Heuristic Definition/Meaning:
Employing a self-learning approach to the solution of a problem. The
construction of a nonheuristic system directly reflects existing knowledge of
some algorithm that can yield a solution to some problem. By constrast, a
heuristic system has to be constructed so that it can acquire the knowledge
needed to produce the required solution.
For example, in the absence of good
known algorithms for the problem, heuristic methods have been used to control
traffic routing in communications networks: feedback from the actual performance
of the network is used to influence subsequent routing decisions, thereby
maintaining satisfactory routing behavior despite changes in load or failures of
network components. Heuristic techniques are also employed in artificial
intelligence to automate tasks for which no decision procedure is known or as a more efficient alternative to a decision
procedure.
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