Cleaning Up The Map

With the node map, running a function may or may not be very taxing. But even if it's not, excessive use of these small functions do build up. The node map has no actual idea how the functions operate. It only know that the functions do operate, somehow, and some return data, while others don't. Certain ones will actually help the node map achieve it's goal, while others will just process data. It is important to try and reduce the size of the map by removing unnecessary uses of functions. (Such as having 13 functions processing a line of data that goes no where, is completely useless. To remedy this, the node map is designed with a "cost". The idea is to find the shortest path, sort of speak. When giving a function to the node map, a cost would also be supplied. This cost would explain to the node map how extensive it is against CPU. A function which just adds two numbers is very simple, and can be called many more times then say, a distance formula. So the add function would have a much lower cost then the distance formula. Here's how these costs are counted:

The sum of each cost of all functions on the map is collected. Next, the "fitness" of each trial is collected. The sum is taken away from this number, and the fitness continues down it's path. By doing it this way, the node map will take function cost into account, and only use functions which help it reach it's goal better then the amount of power it would require at it's current state. If a function is just sitting there taking up space, it is just draining the fitness. The node map will catch on to this, and remove the useless function instance.