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Subject: Re: A "New" Idea for Adaptive Programs

Author: John Lowe

Date: 12:54:52 12/23/02

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On December 23, 2002 at 14:57:02, Bob Durrett wrote:

>
>Not being up-to-speed on reading programming journals in all languages, I am not
>sure that the following idea is original.  But I will "take my chances" in the
>hope of not being Zapped too badly if it is not original.  : )
>
>I am interested in adaptive programs, especially as the theory applies to chess
>engines.
>
>The basic concept is to produce a program that will change itself "in a big
>way," as the environment or problems being solved change.  This
>self-modification would take place several or many times in as short a time as
>an hour.
>
>Still trying to stay general: How to do this?
>
>One way, impractical for sure, would be to have a single overall program which
>was a package consisting of many specific programs.  As the environment or other
>factors changed, the program would be stimulated to jump from the current
>specific program to the more appropriate one, with the necessary data
>transferred to the new specific program.  This sort of jump could occur often
>and many times as the need dictated.
>
>Perhaps a more practical approach might be to have a single program with many
>parameters that could be set or reset quickly.  In this scenario, the stimuli
>would result in calling of a "reconfigure" program.  This program would then,
>very quickly, reset the parameters of the main program.  In this way, the main
>program would, in effect, be a new program.
>
>A more generalized version of the latter approach would be for the "reconfigure"
>program to VERY QUICKLY make extensive modifications to the main program.
>
>Are these ideas any good?
>
>If they are, are they currently in use in existing chess engines?
>
>If not, does this sound like a possible improvement for the future?
>
>What is your "gut feel" in this matter?
>
>Bob D.

Hi Bob!

You've just encapsulated what I thought we were all doing. I obviously never
will arrive, (I should live that long!) but I hope I've set off on the journey.

You can call the address pointed to by a register. You can list (in memory)
where various routines begin.

There's no reason why you can't analyse your starting position and load either a
"NOP" to run the routine or a "RET" to cut it out. (I don't see why this
shouldn't apply at each ply-change - it's cheap enough!)

If you're talking about "intelligent" computers - e.g. transferring ideas born
in one environment to a different set of circumstances, biting the bullet and
learning from experience........ WOW!

I should stay with the first model at least for a year or two.



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