Reply To: Hill-Climbing Algorithm

For the hill climbing algorithm, my suggestion is to take a look at a bunch of different resources. I often refer to my own algorithms as ‘frakencode’ because they have so many influences. This thesis (https://www.uni-kassel.de/upress/online/OpenAccess/978-3-7376-0458-1.OpenAccess.pdf) by George Lasry (a historical cryptography researcher) is a brilliant resource for applying stochastic search algorithms to ciphers, and has may helpful tips. Also helpful are any papers from the journal Cryptologia that you can find online (e.g. pre print, or open access archive copies). Hope that helps!