Parameter control in evolutionary algorithms

The issue of controlling values of various parameters of an evolutionary algorithm is one of the most important and promising areas of research in evolutionary computation: it has a potential of adjusting the algorithm to the problem while solving the problem. In the paper we: 1) revise the terminology, which is unclear and confusing, thereby providing a classification of such control mechanisms, and 2) survey various forms of control which have been studied by the evolutionary computation community in recent years. Our classification covers the major forms of parameter control in evolutionary computation and suggests some directions for further research.