Re: Brute force perl

[toma]

Challenge: generate the numbers 0 to 100 using math expressions composed of only the characters +-/*4() . Find the minimum length expression for each number from 0 to 100. These might be the first few numbers:

0: 4-4
1: 4/4
2: 4/4+4/4
3: 4-4/4
4: 4
...

The minimum length of these expressions would make an easy fitness function if you wanted to experiment with GA.

I originally heard this problem as a math-golf-type challenge to a fifth and sixth grade math club.

I don't remember the algorithm that I ended up using, but I do recall writing a generator that created valid expressions, so that the code wouldn't try to eval things like 4-( as an expression.

[jdporter]

This is actually a textbook example of a genetic programming problem. Of course, you could attack it with GA, but GP is a much better fit.