[tornadofart]

Genetic algorithms are known to produce quasi-optimal results in a short time, if set up accordingly. They can be also applied to problems where constraints are very complex to explicitly formulate. Designing one is no picnic, though, and always problem-specific.

[nuclearnice1]

Interesting.

What do you mean by quasi optimal?

Genetic algorithms product quasi optimal results but simulated annealing will not?

[tornadofart]

Quasi-optimal means you can't prove that the algorithm will always find the optimal solution, though for all practical purposes, the algorithm will find it for over 99% of the time.