Implemented Algorithms

This page provides a compact list of the optimization algorithms currently implemented in Minion and MinionPy, together with their canonical literature references. For implementation-specific hybrids, the cited paper is the closest parent or representative method.

For detailed descriptions, parameter documentation, and default options, see Algorithm Details.

Note

Some algorithms, including AGSK and IMODE, were originally released in MATLAB. Minion provides C++ rewrites of those methods, so implementation details may differ slightly from the original source code even when the overall algorithmic design is preserved.

Differential Evolution Family

DE

Storn, R and Price, K, Differential Evolution - a Simple and Efficient Heuristic for Global Optimization over Continuous Spaces, Journal of Global Optimization, 1997, 11, 341-359.

JADE

  1. Zhang and A. C. Sanderson, JADE: Adaptive Differential Evolution With Optional External Archive, IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation, 13(5), 945-958, 2009.

LSHADE

  1. Tanabe and A. S. Fukunaga, Improving the search performance of SHADE using linear population size reduction, IEEE CEC, 2014.

LSHADE_cnEpSin

    1. Awad, M. Z. Ali and P. N. Suganthan, Ensemble sinusoidal differential covariance matrix adaptation with Euclidean neighborhood for solving CEC2017 benchmark problems, IEEE CEC, 2017.

jSO

  1. Brest, M. S. Maučec and B. Bošković, Single objective real-parameter optimization: Algorithm jSO, IEEE CEC, 2017.

j2020

  1. Brest, M. S. Maučec and B. Bošković, Differential Evolution Algorithm for Single Objective Bound-Constrained Optimization: Algorithm j2020, IEEE CEC, 2020.

NLSHADE_RSP

  1. Stanovov, S. Akhmedova and E. Semenkin, NL-SHADE-RSP Algorithm with Adaptive Archive and Selective Pressure for CEC 2021 Numerical Optimization, IEEE CEC, 2021.

LSRTDE

  1. Stanovov and E. Semenkin, Success Rate-based Adaptive Differential Evolution L-SRTDE for CEC 2024 Competition, IEEE CEC, 2024.

ARRDE

Khoirul Faiq Muzakka, Ahsani Hafizhu Shali, Haris Suhendar, Sören Möller, Martin Finsterbusch, Robust Differential Evolution via Nonlinear Population Size Reduction and Adaptive Restart: The ARRDE Algorithm, arXiv, 2025. https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.18429

IMODE

Karam M. Sallam, Saber M. Elsayed, Ripon K. Chakrabortty, and Michael J. Ryan, Improved Multi-operator Differential Evolution Algorithm for Solving Unconstrained Problems, IEEE CEC, 2020.

AGSK

    1. Mohamed, A. A. Hadi, A. K. Mohamed and N. H. Awad, Evaluating the Performance of Adaptive Gaining-Sharing Knowledge Based Algorithm on CEC 2020 Benchmark Problems, IEEE CEC, 2020.

GWO_DE

  1. Mirjalili, S. M. Mirjalili, and A. Lewis, Grey Wolf Optimizer, Advances in Engineering Software, 69, 46-61, 2014. Minion implements a Grey Wolf / Differential Evolution hybrid based on this family of methods.

Particle Swarm and Swarm-Based Methods

PSO

  1. Kennedy and R. Eberhart, Particle Swarm Optimization, Proc. IEEE International Conference on Neural Networks, 1995.

SPSO2011

  1. Zambrano-Bigiarini, M. Clerc and R. Rojas, Standard Particle Swarm Optimisation 2011 at CEC-2013: A baseline for future PSO improvements, IEEE CEC, 2013.

DMSPSO

Jing J. Liang and Ponnuthurai N. Suganthan, Dynamic multi-swarm particle swarm optimizer with local search, IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation, 2005.

ABC

  1. Karaboga, An Idea Based on Honey Bee Swarm for Numerical Optimization, Technical Report-TR06, Erciyes University, 2005.

Evolution Strategies

CMAES

  1. Hansen and A. Ostermeier, Adapting arbitrary normal mutation distributions in evolution strategies: the covariance matrix adaptation, Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Evolutionary Computation, 1996.

BIPOP_aCMAES

Nikolaus Hansen, Benchmarking a BI-population CMA-ES on the BBOB-2009 function testbed, GECCO ‘09 Companion, 2009.

RCMAES

Khoirul Faiq Muzakka, Sören Möller, Martin Finsterbusch, RCMAES: A Robust CMA-ES Variant for CEC2026 Competition, arXiv, 2026. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.27138

Classical and Local Search Methods

NelderMead

Nelder, John A.; R. Mead, A simplex method for function minimization, Computer Journal, 7(4), 308-313, 1965.

DA

Tsallis C, Stariolo DA, Generalized Simulated Annealing, Physica A, 233, 395-406, 1996.

L_BFGS_B

Byrd, R. H.; Lu, P.; Nocedal, J.; Zhu, C., A Limited Memory Algorithm for Bound Constrained Optimization, SIAM Journal on Scientific Computing, 16(5), 1190-1208, 1995.

L_BFGS

Liu, D. C.; Nocedal, J., On the Limited Memory Method for Large Scale Optimization, Mathematical Programming B, 45(3), 503-528, 1989.