Defining Update

The word update is used in a number of contexts in MABE. The following lays out the ideas behind different usage, a world, brain or other structure in MABE may define it's own usage.

Generation Update (or just Update)

• If a single generation world is being used to evaluate organisms then each population evaluation and subsequent creation of a new population is one generation update. MABE will run for some number of generation updates and then quit.
• If a multi generation world is being used then generation updates will either be defined by the world (perhaps there are fixed mating seasons, or there is some expected average reproduction period) or may simply not be used in cases where timing of reproduction events and therefore generations is an explicit feature of the world.

World Update

• If a world evaluates one organism at a time, then a world update consists of feeding information to a brain, calling on the brain to generate outputs, and then updating the state of the world in response. Conceptually, in a world update an organism can make one move.
• If multiple organisms are being evaluated together in a world, then a world update consists up allowing each organism to make one move.
• If a single generation world is being used then during each generation update the world will be run for some number of world updates. The number of world updates per generation update will be defined by the world.
• If a multi generation world is being used then generally, MABE will run for some number of world updates and then quit.

Brain Update

• A brain update consists of allowing a brain to run it's internal process. It is possible, and not uncommon to have multiple brain updates per world update in order to allow a brain "time to think."

Other Updates

• There may be other types of updates, for example in wire brains there is a wire update. That is the process of allowing all of the wire in the brain to update once. In one brain update of a wire brain there are usually multiple wire updates.