coverage (ATCG-PC) aims to achieve maximum path coverage with a minimized set of test cases. In ATCG-PC, the correlation among the dimensions of test cases is widely utilized in academia to minimize the search efforts of the search-based algorithm. Nevertheless, the information related to target path selection is not utilized, which leads to blind decision-making by the search-based algorithm during the target path selection. Therefore, this paper proposes an enhanced scatter search strategy by using opposition-based learning. An arithmetic optimization algorithm is also proposed to solve ATCG-PC based on the enhanced scatter search strategy, namely, ESSENT. The ESSENT algorithm selects the path with the lowest path entropy among the uncovered paths as the target path, and generates new test cases that cover the target path by modifying the dimensions of the existing test cases. The performance of the ESSENT algorithm is evaluated on six iFogSim subprograms and six Stanford coreNLP subprograms. Experiment results show that the ESSENT algorithm achieves a higher convergence rate than other state-of-the-art algorithms. Furthermore, it enables maximum path coverage with fewer test cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Balancing multiple objectives and various constraints is crucial for effectively solving constrained multi-objective optimization problems (CMOPs). Excessive focus on either convergence or feasibility may not result in favorable outcomes of the algorithm. To confront this challenge, this paper proposes a cooperative evolutionary algorithm named SaE-CMO, which aims to achieve a harmonious balance between convergence and feasibility by extracting valuable information from both feasible and infeasible regions. To achieve this, SaE-CMO employs a dual-population approach to enhance search progress, consisting of a main population, Population1, and an auxiliary population, Population2. These two populations complement each other to achieve optimal results. A newly proposed self-adaptive epsilon method is employed in both Population1 and Population2, using different comparison criteria to select next population from mating pools, respectively. Population2 can retain some solutions that are well-constrained but poorly converged, thereby preserving information about both the constrained and the unconstrained Pareto front. This property enables Population2 to assist Population1 in maintaining diversity in certain complex CMOPs. To verify the effectiveness of SaE-CMO, we conduct experiments on three benchmark test instances and four real-world CMOPs with some related state-of-the-art constrained multi-objective optimization algorithms, experimental results prove that the proposed algorithm outperforms the compared algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]