Genericity in Evolutionary Computation Software Tools: Principles and Case-study

This paper deals with the need for generic software development tools in evolutionary computations (EC). These tools will be essential for the next generation of evolutionary algorithms where application designers and researchers will need to mix different combinations of traditional EC (e.g. genetic algorithms, genetic programming, evolutionary strategies, etc.), or to create new variations of these EC, in order to solve complex real world problems. Six basic principles are proposed to guide the development of such tools. These principles are then used to evaluate six freely available, widely used EC software tools. Finally, the design of Open BEAGLE, the framework developed by the authors, is presented in more detail.