Empirical is a library of tools for developing efficient, reliable, and accessible scientific software. The provided code is all header-only and encapsulated into the emp namespace, so it is simple to incorporate into existing projects.
See the doc/QuickStartGuides/ folder to start using the library.
Tools in Empirical include:
- Web-enabled elements to facilitate compiling to JavaScript and with a full web interfaces, using Mozilla's Emscripten compiler (from C++ to high-efficiency JavaScript).
- Debug tools to facilitate fast memory management, which are turned off outside of debug mode.
- Evolution tools for building Artificial Life or Evolutionary Computation software.
- Many other helper tools to streamline common scientific computing tasks (configuration, randomization, bit manipulation, etc.)
See https://empirical.readthedocs.io/en/latest/html/files.html for more detailed documentation on the available source files.
| Folder | Info |
|---|---|
| apps/ | mini projects using Empirical with broad utility |
| doc/ | Documentation files (including for auto generation of docs) |
| examples/ | Example code for many of the above tools (sub-directory structure parallels source/) |
| Planning/ | Scattered notes about future development (most notes found in GitHub issue tracker) |
| source/ | Header files that make up the Empirical library (see below for details) |
| tests/ | Unit tests |
| third-party/ | Non-empirical dependencies |
| Sub-Folder | Info |
|---|---|
| base/ | Debug tools used throughout Empirical for fast and efficient memory management |
| config/ | Tools to build a simple configuration system (including compile-time optimizations) |
| data/ | Tools for easy data management and output |
| geometry/ | Geometry and physics-based tools for implementing simple virtual worlds |
| hardware/ | Implementation of basic virtual hardware that is easy to configure |
| meta/ | Helpful tools for template meta-programming |
| scholar/ | Tools for tracking authors, citations, and bibliographies |
| tools/ | Many basic tools that are generally useful for scientific software |
| web/ | Tools for building web interfaces |
| Evo/ | Specialized tools for building Artificial Life or Evolutionary Computation projects |
| in_progress/ | Tools that are being worked on, but not at all ready for public consumption |
| stand_alone/ | Versions of tools found elsewhere in Empirical that can be downloaded as a single file with no additional dependencies |
Empirical is under heavy development. As such, many source files have at least one of the following statuses:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| DESIGN | Notes are in place, but no (or minimal) working code |
| ALPHA | Some basic functionality works, but more features still need to be added and tested |
| BETA | Basic functionality is all in place, but needs more thorough testing. |
| RELEASE | Well-tested functionality and used in multiple projects, at least by authors |
| STABLE | Used by many non-authors in assorted projects without fixes for extended period |
| ABANDONED | May have worked, or may not; no longer being developed |
| BROKEN | Once worked (at least BETA level), but now needs to be repaired (not abandoned!) |
| CLEANUP | At least BETA, but needs code cleanup, fixing of warnings, etc |
| DEPRECATED | Functionality has been replaced and should shift to replacement. |
| EXPLORATORY | Some functionality may work, but needs re-engineering to get right |
| EXTERNAL | Part of another project (cited above); not developed as part of Empirical |
The structure of Empirical is levelized to facilitate development and testing. This means that all directories are on a level where dependencies are either internal to that directory or on lower levels. Likewise, within a directory, files have a level and depend only on other files at lower levels.
| Level | Folders |
|---|---|
| 0 | base/ |
| 1 | meta/ |
| 2 | tools/ |
| 3 | config/ control/ data/ games/ geometry/ hardware/ scholar/ |
| 4 | Evo/ (data, control) web/ (config, control) |