Definition
A fitness function is a ==function used in optimization problems to evaluate the quality or fitness of a candidate solution==.
It returns a numerical value that represents how well a solution satisfies the criteria of the specific objective.
Why is it useful?
- The fitness function guides the search or optimization process
- It determines which solutions are better and should be kept
- It allows learning or optimization algorithms (such as Hill Climbing,GA (genetic algorithm)) to iterate towards better solutions.
It is essential in contexts where we explore a very large solution space.