Emergent (software)

Emergent (formerly PDP++) is neural simulation software that is primarily intended for creating complex, sophisticated models of the brain and cognitive processes, but can also be used for any task to which neural networks are suited. It is currently in the 4.x series of releases. Development initially began in 1995 at Carnegie Mellon University, and as of 2007, continues at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The 3.x release of the software, which was known as PDP++, is featured in the textbook Computational Explorations in Cognitive Neuroscience.

Features
Emergent features a modular design, based on the principles of object-oriented programming. It has been known to work in Microsoft Windows, Darwin, Fedora and Debian based derivatives such as Ubuntu. C-Super-Script (variously, CSS and C^C), a built-in C++-like interpreted scripting language, allows access to virtually all simulator objects and can initiate all the same actions as the GUI, and more. Version 4 features a full 3D environment for visualizations, based Qt and Open Inventor. Realistic robotics simulations are made possible by integration with the Open Dynamics Engine. A plugin system allows for expanding the software in many ways.