SPOT—A Toolbox for Visionary Ideas
Thomas Bartz–Beielstein · 2011
We present SPOT, an open-source toolbox for the experimental analysis of optimization algorithms. Evolution strategies (ES) have been severely criticized before they started their triumphal procession as optimization algorithms. Schwefel discussed ideas which appeared to be provocative at the first sight. SPOT provides a modern framework to test these ideas. The extreme programming methodology was used to implement the toolbox. Schwefel’s idea that forgetting is as important as learning, which laid the cornerstone for comma-strategies in ES, is analyzed.