Metaheuristic Optimization with Evolver, Genocop and OptQuest

 Metaheuristic optimization has experienced an evolution toward the development of general purpose optimizers. Although the most effective metaheuristics for the solution of hard (in the computational sense) optimization problems are procedures customized to each particular situation, there is an increased interest in developing systems that can effectively operate as general-purpose solvers. In this tutorial paper, we describe and compare the functionality of three general-purpose optimizers that were developed using metaheuristic frameworks. Evolver is a commercial genetic-algorithm software that in its most simple form operates as an add-in function to Microsoft Excel. While Genocop is an experimental genetic algorithm implementation, OptQuest, based on the scatter search methodology, has been commercially implemented to add optimization capabilities to simulation software. Metaheuristic Optimization Laguna / 2