Recent advances in metaheuristic algorithms: Does the Makara dragon exist?

Metaheuristic algorithms (MHs) have a long history that can be traced back to genetic algorithms and evolutionary computing in the 1950s. Since February 2008, with the birth of the Firefly algorithm, MHs started to receive attention from researchers around the globe. Variants and new species of MH algorithms have bloomed like sprouts after rain. However, the necessity for creating more new species of such algorithms is questionable. It can be observed that these algorithms are fundamentally made up of several widely used core components. By explaining these components, the underlying design for a collection of the so-called modern MH optimisation algorithms is revealed. In this paper, the core components in some of the more popular MH algorithms are reviewed, thereby debunking the myths of their novelty, and perhaps dampening claims that something really ‘new’ is invented simply by branding an MH search method with the name of another living creature. Counterintuitive experimentations have shown that by taking snapshots, anyone can show some improvements of an MH over another in some situation. Mixing certain components up indeed adds advantage over the original MH. The same goes to extending MH with slight functional modification. This work also serves as a general guideline and a reference for any algorithm architect who wants to create a new MH algorithm in the future.