Abstract

Abstract BUGS is a software package for Bayesian inference using Gibbs sampling. The software has been instrumental in raising awareness of Bayesian modelling among both academic and commercial communities internationally, and has enjoyed considerable success over its 20‐year life span. Despite this, the software has a number of shortcomings and a principal aim of this paper is to provide a balanced critical appraisal, in particular highlighting how various ideas have led to unprecedented flexibility while at the same time producing negative side effects. We also present a historical overview of the BUGS project and some future perspectives. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords

Computer scienceFlexibility (engineering)SoftwarePrincipal (computer security)Gibbs samplingBayesian probabilityInferenceRaising (metalworking)Bayesian inferenceSoftware bugData scienceEconometricsSoftware engineeringArtificial intelligenceStatisticsEconomicsMathematicsProgramming languageComputer security

MeSH Terms

Bayes TheoremData InterpretationStatisticalModelsStatisticalSoftware

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Publication Info

Year
2009
Type
article
Volume
28
Issue
25
Pages
3049-3067
Citations
1868
Access
Closed

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1868
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Cite This

David J. Lunn, David J. Spiegelhalter, Andrew C. Thomas et al. (2009). The BUGS project: Evolution, critique and future directions. Statistics in Medicine , 28 (25) , 3049-3067. https://doi.org/10.1002/sim.3680

Identifiers

DOI
10.1002/sim.3680
PMID
19630097

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Data completeness: 86%