Firefly (computer program)
Firefly, formerly known as PC GAMESS, is an ab initio computational chemistry program for Intel-compatible x86, x86-64 processors based on GAMESS (US) sources. However, it has been substantially rewritten (about 60-70% of the code), especially in platform-specific parts (memory allocation, disk input/output, network), mathematic functions (e.g., matrix operations), and quantum chemical methods (such as Hartree–Fock, Møller–Plesset perturbation theory, and density functional theory). Therefore, it is significantly faster than the original GAMESS. The main maintainer of the program is Alex Granovsky. Since October 2008 the project is no longer associated with GAMESS (US) and the Firefly name was created. Until October 17, 2009 both names could be used but thereafter the package should be referred to as Firefly exclusively.[1]
As of December 4, 2009, the support of any PC GAMESS versions earlier than the first PC GAMESS/Firefly version 7.1.C is being abandoned (and any and all licenses to use the code are revoked). Therefore, users of the outdated PC GAMESS binaries (version 7.1.B and all earlier releases) are required to discontinue their use of the PC GAMESS and upgrade to Firefly.[1]
A state of the art edition of Firefly has been launched as Firefly v. 8.0.0 RC on July 25, 2012 for public beta testing. A relative comparison has shown that it is much faster and reliable than its previous edition Firefly v. 7.1.G. Many changes have been made to enhance its capabilities and it is expected that it will prove itself a real candidate in the world of Computational Chemistry.