Firstly, welcome, and thanks for your interest in [Milvus](https://milvus.io)! No matter who you are, what you do, we greatly appreciate your contribution to help us reinvent data science with Milvus.
## What is Milvus
Milvus is an open source vector search engine that supports similarity search of large-scale vectors. Built on optimized indexing algorithm, it is compatible with major AI/ML models.
Milvus was developed by ZILLIZ, a tech startup that intends to reinvent data science, with the purpose of providing enterprises with efficient and scalable similarity search and analysis of feature vectors and unstructured data.
Milvus provides stable Python, C++ and Java APIs.
Keep up-to-date with newest releases and latest updates by reading Milvus [release notes](https://milvus.io/docs/en/Releases/v0.4.0/).
- GPU-accelerated search engine
Milvus is designed for the largest scale of vector index. CPU/GPU heterogeneous computing architecture allows you to process data at a speed 1000 times faster.
- Intelligent index
With a “Decide Your Own Algorithm” approach, you can embed machine learning and advanced algorithms into Milvus without the headache of complex data engineering or migrating data between disparate systems. Milvus is built on optimized indexing algorithm based on quantization indexing, tree-based and graph indexing methods.
- Strong scalability
The data is stored and computed on a distributed architecture. This lets you scale data sizes up and down without redesigning the system.
To edit Milvus settings in `conf/server_config.yaml` and `conf/log_config.conf`, please read [Milvus Configuration](https://www.milvus-io/docs/master/reference/milvus_config.md).
### Try your first Milvus program
#### Run Python example code
Make sure [Python 3.4](https://www.python.org/downloads/) or higher is already installed and in use.
Install Milvus Python SDK.
```shell
# Install Milvus Python SDK
$ pip install pymilvus==0.2.0
```
Create a new file `example.py`, and add [Python example code](https://github.com/milvus-io/pymilvus/blob/branch-0.3.1/examples/AdvancedExample.py) to it.
Run the example code.
```python
# Run Milvus Python example
$python3example.py
```
#### Run C++ example code
```shell
# Run Milvus C++ example
$ cd[Milvus root path]/core/milvus/bin
$ ./sdk_simple
```
## Contribution guidelines
Contributions are welcomed and greatly appreciated. If you want to contribute to Milvus, please read our [contribution guidelines](CONTRIBUTING.md). This project adheres to the [code of conduct](CODE OF CONDUCT.md) of Milvus. By participating, you are expected to uphold this code.
We use [GitHub issues](https://github.com/milvus-io/milvus/issues) to track issues and bugs. For general questions and public discussions, please join our community.
## Join the Milvus community
To connect with other users and contributors, welcome to join our [slack channel](https://join.slack.com/t/milvusio/shared_invite/enQtNzY1OTQ0NDI3NjMzLWNmYmM1NmNjOTQ5MGI5NDhhYmRhMGU5M2NhNzhhMDMzY2MzNDdlYjM5ODQ5MmE3ODFlYzU3YjJkNmVlNDQ2ZTk).
## Milvus Roadmap
Please read our [roadmap](https://milvus.io/docs/en/roadmap/) to learn about upcoming features.
