Q20: What EA software packages are available?

This gives a list of all known EA software packages available to the public. The list was originally maintained by Nici Schraudolph. In June '93 it was agreed that it would be incorporated into this FAQ and the responsibility for maintenance taken over by the FAQ editor.

A copy of most of the packages described below are kept at ENCORE, (See Q15.3), available by anonymous FTP.

Most GENETIC PROGRAMMING software is available by FTP in: ftp://ftp.io.com/pub/genetic-programming/ There are subdirectories containing papers related to GP, archives of the mailing list, as well as a suite of programs for implementing GP. These programs include the Lisp code from Koza's "Genetic Programming" [KOZA92], as well as implementations in C and C++, as for example SGPC: Simple Genetic Programming in C by Walter Alden Tackett and Aviram Carmi <gpc@ipld01.hac.com>.

A survey paper entitled "Genetic Algorithm Programming Environments" was published in IEEE Computer in the June 1994 issue. Written by Filho, Alippi and Treleaven of University College, London, UK. It's available by FTP as ftp://bells.cs.ucl.ac.uk/papagena/game/docs/gasurvey.ps (file size: 421k).

PLEASE NOTE

For many of these software packages, specific ordering instructions are given in the descriptions below (see Q20.1 - Free Software packages, Q20.2 - Commercial Software Packages, Q20.3 - Research Projects). Please read and follow them before unnecessarily bothering the listed author or contact! Also note that these programs haven't been independently tested, so there are no guarantees of their quality.

A major revision was undertaken in August 1994, when all authors were contacted, and asked to confirm the accuracy of the information contained here. A few authors did not respond to the request for information. These are noted below by: (Unverified 8/94). In these cases, FTP address were checked by the FAQ editor, to confirm that this information (at least) is correct. In two cases, email to the author bounced back as "undeliverable" -- these are noted below.

Legend

Type (this is a very ad-hoc classification)

     GE:  generational GA
     SS:  steady-state GA
     PA:  (pseudo) parallel GA
     ES:  evolution strategy
     OO:  object-oriented
     XP:  expert system
     ED:  educational/demo
     CF:  classifier system

OS Operating System; X11 implies Unix; "Win" means Microsoft Windows 3.x/NT (PC); "DOS" means MS-DOS or compatibles.

Lang Programming Language; in parentheses: source code not included; "OPas" = MPW Object Pascal

Price (circa 1994) (1) free to government contractors, $221 otherwise, (2) educational discount available, (3) available as addendum to a book, (4) single 1850 DM, site license 5200 DM, (5) single 200 DM, site license 500 DM, (6) free for academic and educational use.

Author or Contact Name of creator/maintainer. For internet e-mail addresses, refer to the details of the specific package.