Monod is an abstract computational model inspired by cellular microbiology. In Monod, a program is not a linear sequence of instructions, but a set of simple programlets which operate on each other and on data according to well-defined rules and stochastic forces, in analogy with proteins and nucleotide sequences in a cell. Monod is also a software implementation of this computational model on standard computer hardware.

Monod should naturally accomodate parallel processing, and fits very nicely in the context of evolutionary algorithms alongside genetic programming, where it offers homologous crossover, among other aspects. The basic principle upon which Monod is premised is that biological cells perform computations. The underlying computational model seems to possess many desirable qualities, like high parallelism, adaptability and tolerance of complexity. These qualities are thoroughly lacking in traditional computational paradigms. Monod offers an opportunity to understand the origin of these qualities, their relationships and perhaps to deduce useful lessons.

See the Quick Description for a few more details, or the extensive manual, which contain all the available documentation related to Monod.

Monod is programmed in the OCaml language, and is distributed under the GPL.