Genetic Algorithms: Basic Concept and Applications

Genetic algorithms are a part of evolutionary computing, which is a rapidly growing area of artificial intelligence. Genetic algorithms have been applied to a wide range of practical problems often with valuable results. Genetic algorithms are often viewed as function optimizer, although the range of problems to which genetic algorithms have been applied are quite broad. This paper covers the basic concepts of genetic algorithms and their applications to a variety of fields. It also tries to give a solution to the problem of economic load dispatch using Genetic Algorithms. An attempt has been made to explain when and why GA should be used as an optimization tool. Finally, the paper points to future directions.