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Find minimum of unconstrained multivariable function using derivative-free method - MATLAB fminsearch

fminsearch
Find minimum of unconstrained multivariable function using derivative-free method

Equation
Finds the minimum of a problem specified by

min f (x)
x

where f(x) is a function that returns a scalar.

x is a vector or a matrix; see Matrix Arguments.

Syntax
x = fminsearch(fun,x0)
x = fminsearch(fun,x0,options)
x = fminsearch(problem)
[x,fval] = fminsearch(...)
[x,fval,exitflag] = fminsearch(...)
[x,fval,exitflag,output] = fminsearch(...)

Description
fminsearch attempts to find a minimum of a scalar function of several variables, starting at an initial

estimate. This is generally referred to as unconstrained nonlinear optimization.

Note: Passing Extra Parameters explains how to pass extra parameters to the objective function, if
necessary.
x = fminsearch(fun,x0) starts at the point x0 and returns a value x that is a local minimizer of the function
described in fun. fun is either a function handle to a file or is an anonymous function. x0 can be a scalar,

vector, or matrix.
x = fminsearch(fun,x0,options) minimizes with the optimization options specified in the structure options.
Use optimset to set these options.
x = fminsearch(problem) finds the minimum for problem, where problem is a structure described in Input

Arguments.
Create the structure problem by exporting a problem from Optimization app, as described in Exporting Your
Work.
[x,fval] = fminsearch(...) returns in fval the value of the objective function fun at the solution x.
[x,fval,exitflag] = fminsearch(...) returns a value exitflag that describes the exit condition of

fminsearch.
[x,fval,exitflag,output] = fminsearch(...) returns a structure output that contains information about

the optimization.

Input Arguments
Function Arguments contains general descriptions of arguments passed into fminsearch. This section
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provides function-specific details for fun, options, and problem:

fun

The function to be minimized. fun is a function handle for a function that accepts a vector x
and returns a scalar f, the objective function evaluated at x. The function fun can be
specified as a function handle for a file:

x = fminsearch(@myfun,x0)
where myfun is a MATLAB function such as

function f = myfun(x)
f = ...
% Compute function value at x
fun can also be a function handle for an anonymous function, such as

x = fminsearch(@(x)norm(x)^2,x0,A,b);
options

Options provides the function-specific details for the options values.

problem

objective

Objective function

x0

Initial point for x

solver

'fminsearch'

options

Options structure created using optimset

Output Arguments
Function Arguments contains general descriptions of arguments returned by fminsearch. This section
provides function-specific details for exitflag and output:
exitflag

output

Integer identifying the reason the algorithm terminated. The following lists the
values of exitflag and the corresponding reasons the algorithm terminated.
1

The function converged to a solution x.

Number of iterations exceeded options.MaxIter or number

of function evaluations exceeded options.MaxFunEvals.

-1

The algorithm was terminated by the output function.

Structure containing information about the optimization. The fields of the structure
are
iterations

Number of iterations

funcCount

Number of function evaluations

algorithm

'Nelder-Mead simplex direct search'

message

Exit message

Options
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Optimization options used by fminsearch. You can use optimset to set or change the values of these fields
in the options structure options. See Optimization Options Reference for detailed information.
Display

Level of display:
'off' or 'none' displays no output.
'iter' displays output at each iteration.
'notify' displays output only if the function does not converge.
'final' (default) displays just the final output.

FunValCheck

Check whether objective function values are valid. 'on' displays an error
when the objective function returns a value that is complex, Inf, or NaN.
The default 'off' displays no error.

MaxFunEvals

Maximum number of function evaluations allowed, a positive integer. The

default is 200*numberOfVariables.

MaxIter

Maximum number of iterations allowed, a positive integer. The default

value is 200*numberOfVariables.

OutputFcn

Specify one or more user-defined functions that an optimization function

calls at each iteration, either as a function handle or as a cell array of
function handles. The default is none ([]). See Output Function.

PlotFcns

Plots various measures of progress while the algorithm executes, select

from predefined plots or write your own. Pass a function handle or a cell
array of function handles. The default is none ([]):
@optimplotx plots the current point.
@optimplotfunccount plots the function count.
@optimplotfval plots the function value.

For information on writing a custom plot function, see Plot Functions.

TolFun

Termination tolerance on the function value, a positive scalar. The default

is 1e-4.

TolX

Termination tolerance on x, a positive scalar. The default value is 1e-4.

Examples
Example 1: Minimizing Rosenbrock's Function with fminsearch
A classic test example for multidimensional minimization is the Rosenbrock banana function:

(
)2
2
f (x) = 100 x2 x1 + (1 x1)2.
The minimum is at (1,1) and has the value 0. The traditional starting point is (-1.2,1). The anonymous
function shown here defines the function and returns a function handle called banana:

banana = @(x)100*(x(2)-x(1)^2)^2+(1-x(1))^2;
Pass the function handle to fminsearch:
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[x,fval,exitflag] = fminsearch(banana,[-1.2, 1])

This produces

x =
1.0000

1.0000

fval =
8.1777e-010
exitflag =
1
This indicates that the minimizer was found at [1 1] with a value near zero.

Example 2
You can modify the first example by adding a parameter a to the second term of the banana function:

(
)2
2
f (x) = 100 x2 x1 + (a x1)2.
This changes the location of the minimum to the point [a,a^2]. To minimize this function for a specific value
of a, for example a = sqrt(2), create a one-argument anonymous function that captures the value of a.

a = sqrt(2);
banana = @(x)100*(x(2)-x(1)^2)^2+(a-x(1))^2;
Then the statement

[x,fval,exitflag] = fminsearch(banana, [-1.2, 1], ...

optimset('TolX',1e-8))
seeks the minimum [sqrt(2), 2] to an accuracy higher than the default on x. The result is

x =
1.4142

2.0000

fval =
4.2065e-018
exitflag =
1

Limitations
fminsearch solves nondifferentiable problems and can often handle discontinuity, particularly if it does not

occur near the solution. fminsearch might only give local solutions.
fminsearch only minimizes over the real numbers, that is, x must only consist of real numbers and f(x) must

only return real numbers. When x has complex variables, they must be split into real and imaginary parts.
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Notes
fminsearch is not the preferred choice for solving problems that are sums of squares, that is, of the form

(
)

2
2
2
2

min f (x) 2 = min f 1(x) + f 2(x) + ... + f n(x)

x

Instead use the lsqnonlin function, which has been optimized for problems of this form.

More About
collapse
all
Algorithms
fminsearch uses the simplex search method of [1]. This is a direct search method that does not use

numerical or analytic gradients as in fminunc. The algorithm is described in detail in fminsearch

Algorithm.
fminsearch is generally less efficient than fminunc for problems of order greater than two. However,
when the problem is highly discontinuous, fminsearch might be more robust.

function_handle

Anonymous Functions

References
[1] Lagarias, J. C., J. A. Reeds, M. H. Wright, and P. E. Wright, "Convergence Properties of the NelderMead Simplex Method in Low Dimensions," SIAM Journal of Optimization, Vol. 9, Number 1, pp. 112147,
1998.

See Also
fminbnd | fminunc | optimset | optimtool

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