Modeling of Heuristic Optimization Algorithms

The definition of a generic algorithm model for representing arbitrary heuristic optimization algorithms is one of the most challenging tasks when developing heuristic optimization software systems. As a high degree of flexibility and a large amount of reusable code are requirements that are hard to fulfill together, existing frameworks often lack of either of them to a certain extent. To overcome these difficulties the authors present a generic algorithm model not only capable of representing heuristic optimization but that can be used for modeling arbitrary algorithms. This model can be used as a meta-model for heuristic optimization algorithms, enabling users to represent custom algorithms in a flexible way by still providing a broad spectrum of reusable algorithm building blocks.