Everything about Software evolution

🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path

1. Read the overview: Software evolutionA 5-minute orientation
2. Skim a recent paper: IQ-TREE 3: phylogenomic inference software using complex evolutionary modelsInfluential work since 2022
3. Pick up a classic book: Artificial EvolutionThe most-reprinted book on the subject
4. Read the landmark paper: MEGA4: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA) Software Version 4.0Cited 23,530 times
5. Go sideways: Lehman's laws of software evolutionA closely related topic
6. Go sideways: Software maintenanceA closely related topic

🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)

• MEGA4: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA) Software Version 4.0

  K. Tamura, J. Dudley, M. Nei · 2007 · Molecular Biology and Evolution · 23,530 citations

• MEGA3: Integrated software for Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis and sequence alignment

  S. Kumar · 2004 · Briefings in Bioinformatics · 9,333 citations

• BEAST 2: A Software Platform for Bayesian Evolutionary Analysis

  Remco Bouckaert, Joseph Heled, Denise Kühnert · 2014 · PLoS Computational Biology · 6,214 citations

• Types of software evolution and software maintenance

  Ned Chapin, Joanne E. Hale, Khaled Md. Khan · 2001 · Journal of Software Maintenance and Evolution: Research and Practice · 250 citations

• Software evolution through rapid prototyping

  Luqi · 1989 · Computer · 96 citations

• Software evolution—Background, theory, practice

  Meir M. Lehman, Juan F. Ramil · 2003 · Information Processing Letters · 84 citations

• Software Evolution and Software Evolution Processes

  Meir M. Lehman, Juan F. Ramil · 2002 · Annals of Software Engineering · 57 citations

• The evolution of the laws of software evolution

  Israel Herraiz, Daniel Rodriguez, Gregorio Robles · 2013 · ACM Computing Surveys · 56 citations

🆕 Influential since 2022

• IQ-TREE 3: phylogenomic inference software using complex evolutionary models

  Thomas K F Wong, Nhan Ly-Trong, Huaiyan Ren · 2026 · Molecular Biology and Evolution · 552 citations

• Evolution towards Smart and Software-Defined Internet of Things

  Muhammad Aneeq Abid, Naokhaiz Afaqui, Muazzam A. Khan · 2022 · AI · 28 citations

• The evolution of mathematical software

  Jack J. Dongarra · 2022 · Communications of the ACM · 16 citations

• GDPR compliance via software evolution: Weaving security controls in software design

  Vanessa Ayala-Rivera, A. Omar Portillo-Dominguez, Liliana Pasquale · 2024 · Journal of Systems and Software · 15 citations

• Evolution of Data Engineering in Modern Software Development

  Santhosh Bussa · 2024 · Journal of Sustainable Solutions · 14 citations

📚 Books worth reading

• Artificial EvolutionEvelyne Lutton, Pierrick Legrand · 2008
• Phylogenetic Trees Made EasyBarry G. Hall · 2001
• Experiences in software evolution and reuseM. Paci, Svein Hallsteinsen · 1997
• Computational Methods in Systems BiologyCorrado Priami · 2003
• Genetic programmingJames A. Foster, Evelyne Lutton · 2002
• Advances in natural computationICNC 2006 (2006 Xi'an, Shaanxi Sheng, China) · 2006
• Advances in the evolutionary synthesis of intelligent agentsMukesh Patel, Vasant Honavar · 2001
• Evolution and biocomputationFrank H. Eeckman · 1995

Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.

🔗 Related topics

• Lehman's laws of software evolution In software engineering, the laws of software evolution refer to a series of laws that Lehman and Belady formulated starting in 1974 with respect to software…
• Software maintenance Software maintenance is the modification of software after delivery. Software maintenance is often considered lower skilled and less rewarding than new…
• Software prototyping Software prototyping is the activity of creating prototypes of software applications, i.e., incomplete versions of the software program being developed…
• Adaptation (computer science) Adaptation in computer science is a process where an interactive system (adaptive system) adapts its behaviour to individual users based on information…
• V-model (software development) In software development, the V-model represents a development process that may be considered an extension of the waterfall model and is an example of the…
• Software factory A software factory is a structured collection of related software assets that aids in producing computer software applications or software components according…
• Rapid application development Rapid application development (RAD), also called rapid application building (RAB), is both a general term for adaptive software development approaches…
• Waterfall model The waterfall model is the process of performing the typical software development life cycle (SDLC) phases in sequential order. Each phase is completed…