Hi All
I would like to request everyone to share their opinion regarding
use and customization of RNG functionality in the Genetic Algorithm
library.
In current design RNG functionality has been used internally by the
RandomProviderManager class. This class encapsulates a predefined instance
of RandomSource and utilizes the same for all random number generation
requirements. This makes the API cleaner and easy to use for users.
However, during the review an alternate thought has been proposed
related to customization of RandomSource by users. According to the new
proposal the users will be able to provide a RandomSource instance of their
choice to the crossover and mutation operators and other places like
ChromosomeRepresentationUtils. The drawback of this customization could be
increased complexity of the API.
We need to decide here whether we really need this kind of
customization by users and if yes the method of doing so. Here two options
have been proposed.
*Option1:*
---CUT---
public interface MutationPolicy<P> {
Chromosome<P> mutate(Chromosome<P> original, double mutationRate);
interface Factory<P> {
/**
* Creates an instance with a dedicated source of randomness.
*
* @param rng RNG algorithm.
* @param seed Seed.
* @return an instance that must <em>not</em> be shared among
threads.
*/
MutationPolicy<P> create(RandomSource rng, Object seed);
default MutationPolicy<P> create(RandomSource rng) {
return create(rng, null);
}
default MutationPolicy<P> create() {
return create(RandomSource.SPLIT_MIX_64);
}
}
}
---CUT---
*Option 2:*
Use of an optional constructor argument for all crossover and mutation
operators. Users will be providing a RandomSource instance of their choice
or use the default one configured while instantiating the operators.
Thanks & Regards
-- Avijit Basak
