A schema is a template in computer science used in the field of genetic algorithms that identifies a subset of strings with similarities at certain string positions. Schemata are a special case of cylinder sets; and so form a topological space.
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Description
For example, consider binary strings of length 6. The schema 1**0*1 describes the set of all words of length 6 with 1's at the first and sixth positions and a 0 at the fourth position. The * is a wildcard symbol, which means that positions 2, 3 and 5 can have a value of either 1 or 0. The order of a schema is defined as the number of fixed positions in the template, while the defining length
Length
The length of a schema
Disruption
If the child of an individual that matches schema H does not itself match H, the schema is said to have been disrupted.
Propagation of schema
In evolutionary computing such as genetic algorithms and genetic programming, propagation refers to the inheritance of characteristics of one generation by the next. For example, a schema is propagated if individuals in the current generation match it and so do those in the next generation. Those in the next generation may be (but don't have to be) children of parents who matched it.