Genetic algorithms for affine transformations to existential t-restrictions

The subject of f-restrictions has garnered considerable interest recently as it encompasses many different types of combinatorial objects, all of which have unique and important applications. One of the most popular of these is an ingredient in the generation of covering arrays, which are used for discovering faulty interactions among software components. We focus on existential f-restrictions, which have a structure that can be exploited by genetic algorithms. In particular, recent work on such restrictions considers affine transformations while maximizing the corresponding "score" of the formed restriction. We propose to use genetic algorithms for existential f-restrictions by providing a general framework that can be applied to all such objects.