Java framework for Evolutionary Computation and Decision Making (JECDM) is a computational framework for developing and testing preference-based evolutionary algorithms for multi-objective optimization, with a central focus on interactive preference-learning methods. Its primary, general characteristics are in what follows.
JECDM as a computational framework. JECDM is not a prebuilt software. It is a series of well-organized source codes that a researcher can use to develop and test new methods. In a nutshell, JECDM provides a general versatile architecture. Thus, the codes are highly generalized and structured. They follow object-oriented programming with high-level abstractions. Further, the codes were designed in a way that respects computational and memory complexity, ensuring that realizations of various tasks will be highly efficient.
Capabilities. The general capabilities of JECDM are linked to its top-level modules:
- JECDM provides a versatile visualization module that can be employed in various contexts.
- The framework delivers a module dedicated to evolutionary computation, with a central focus on multi-objective optimization.
- Further, it introduces a module for multi-criteria decision aiding – primarily developed for implementing interactive preference-learning processes.
- Finally, JECDM delivers a flexible tool for creating and executing extensive experiments.
Learning JECDM. Learning architecture-oriented codes with a high level of generalization may be difficult. Therefore, JECDM is accompanied by a series of content-rich PDF tutorial documents that cover its various aspects, starting from some core fundamentals and ending with concrete code examples. Overall, the tutorials are starting points for learning JECDM. In particular, it is recommended that you begin with Tutorial 0: Overview (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14283750) to decide whether this framework is for you.
JECDM is free to use. JECDM is free to use and is licensed under MIT License since v1.7.0 (previous versions were published under the CC BY 4.0 License). Although the software is free to use, one uses it at one’s own risk.
Project acknowledgment. One is requested to give appropriate credit to JECDM’s author if using this software. Since JECDM is primarily for research, appropriate credit can be a citation. As for the initial release of JECDM, one can cite, e.g., this document in the following way: Tomczyk, M. (2024). Tutorial Series on Java Framework for Evolutionary Computation and Decision Making. Tutorial 0: Introduction. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14283750. Note that, however, a peer-reviewed publication showcasing JECDM is planned to be published soon. When issued, it is suggested to cite that future work (this paragraph will be accordingly updated in the future). When using JECDM for commercial purposes, appropriate credit should also be given.