The program

CHEAQS Next is the next generation of speciation programs written by Wilko Verweij. The first member of this family was GECHEQ, developed between 1986 and 1996. The first edition of CHEAQS (the light version) was developed between 1998 and 2004, the Pro version between 2004 and 2013. The first beta-release of CHEAQS Next became available early 2014, the first full-grown version in January 2015. Currently, a completely new version is under development, focusing on 64-bits operating system. In July 2019, a first (incomplete) version was released. Development of this version is now getting close to completion.

The name CHEAQS was partly inspired by Lowell George's song Cheek To Cheek, which you can find everywhere on the internet, e.g. here.

The 64-bits version is written in C, using Pelles C.