About HeuristicLab

HeuristicLab is a framework for heuristic and evolutionary algorithms, developed and successively applied by members of the Heuristic and Evolutionary Algorithms Laboratory since 2002.

Among other aspects, a sophisticated graphical user interface distinguishes HeuristicLab from existing heuristic optimization frameworks, which usually require comprehensive programming skills to adjust and extend the algorithms for a particular problem. In HeuristicLab algorithms are represented as operator graphs and changing or rearranging operators can be done by drag-and-drop without actually writing code. The framework thereby shifts algorithm development capability from the software engineer to the user and practitioner. It is of course still possible to extend the framework on code level and algorithm developers benefit from HeuristicLab’s light-weight plug-in mechanism that allows them to integrate custom algorithms, solution representations or optimization problems with ease. This concept leads to a significant level of code reuse across metaheuristic variants and encourages users to successively gain more knowledge about algorithm development.

License

HeuristicLab is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

HeuristicLab is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details (​http://www.gnu.org/licenses).