Representation, mutation and crossover issues in evolutionary computation

Representation, and the use of mutation and crossover or recombination are issues which some people from the different areas within evolutionary computation still disagree. The philosophical and representational differences we can attribute to the initial applications of each of the areas. We examine the role of mutation and crossover/recombination and when we mould expect them to work successfully and the effects of representation on them. We conclude that the areas have strengths, and should all be considered when designing an evolutionary algorithm.